2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Power Steering Pump

[tckrapp]

I have a 2001 truck which has 24,000 miles on it. I do no t use it every day and in fact there are times when it is not driven for 3 or 4 weeks. Yesterday I started the engine and discovered that I had no power assist it the steering and in my brakes. I shut the engine off, went and looked at my manuals and came out to check the vacuum pump. Started the engine- still no steering- vacuum ok. As I was pulling the truck into the garage, everything started to work fine. I have no leaks, fluid is clear and resevoir was full. My thought is that a valve stuck open, because of sitting so long? I tow a 10,000 lb trailer and do not want to have this happen on the road. Any thoughts are appreciated. Tom

 

[GAmes]

The same thing has happened to me on a couple of occasions, but I have no clue what was wrong. It "fixed itself" and has been fine for quite awhile now. The last time it happened the truck had only been sitting overnight. I shut it off then restarted the engine with no change. I then revved the engine up to about 2200 rpm for a few seconds and everything started working. When I got back to TX I flushed the power steering fluid. You might give that a try if it happens again.

 

[EBansberg]

There is a small screen in one of the lines that is a "filter". Maybe it got a little gummed up. Do a search for the PS pump pressure upgrade, it gives a little more detail.

 

[LandShark]

If you haven't changed the power steering fluid in a couple of years, pick up a quart of Valoline synthetic power steering fluid. Suck out what you can, refill, run the engine for a few minutes, repeat until you have used all the fluid. The synthetic fluid is a huge improvement over the oem fluid and may even fix your problem.