Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Power Steering Trouble-- Need help!!!!

[KKlingbeil]

Ok, hopefully someone knows much more then i do, so here goes, my power steering pump has never been awesome, and this is the third one on my 2001. It has never turned very good at idle in gear with foot on the brakes, so i was doing some searching and found the link to the page about turning up the pressure in a stock pump, so i took it apart, got the little piston thing out and there was one shim in it, so i removed that, and also added a small washer to the bottom side, and ground maybe 1/16 of an inch off the limiting stud, put it back together, put fluid in, started it up, started turning the wheel, got most of the way turned and i heard something, and then i had no powersteering. The fluid was a little low, so i added some and then tryed again, still nothing, no PS and no power brakes either. So i look in the resovoir when it is running and the fluid looks about like its boiling because its churning around so fast, so then i go for a gravel road drive thinking maybe it needs to work air out or something, and i get back, still nothing ,take the cap off again, and its foamy as hell. Take it back apart again, take out the washer but dont put the shim back in, its very small shim a little thicker then paper, put it together, add fluid same thing, fluid is churning a lot, kinna foamy, blah blah. Any ideas as to what i messed up by upping my pressure?? I guess there is only a couple options, the pump itself, and hydro boost thing for the brakes, or the steering box. Need help ASAP, and Thanks in advance!!!!

 

[csutton7]

did you raise the front of the truck and bleed the lines--you need to slowly turn the steering wheel back and forth about a 60 times or more with the wheels off the ground---keep checking the fluid level---if that doesn't work then it sounds like your hydro booster went kaput ---chris

 

[csutton7]

do you have brakes but hard steering and when you're steering do the brakes not work--this is what happens when you lose the hydro booster--if these symptoms don't exist then it could be the vacuum pump if it turns out not to be air in the lines--chris

 

[Grizzly]

Buy a factory rebuilt pump and a new hydro booster and bleed the system as stated in #2 above. I would also replace the high pressure and low pressure PS hoses. Good luck.

 

[Grizzly]

Ok, hopefully someone knows much more then i do, so here goes, my power steering pump has never been awesome, and this is the third one on my 2001. It has never turned very good at idle in gear with foot on the brakes, so i was doing some searching and found the link to the page about turning up the pressure in a stock pump, so i took it apart, got the little piston thing out and there was one shim in it, so i removed that, and also added a small washer to the bottom side, and ground maybe 1/16 of an inch off the limiting stud, put it back together, put fluid in, started it up, started turning the wheel, got most of the way turned and i heard something, and then i had no powersteering. The fluid was a little low, so i added some and then tryed again, still nothing, no PS and no power brakes either. So i look in the resovoir when it is running and the fluid looks about like its boiling because its churning around so fast, so then i go for a gravel road drive thinking maybe it needs to work air out or something, and i get back, still nothing ,take the cap off again, and its foamy as hell. Take it back apart again, take out the washer but dont put the shim back in, its very small shim a little thicker then paper, put it together, add fluid same thing, fluid is churning a lot, kinna foamy, blah blah. Any ideas as to what i messed up by upping my pressure?? I guess there is only a couple options, the pump itself, and hydro boost thing for the brakes, or the steering box. Need help ASAP, and Thanks in advance!!!!

Did you solve your power steering problem?