OK. My 2003 Excursion is currently stranded in a parking lot with a puddle of PS fluid under it. All I could do at lunch was pick up my wife and daughter and take them home. Not sure if it's a blown seal on the pump (probably not) or a blown high pressure hose (most likely). I know it's either the PS pump or hose because the brake fluid reservoir is full and the bottom of the PS pump is covered with fluid.

Regardless, I will go home from the office this afternoon, change clothes, pick up tools, diagnose the root cause, and make the repairs in the parking lot... all hopefully before it gets dark. At least it will be cooled off (equipment, that is) by the time I start.

I've had the pump and bracket out before, but cannot remember what tools I needed to get the job done. In the name of minimizing time and beating the darkness, I really don't want to be doing the back and forth thing to get tools "I forgot" or "didn't know I needed". Below is what I'm planning to pick up from the house. Please review the list and let me know if I'm forgetting anything.

- auto tranny fluid
- complete set of metric and SAE sockets & wrenches
- pulley removal tool
- creeper
- hydraulic jack, jack stands, and wheel chock (I barely fit underneath without them, but only if NOT on a creeper)
- one of my sons as a helper
- flashlight with fresh batteries (in case I'm slower than I hope to be)

- The belt removal tool and front bumper platform will already be with me in my truck


ALSO... It looks like my only option (reasonably priced) is the rebuilt Cardone pump and/or MasterPro hoses (both with Limited Lifetime Warranty). Any input on those options? The Ford stuff is 2x-3x the cost of the others.

ONE LAST QUESTION... If it is the pressure hose (or one of them), I am tempted to go ahead and replace both while I'm in there... what say you??

BTW... We are VERY fortunate that this happened exactly as my wife was parking because she simply is not big enough or strong enough to steer or stop the truck had she been in traffic or on the highway!



EDIT: Additional Items per suggestions from everyone's input below...

- pliers (vice-grips, channel locks, regular slip joint, etc.)
- long neck funnel for fluid fill
- rags
- mirror on a stick AND Borescope Camera for thorough inspection capability
- nitrile gloves
- orange traffic cones to block off front and side of truck


As always, thanks ahead of time for your input.

 

I would most likely take a vise grip or other pliers, too just in case ...
As for changing both, I normally would change only the one that's the current problem but if your budget allows, it certainly could save you another episode later on. Considering both lines are the same age ... My 2¢.

Sent from Nexus 4. IB AutoGroup

 

Pete, maybe a long neck funnel in case you do change the pump. It would make filling much easier. I would change out both hoses and pump. Wife's vehicle, right? Always replace in advance for wife's vehicle . Don't forget rags!

 

To access the PS hoses on the steering gear, you are going to be removing the air box and likely the CAC tube on the driver's side.

I changed them all when I noticed the amount of rust on them when swapping turbos the other day..

edit: You'll likely be removing the battery as well

 

I have fixed a couple of catastrophically leaking Ford CII power steering pumps by just buying a new back cover (reservoir), which came with the big O ring that goes with it.

Sometimes the nipple on those housings cracks, and that's all it is. May not be the fix for you, but I wouldn't rule it out. I'd much rather have the original OEM pump with a new reservoir housing, than a cheap Chinese chain store replacement of the entire pump.

Sometimes the failure is in the retention clip of the hose fitting, but that failure has never happened to me yet.

 

I'll probably get the pump, too, Neal, but wait until this coming weekend to swap it out so I can do that at a more leisurely pace in the driveway... UNLESS it is the pump itself that is the problem!!

Dan, the battery tray portion of the air box is all that remains at this point, but good tips, for sure!! I can ****** out the tray and battery pretty quickly.

Y2KW57... I'll look at those areas carefully. Thanks.

 

Bring something clean to cover the exposed turbo opening with, in case the wind is blowing stuff around in the air while you are working.

 

Yep... I'll have a bag of rags available, and I'll ALSO make sure to REMOVE THE RAG from the turbo inlet before putting it all back together again!!

... on second thought... I'll probably just slip one of my XL nitrile gloves over the inlet, and that way I can't miss the need to remove it before re-installing everything.


I'm heading out in about 45 minutes to try to get a jump start ahead of the heavy traffic flow on the interstate. Thus far, I've verified that O'Reilly's has both hoses and the reservoir in stock, and NAPA has the pump... can't find any one location that has it all, so I'll probably split my efforts between those two locations depending on what I find to be the problem.

 

Bring a bag of oil dry and an old dust pan and brush for when you're finished. If it were my wife's vehicle, I would never hear the end of what that PS fluid was going to do to the environment.

 

Bring or buy a couple of self supporting or hangable flash lights, or battery powered lanterns with a hook or a handle, or better yet a strap on headlight... with extra batteries.

Could be a late night. You never know what snags you might hit that digest the sun into night.

 

OK. Job done. One problem remains, but I'll get to that in a minute.

The sole problem was that the fitting on the side of the pump (pressure hose to hydroboost) blew out... sort of. The tube fitting o-ring was dislodged from inside the nut housing. I guess it was a vibration-related wear on the o-ring which allowed it to get pushed outside of the housing. Once it was dislodged, there was enough pressure relief such that the hose itself was not blown out of the fitting nut.

It was dark at the time, so I'll post up pictures tonight so you can see what I'm talking about.

Two hours total, not rushing, both pressure hoses replaced. The fitting on top of the gear box was the worst to get a good grip on, and the R&R for that particular fitting took as much time as removing the battery tray and IC tube.

PROBLEM... I've started a completely new thread for this issue so we can call this thread "done" (except for me posting a couple of pictures tonight).

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...l#post14385398

UPDATE (05/31/2014) The problem stated above is resolved as far as noise is concerned.

Thanks again for all your input and help.

 

going through this myself. I have had slack in my steering forever and stiff brakes too. so I finally went and bought the steering gear box and pump. the install wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. but that hose on the side of the pump is pouring fluid out. so I guess ill be buying the new hose tomorrow after work.

 

Maybe, maybe not.

It depends on where exactly the leak is on the hose or fitting itself, and depends on which hose attached to the pump you are talking about.

Ford says that the teflon sealing ring "must be replaced" whenever you open up the connection. You don't have to replace the entire hose, only the teflon sealing ring. Ford recommends using a teflon seal replacement tool, which has been utilized on these fittings for the last 35 years... but people have figured out how to install the new teflon seal ring without the special tool... which is essentially a tapered cone.

Here is a Ford diagram that distinguishes a leak by locality on the fitting...




Here is a Ford picture of the action of the Teflon Seal Replacer tool, and the location of the ring on the fitting...




Another pic... same, only straight...

 

OK... my leak was due to the oring being worn and blown out of the nut head and up against the shoulder on the hard tube, so my choice to replace the hose as opposed to attempting an oring replacement was the right decision.