....prior to doing such swap, WHAT is the best way to drain all the old fluid out of this system?? . . . . like how does one get all the fluid out of the power steering box as well???.........thx in advance

mr. Charles

 

Good Question ..... I keep seeing to do it ... even in the eversohelpful Haynes, but no instructions on how to do so.

 

This is how I do it .Just pull the return line off the bottom to drain the pump .Then reinstall it and refill . Start it up , run for 10 minuits and drain it once again . Repeat if its still not clean . Pat

 

I just flushed my old system today,prior to replacing the pump (tomorrow) so the old fluid was completley evacuated.

Remove the return line at the bottom of the pump (be prepared under the truck to catch the fluid). The pump will drain.

Have a bottle of tranny fluid handy (I use Merc III).

Remove the drive belt.

Reach down and plug the return port at the bottom of the pump as you fill the reservoir up with fresh fluid.

Turn the drive pulley by hand, clockwise as you continue to plug port on pump.Watch reservoir level go down and add more when low.

I flushed 1 qt through this way so as to be certain that I had evacuated the steering box and none of the old contaminated fluid made it into the new pump.

I also plan on using a filter in the return line to ensure no contaminates in the new pump.

Ken

 

Boy what a difference the new pump makes!!!

What lead to me performing this upgrade is that I lost power assist in any right turns. Left turn had full power assist. After investigating all possible culprits (axle ujoints, ball joints any other front suspension component) I figured it was stuck valving in the steering gear.

With having 175K on the clock I figured I'd replace the steering gear and upgrade to a new pump.

The steering gear was an easy replace. Just make sure you have access to a pitman arm puller. It makes the job much easier. I cringe when I see people using pickle forks or any other "wedge" and hammering the snot out of them in order to seperate joints.

After installing steering gear I realized that the previous owner of the reman box had boogered up the threads in the mounts, so I had to remove it and tap out the holes with a thread chaser.

The pump was very easy too and much quieter than the factory one. It has the power to turn my 33's lock to lock while sitting still. Something the stock pump could never do unless the truck was rolling.

The pump uses the same pulley, and the same serp belt. Some reports claim a larger belt is needed, but if anything, I need to go with a smaller one to help out the belt tensioner.

The new pump does not center itself in the engine bracket the way the oem unit does, but this doesn't matter.

As for the pressure hose, my 93-97 hose doesn't work. I used the 78-79 Bronco/F150 hose. It doesn't look real clean under the hood though because it is too long.
I might have a hydraulic shop create a custom hose using the 93-97 end for the gear and the 78-79 end at the pump. This would really clean up the install.
You also might be able to just replace the connection at the back of the pump with a fitting that connects to the oem hose.

As a side note, the 78-79 hose connection at the pump is a "swivel" joint. It will rotate 360 degrees and not leak, so don't fret.

The fluid return line needs to be modified to fit. The best thing would be to cut the factory return line somewhere down on the crossmember, flair or rib the end and run rubber hose with clamps to the bottom of the pump.
Better yet, use this opportunity to add an aftermarket cooler to help extend the component/fluid life (something I didn't do at this time).

You should always use new hoses when you replace steering components. The hoses deteriorate from the inside out and will clog orifices in the steering gear (this is what I think happened to my steering gear).

Saving a few bucks now will only cost you more in the future.

Going with all new parts sure beats scrounging wrecking yards for the van steering setup.

Total cost for new parts were:

Pump = $85
78-79 hose =$14
Steering gear= $160
Pitman arm puller=$15
Tierod joint press=$12
2 qrts M/D III=$5

I would definately recommend this swap if your factory pump annoys you.
Good luck!
Ken

 

Ford's fix is to put limited slip rear end additive in the reservoir.

 

I hate doing this so often but Autozone's rent a tool has pitmen arm pullers. I think they are like $20 but you keep as long as you want and get your money back as long as it ain't broke.

 

I have a 1980 E150 that I bought for parts and use for storage. It had a 351W and if I remember correctly it also had a saginaw pump.

 

I just ran out east the other night to pick up a couple door panels a guy on Craigslist was selling.

We got to talking and he told me that he was told by many to just add about an ounce of regular STP to the power steering and it quiets it right down. Said he tried it two years ago and has been quiet ever since.

Has anyone ever heard of this ?

If anyone is going to be changing both their pump and box, they may want to try this first.

 

Just food for thought, but I used to use ATF for power steering fluid on everything. Now I try to use the power steering fluid when I can. On my Peterbilt, which uses a gear pump with a seperate reservoir, I had to replace the hoses a couple times and it seemed like they got hard and deteriorated very fast. I was told to try using motor oil. I remember on an old combine that we used to have, Dad always used non-detergent oil for the hydraulic system. The reason for using non-detergent oil is that the detergents tend to become abrasive and cause the oil to become "dirty". I think that the problem with ATF is that it tends to foam too much and gets too hot in such a small system. This foaming is probably what causes this noise which is similar to having air in the system. I now use cheap non-detergent oil in my Pete and have had no seal or hose problems. I think this is the same effect we have with the pumps on these trucks and why suggestions like STP or Lucas PS oil. On my pickups and 79 Bronco I use the cheap Wal-mart PS oil and it stays clean and works great and appears to be a lighter version of the non-detergent oil. A cooler is also a good suggestion to prolong seal life and hose longevity as well as prevent oil breakdown.

 

I'm doing this conversion right now. I bought a 79 F250 4x4 Pressure Line, but the threads are too small for my steering box. However I did thread the existing pump pressure fitting into the new Cardone pump a few threads and it seemed okay. I was just test fitting the pump because I'm doing the timing chain. All I have to say is the stock pump was TRASH and my fluid looked seriously cooked. I'm going to install the new pump, and push fresh fluid through the system by hand before connecting up the return line. I already blew out what I could using compressed air. If anyone has a part number for the pressure line they used, i'd appreciate it. I have a 1996 F250HD 4x4 7.5L.

Incase anyone is wondering, Cardone is making an adapter bracket that is C shaped to allow it to bolt up to the stock accessory drive bracket. Looks like a quality conversion.

 

My 94 F25o 5.8 NOISY still, even the new pump I bought Noisy too, I thought it was just me, that saginaw pump should work on my 5.8 shouldnt it?

 

Yup, it will work.

 

the power steering whine is to ford as the fuel pump whine is to chevy.

 

ok so yes the pump is noisy. but thats what makes it a 9thgen(?) f-series! cmon now, u cant just deal with the whine? saves you a few bucks to leave it alone too