Hello all,
I have a question on my steering, and yes I did a quick search and could not find this particular problem. I have a 1989 F-250, 302/5.0 EFI with power steering. The seal on the pump is leaking like a waterfall. I know I have to replace it, but my question is would this cause excessive play in the steering wheel, like from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock kind of play. Drag link and connecting rods are good. Is there a recommended way of tightening this up or do I replace the steering gear box when I do the Pump?
I ask about the adjustment as I am on a limited budget from Soc. Sec. Disability. If I can save a bit....Any suggestions would be of great help. Thank you very much in advance.

 

The Seal on the bottom of the pump is totally re-doable, and you can adjust the steering box. However, if it feels like the box might be worn down and old, you can get a re manufactured Steering Box for about 100 bucks depending on the store you go to so by the time you are in there it is probably worth it to just replace the whole shabang. -ike

 

Ok Wisco Truck Guy. I have a couple of parts stores here I town. Is there any way of telling which gear box I have with out actually taking it out. On line there are two or three different manufacturers listed, or does it matter...? Cardone, Powercraft, Lares, and Mavel all listed and say it is a direct fit for my truck.

 

i just replaced the pump on my 5.8l. it cost $50 at autozone for a reman and $40 deposit for the puller/installer. took maybe an hour and a half, taking my sweet time.
but your pump will not cause any "play" in your steering. that will come from worn out parts like the gear box and ball joints, tie rods ect. best thing you can do is lift the front up in the air so the tires are off the ground and do a shake down to see exactly where the play is coming from.

 

According to CARQUEST here, there is no difference. they all will fit. And with my military discount count being a Veteran, the gear box is $137.49 + the core charge. OK, on the power steering pump is there a special tool needed to take the pulley off in order to remove the pump?

 

ALright Truck Noob, Thanks. As far as I can tell everything is tight except for the play going into the gear box, And oil all over starting at the pump. I am assuming that the oil came from the pump...

 

If the front seal is leaking on the pump, it will tend to throw oil in every direction it can get to. That is the way my '88 was anyway. Mine wasn't leaking really bad, but with my 6 cylinder engine and the pump being up top it made a nice pattern on the bottom of the hood etc. I put in a bottle of bars leaks power steering sealer and it stopped the leak in fairly short order, this was many years ago and it don't leak a drop yet. Can't always be that lucky.

If you rent a power steering puller tool, make sure it has the directions with it.

 

Thank you 88n94. Sis said they had put something in it and it had quit leaking,( or at least my brother-n-law hadn't said nothing to her about it leaking...), He also rarely checked the oil either. Any way it had been started and moved about 6 times in the last 5 yrs, and leaks real bad now. Watched a video on you-tube a bit ago, before dinner, and seen how to check everything...guess I need to go over everything again with someone helping me. I checked everything by myself...only thing I can say I got right was checking the play in the gear box. Oh Boy!!!!

 

For when youre looking for the new part, youll need to take in the old one to get it cored otherwise youll have to add on another 30 or 40 to the price. when you bring it in, just check that its the same and has the same hi and lo pressure fttings and you should be set.

 

WiscoTruckGuy, I would love to shop where you are, the core charge for the gear box here in Crestview, Florida is higher than the part. It's $180.00 core charge at every parts house in this area. Guess they want to make sure they get the core back....But yes I plan on having the part in hand when I pick up the new one.