i put on a new power steering pump and now when i drive it foams up and blows off the cap...am i safe to assume that i need to bleed the system and if so how do you go about doing that...is it similar to bleeding brakes?

 

jack the front up and put it on jackstands so both tires are off teh ground

fire the truck up and while idling, slowly turn the wheel from lock to lock a time or two...then check and top off the fluid as needed.

reapeat this process until the fluid level stops to drop

 

cool thanks.

 

so i did that and i was wondering how long its suppose to take. i did it for a good half hour and it only got mildly better, and when i shut the engine off the fluid foams out past the cap...but if i let it sit for a little the fluid looks normal...is there anything else i can do...could i drain the pump and then refill it and try jacking it up and doing all that again? and if so to drain the pump should i just take off the lines and let them drain into a bucket...any help would be appreciated cuz its getting nice here in wisconsin and im anxious to drive it again and its pretty hard to do without power steering. thanks

 

What are you using for fluid? ATF is too foamy - use powersteering fluid.

 

it power steering fluid. after doing it all day yesterday it is only slightly better and still foamy...im thinking im just gunna drain it and try all over again.

 

There is an article in the latest JP magazine talking about this exact issue.
I will grab it when I get home and reply back tomorrow with info.
I thought I read about an internal O-ring that may be bad if it back fills after you shut off the motor.
Are you checking the fluid level with the engine running or off?
Need to check with engine running.
Good luck.
Ken

 

ive been checking it with the engine off...its rather frustrating this whole issue because ive called around to shops and asked them for help and all of them say it is a self bleeding system which i know but then i tell them how can it bleed itself if i can barely drive it...i would be very interested in reading about the article because this has been an ongoing issue and i just want to drive the thing.

 

If it keeps foaming, you have a leak that is sucking in air.

Probably on the PS pump or the inlet line.

Steve

 

The misses had me running all over the place last night and I flaked and left the magazine at home.
Will grab it tonight.

 

Try out these few tricked out threads.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...96&postcount=2
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...2&postcount=10
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...=94741&width=0
add-a-filter https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...58&postcount=3
-Buck-

 

cool...i appreciate it...i hope it has the answers that im looking for.

 

Mudslut,

I have scanned the page and wanted to send it to you.
PM me with an e-mail address and I will send it.
It pretty much said the same thing where you are pulling air in from somewhere.
You could remove the pump and pressurize it to 2 to 4 lbs and submerse it under water to find the leak if it is the pump.
I think that if you just bought the pump from an auto parts store, I would take it back and tell them that it is faulty and get another one.
Good luck.
Ken

 

That's interesting. When replacing a power steering pump (as a tech for a Ford dealership) we would always fill them up with Dexron. We never had any problems.

 

My power steering system has been running on Valvoline ATF for about 4 years now, no problems.