Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Vaccum pump/ Power Steering pump failed.

[GBrock]

While driving today the powersteering AND power brakes went out.



Called my main diesel mechanic, he had no clue as to what the problem may be.



Called the "*******". They told me I may need a new hydrobooster/ vaccum pump OR a new power steering pump. Cost of the hydrobooster vaccum pump? $2,300!!!! Power steering pump, $480.



So I called O'Reilly, they had a ps pump for $80. Lifetime wty. I took that to my backup mechanic in hopes of fixing the problem. After the install he tells me it's the vaccum pump. O'Reilly has a vaccum pump for $460. Better than the $2300 but still quite steep. So I drive home to research this on TDR and I start reading about guys rebuilding their pump for $9. Should I go this route?



I am mechanically inclined but I just don't have the time to trial-and-error repair my truck so I pay a mechanic to do so. But $460 vs. $9 sounds like a compelling enough reason to perhaps fix it myself this time.



Any advice? How the "f" can the dealer get away with charing $2300 for a pump? This is my work truck and I'm in the middle of a rather large concrete job. I was hoping to have it fixed tonight so I can have the expensive rented equipment returned in time. Looks like I'm outta' luck there. May have to rent a truck just to get that task done.



Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[RickFox]

I just did mine this weekend, BUT be sure you put it back together correctly and make sure the tabs are in correctly. My rebuild kit came with complete instruction for the install.



Rick

 

[GBrock]

Since I need my truck back for work ASAP, I opted for the O-reilly solution. $479 for a new vaccum pump. It's pretty robust and made in England (not sure if that's a good or a bad thing). Certainly better than paying $2300 from the "*******". Honestly, I can't figure out what anyone has sympathy for the dealer.



I wanted to buy the repair kit or seal kit but my mechanice showed me how the gear inside was broken. Can I still buy this kit and rebuild it later on? I was thinkiing I could rebuild it to either have a abck up pump or just sell it on ebay. The pump I bought has a lifetime wty. Doubt the dealer does that!

 

[GBrock]

Btw, why is it I read about these guys in TDR who have turned a million miles and only have had one or two problems with their truck?



I have 147,000 miles and have replaced the following:

Clutch, water pump, batteries twice, front end, brakes, heater core, parking brake twice, fuel bladder gasket, 2 exhaust manifold gaskets, powersteering pump, vaccum pump/ hydorbooster, and whole bunch of other stuff.



Great, the CTD will last forever while everything thats attached to it is falling off.

 

[GBrock]

My mech screwed up the R&R of my vaccum pump. Ran the ps pump dry beacause he failed to tighten some hoses. After fixing it I noticed the following:



1) High-pitched whinning noise coming from the motor. Is this becuase the vaccum pump is new?



2) Exhaust Brake won't engage with switch on. WTF?



3) A/C or heater now only blows through the defrost vents. Again, WTF?



4) Pkg brake release lever broken. OK so he broke it. I'll fix him for that.





FWIW, tragically amusing story: I could have replaced both the PS and Vaccum pump myself but I was in the middle of a major concrete pour on one of my rehab properties and running the crew myself (foreman suspended this past week for showing up late 3 times in a row). So I called my main mechanic (Chris @ Relentless Diesel), to fix the truck. He had no room until next Tuesday. So I called the dealer... forget about that option. So I called this guy who did some work for me before. I picked up the parts the night prior and we agreed that he would have the truck done no later than 1030. He said he would start it at 0800. Couldn't possibly take longer than a couple of hours to fix so I thought everything would be fine. I had $10,000 in rental equipment out on rent that had to be back to Nationsrent by 11:08. The mechanic was 5 minutes from the jobsite and Nations was 2 minutes from there. All seemed reasonable. At 1000 I made a call to the mech just to make sure everything was on sched. No answer. So I drive to his shop. Not there. After looking around for a while it's now past 1030, I can see my truck is taken apart but I can't find the parts to put it back together myself as his shop is an unorganized mess. I leave deciding to rent a truck to get the tools back in time. Enterprise wants $100 a day for a 1/2 ton p/u. I call a buddy who shows up an hour later with his rig to bail me out. The guys at Nationsrent were cool and extended my takeback time. My buddy takes off back to his jobsite and by the time I return to mine my crew needs more concrete. After a couple of calls to local conrete companies to no avail, I opted to head up to Lowe's and load up 15 bags of ready mix into my little VW scirocco. As luck would have it, the back hatch lock broke so I had to load these via the back seat. Of course, it wass only matter of time before a bag breaks and dumps ready mix all over my car. Likewise, it was only a matter of time before I threw something on my body out. So my right arm goes (pulled a bicep muscle bad). And now I'm trying to load 80 lb bags with my left arm into the back of a VW scirocco. Drop bags off at the jobsite, return to the mech shop. No sign of him. His mom lives next door so I make a scene with her. She no-speako-english. Right. By now I'm quite angry and, accordingly, determined to put my truck back together myself. So I start rummaging though his shop in an effort to find my $600 in parts. He hears the ruckus and stumbles out of his office. "He man, sorry. I ****ed up. Some buddies came over last night and I got way too drunk to wake up this morning. " After throwing a tyraid and going on a diatribe about what I had been through that morning, I scream at him, "Just put my truck back together. I'll be back in an hour!" I give him two. So I show up 2 hours later. Start the rig, seems to be running fine. I check all systems, rev it up a bit. No leaks. Looks good to go so I head back to the jobsite. 1 mile down the road the ps pump starts making an awful sound. I pull over and there's fluid leaking everywhere. Not wanting to destroy my new pump, I walk another mile to O'reilly, pick up some PS fluid, fill up the resevior and look for leaks. I find the hose fitting he failed to completely tighten and hand-tighten it myself. Get to the jobsite where my tools are and fix the rest of the system myself. It was then that I noticed the other items wrong. Nevertheless, I have my rig back and can now get the concrete I need with a forklift instead of my arms/ back. I never did pay the guy.



BTW, we had a backup rig in our business for these type of circumstances plus my superintendant has his own rig. Project is shutting down so the super found work elsewhere, he's no longer avail with his rig. Our backup rig I sold to my foreman. He blew the motor a week later driving 110 mph down the freeway with a full load of passengers (fortunately this wasn't while he was working for me, although I nearly fired the guy for stupidity). He still has yet to pay me the other half of the sales price. Sometimes you take for granted how much you rely on your truck. I could buy a new one so as not to have these kinds of hassles but in construction my crews will just bang it up, hence my decision to go used.

 

[qkoop]

And i thought mylife was stressfull :-laf

 

[rashwor]

That day sounds real familiar!

 

[Sea01Cummer]

Where can seals and a rebiuld kit be found??



Steve

 

[GBrock]

http://www.fixinrams.com/index.html



Go to their website. Lots of good info. As I mentioned, instead of returning my core to O'Reilly, I'm going order their rebuild kit and just keep an extra V-pump handy.

 

[ROADWARRIOR]

#2 and #3 are both controlled by vacuum. Either something isn't hooked up or your vacuum pump may not be working.



Hope you get things straightened out.



Dan

 

[GBrock]

Thanks for the advice. Actually, I am quite confident the vaccum pump is working because I have my ps back and my power brakes back. When the gear on the v-pump blew, nothing would work. Plus I can hear the new vaccum pump. It's a higher pitched whine, I guess due to all the new metal in the new pump.



All lines are hooked up. The lines that he left loose I tightened when I saw the fluid leaking, nea POURING, out of it.



Get this, now the normal A/C vents work 90% of the time. Exhaust brake still no workey. Maybe I have to bleed the system?