I'm not sure if the pumps or methods are shared among different years..

My PS is noisy. The bracket is cracked but I doubt that's the only reason, the fluid is a very dark red. I need to flush it and bleed it. I read for other PS pumps that they are auto bleed, are these? Can I just unhook a line, with the truck on use the PS to dump it by turning the wheel, fill it and turn the wheel a dozen times to bleed?

thanks

 

Which pump do you have? The plastic/aluminum pump, GM Ham Can, or metal round can?

I know the plastic/al pumps are VERY finicky.. if they ever become noisy, they stay noisy.. I bleed those with the engine off and belt off, spinning by hand until level drops and stabilizes, turning the wheel a bit, and repeating.. do this until you've gone all the way left and right, lock to lock.. keeping the level up.

May be overkill, but I've had silent plastic pumps with this method.

 

.. the .. plastic pump

great

how about flushing? will disconnecting a line work?

edit: thanks

 

This is the flushing method that I've used for years and it is the method accepted on the ASE test.

Disconnect the return line from the reservoir and lower it into a drain pan. On these trucks, where the line is very tall, it works very good to use a discarded clear plastic jug. My favorite is a Hawaiian Punch jug because it has a bail and is clear. You can suspend it up under a tall vehicle and put the return line down into the jug, or extend the return line with a hose of some sort and put that down into the jug.

Once the return line is routed to the container, be ready with two quarts of power steering fluid. Use power steering fluid for the flush and for the fill, do not use automatic transmission fluid in spite of what your manual might say. ATF has changed over the years and is no longer healthy for the seals in your old system. Do NOT flush with a solvent, ONLY with P/S fluid.

Plug the reservoir hole from which you removed the return line.

With an assistant starting the engine and ready to cut it off, be ready to pour in the p/s fluid. It will go through rapidly. The assistant on your signal should start the engine and turn the steering wheel back and forth lock to lock. As soon as you have poured through all the fluid and the reservoir begins to empty, give the assistant the signal to shut it off.

Unplug the reservoir and reconnect the return line. Fill the system with p/s fluid and keep turning the steering wheel lock to lock while filling the system. This is how the system is bled, not be removing a line.

All that said, unless the system is currently low on fluid, the whining pump will continue to whine in spite of a flush. If it were mine I would change the pump, but flush the system before doing so.

 

I know from experiance that these pumps will work fine while still whining for over 100,000 miles. I don't think any thing will stop the whine short of a new pump.

 

Correct.. HOWEVER.. that whine can sometimes be VERY loud and somewhat embarrassing depending on where you are.

 

Synthetic fluid,and a small shot of Lucas power steering additive. The pump in the 69 (plastic) and on my 46 (plastic).....both quiet as a church mouse.

just my .02

 

I installed a filter in the return line instead of the thorough flushing described by MBDiagMan - am I fooling myself that the filter will pick up all the dirt/sediment? Rebuilt pump (NAPA) whines but works OK.

 

It works fine, was just hoping I could get rid of the whining.. not a huge issue I guess.

I think what bothers me most is the color of the PS fluid. I don't know if burnt/dirty fluid is hurting it at all.

 

As mentioned earlier in the thread, you can probably run a noisy pump a 100,000 miles with no trouble except the noise. If the noise bothers you replace it.

If you want to take care of your stuff properly, flush the system. P/S fluid costs less than $3 a quart. It will take no more than 4 quarts using 2 quarts for the flushing process and less than 2 quarts to refill the system. That's $12. Even if you change your own engine oil and filter you probably can't do it that cheap. Engine oil and filter need to be changed every few thousand miles. P/S fluid only needs to be flushed and changed about every 100,000 miles, so is this REALLY such a big deal?

If you're engine had dirty oil, you would most likely change it so why the hesitation in maintaining your power steering system also?

In vehicle maintenance, there aren't many things you can do that offer more return than keeping the fluids and filters changed.

 

Point taken.

 

What do you plug the reservoir with ? I have the metal one. Thanks.