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I just replaced my PS Pump (reman’d from Clay), High pressure hose from hydroboost to pump (new motorcraft), high pressure hose from hydroboost to redhead steering gear box, and installed the Redhead, and new tie rod end from drag link to pitman arm. The only things I didn’t replace was the PS cooler, line from the cooler to the Redhead, and line from the cooler to the PS pump.
All that being said, I followed all the steps from redhead with regards to filling and bleeding but my fluid is insanely aerated. New Mobil 1 ATF. Here’s a screen shot of a video I took yesterday, the bubbles were swirling coming from the HB to the pump.
I tried another bleed today, about 3 qts, and here is a pic of the clear tubing with tons of air bubbles in it.
The pump whines every time you get close to right or left lock, or press the brakes. I’m at a loss. I didn’t have this aeration issue before replacing everything. Could air be getting suckin somewhere? And if so, where?
Im not 100% on fluid flow direction but think it runs from HB to Redhead, then cooler, the into pump, then back the Hydroboost, but I have no idea where that return line that’s right next to the pump cap comes into play.
I wonder if “flushing” would help to purge some air? Of course with the all new fluid I would capture to reuse. Keep in mind I don’t know what I’m doing here, just throwing out some ideas. Here’s a video I used when replacing a hose.
I’ve flushed it twice now and it seems to be getting a little better. I’m going to try the steps from the post you linked to either later today or tomorrow. I also read on here about folks adding 1 oz of Archoil 9100 in the PS pump and it stopping the whine.
I can absolutely say with 100% confidence the pump and gear can be a bear to burp and bleed. On my second POS AutoZone gear I installed, the air trapped in the system showed itself several months later after the ambient temperature dropped into the 20's for 48 hours. This was after thoroughly bleeding the system when I installed the gear.
I ended up pushing two gallons of Valvoline synthetic ATF (dark red bottle) through before the air was finally out.
I used the same process as in the video above and had the wheels off the ground so my wife could turn the steering wheel from lock to lock and push on the brakes. You could have air being introduced into the system, but chances are if you are not seeing a leak or ATF outside the system, then that is not likely the case.
The air is predominantly going to release into the system at the ends of the turn. I’m always sure to bump it so it makes noise a few times. You can definitely bleed it as described above and I have done it that way. However, it can be annoying to remove all the air. Several times now I use the mighty vac tool with power steering adapter. Unfortunately you’ll find the mighty vac is not so mighty And by zip tying all the fittings and using your own hose will help out a lot. I will say it has not let me
down yet but it’s a good workout. Planning on buying a electric vacuum pump in the near future. The power steering fitting they sell is of good quality.
I have attached the FSM procedure for bleeding the power steering system. There is another version that has the technician remove the fuel pump fuse instead of the IDM relay. This was for a 2000 MY, so if you have something different and decide to use this method, just pull the appropriate fuse/relay.
Just to give you a bit more information, background and choices going forward.
I’m planning to drive it a bit today and see how it acts. I’ve got my granddaughter currently until her mom comes to get her so I’m on baby duty. If she was a little older I’d have her turning the wheel. Lol
I have attached the FSM procedure for bleeding the power steering system. There is another version that has the technician remove the fuel pump fuse instead of the IDM relay. This was for a 2000 MY, so if you have something different and decide to use this method, just pull the appropriate fuse/relay.
Just to give you a bit more information, background and choices going forward.
I wonder what the difference is between cranking the engine over with the IDM relay removed, and actually having the engine running?
Driving the truck will purge the air out of the fluid. Be careful at first as you may have a soft brake pedal, but it will firm up as the air gets aerated out.
Bled another 2 qts through, and seems to have quoted down quite a bit. I drove it about 20 miles today and the steering definitely feels tighter and there’s no play in the wheel.
Driving the truck will purge the air out of the fluid. Be careful at first as you may have a soft brake pedal, but it will firm up as the air gets aerated out.
I would tend to agree with this, but that was not at all the case in my situation. The air that was trapped in my steering system did not make itself known until many months later and thousands of miles. Not until the ambient temperature dropped to the 20's for 48 hours.
For the months prior and the thousands of miles, the steering and braking performed as expected of a well functioning system.
I wonder what the difference is between cranking the engine over with the IDM relay removed, and actually having the engine running?
When I bled the system both times I have had to after replacing the gear, I used the "no start" tune. In my mind, this is the same result as removing the IDM relay.
I believe the reason for this method is to allow the technician to keep up with the demand of fluid as the reservoir contents is being pushed into the system. Once the ATF level stabilized and the risk of the pump going dry was removed, I started the engine and used the steering wheel and brake method to bleed the system.
The way I see it, there are two phases. The fill until fluid level stabilizes and the bleed air out phase.
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