Hey, all, I did a search but didn't find much about this in relation to our 7.3 trucks.

The power steering pump in my truck (truck in signature below) started moaning sometimes, and when it does, it feels funny, like the power assist is dropping out. Checked fluid and it's full. I've heard to check the screen in the reservoir and clean out reservoir as one thing to look at. Anything else?

Also, I may eventually put a hydraulic winch on this truck, which runs off the PS pump. If I replace the pump, what's a good, strong, long-lived replacement that would work well with hyd winch motor?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

You talking about the Hydroboost whine?

 

People have retrofitted GM Saginaw P series pumps, but doing so may or may not be a bolt in affair. The Ford bracket might need to be modified, and it is likely an obsolete part, leaving you to hunt in the junk yards for another if the retrofit doesn't go your way.

You might have to resolve a reservoir issue as well, as while the native reservoir to the Saginaw pump is metal instead of Ford's nylon, the Saginaw reservoir may have a smaller volume, and might not be baffled, the combination of which could create churning which leads to foam which leads to air which leads to more noise than the Ford factory pump you are trying to quiet down. The aftermarket has solutions, by either installing a remote reservoir or by some other other creative and costly means.

And the line porting may need looking into, especially if you plan on adding another demand unit to the hydraulic circuit.

Speaking of lines, do you know that the noise is from the pump, rather than from a line? There can be a noise harmonic present from the inherent restriction on the pump due to feeding fluid through the hydroboost power assisted brake system first prior to steering. Around the time your truck was built, Ford was adopting a newly designed pressure line from the pump to the hydroboost with that incorporated a "tuning" cable to cancel out these inherent harmonics.

And now you wish to add a third consumer of hydraulic power... a winch. Why? What will you use the winch for? When will you use the winch?

What will you do when you get stuck, and you go to self recover, and you need to be able to turn your wheels this way and that to get unstuck at the same time as you are self recovering with your winch, only you can't steer because the hydraulic power that would otherwise be available to assist you in turning your stuck wheels at a stand still is no longer available, because the flow is needed to make the winch work?

Just like when folks find that they cannot steer very well at a standstill with their foot on the brakes in hydroboosted systems, due in part to the fact that flow is prioritized to powering the brakes first, which reduces the available work potential remaining in the system to apply toward steering, so too, would a hydraulic winch become a competing consumer of that fluid power. One or the other consumer will suffer, Or all three.

And what about when you need power brakes to actively and dynamically anchor and release the truck as you are winching, especially if winching out of ditch or gully, where gravity remains a constant and unrelenting force that would pull your truck back into the rut your trying to work out of, were it not for the ratcheting effect that a working brake system can supplement your winching efforts with? With a hydraulic winch sharing the same fluid power circuit as the hydroboost brake system, you might find you have less of both braking power and winching power, nevermind steering.

And what if your not only stuck, but your engine won't run? Even if you would normally keep your engine running with an electric winch anyway, just to keep the alternator spinning so that the batteries won't drain too rapidly... if the something else broke at the same time you got stuck (radiator tank cracked and drained all the coolant, for example), what options will you have without a running engine and a hydraulic winch? It is very easy to hook up another vehicle's battery or batteries to power your electric winch regardless of whether or not your engine is down. But I doubt anyone on or off the road would permit you to cut into their vehicle's power steering hydraulic system to help you recover. Jumper cables are a common carry item. An inventory of hydraulic fittings and extra long high pressure hydraulic hoses, along with the capacity and time to conduct a complete bleeding procedure, and restore the other vehicle back to the way it was when all done... not likely in anyone's toolbox.

There is a reason why electric winches are overwhelmingly chosen over hydraulic winches that are operated off of a power steering system. Brakes and steering are life threateningly important, and introducing an aftermarket appliance into the OEM brake and steering system's life blood is hard to find justification for, given all the downsides cited above. On the other hand, if you had a PTO transmission and a separate PTO driven hydraulic pump and reservoir system for dedicated equipment needs on the truck chassis, then a decent argument in favor of the continuous cool running power that a hydraulic winch can provide could be made. But that isn't what you are proposing to do here.

Accordingly, I suggest you reconsider your plans.

 

Thanks, Zach. Maybe I'll do a fluid change.

Thanks also for your detailed and thoughtful reply, Y2KW57. Winch would mainly be used for pulling logs out of the woods, so no steering needed, although braking would be needed (manual transmission). So maybe not such a good idea.

I appreciate your help, fellas.