steering pump rebuild screwed up...

[Gil BullyKatz]

Got my rebuild kit and I thought I put it together exactly the way I took it apart...

but I coulda sworn I heard hissing...

then smoke coming from it when I started the engine up...

the cap was mega tight and when i finally got it off...

The steering fluid was frothy!!!


AAAAARRRRGGG!!!

and maybe it was always there...

but the reservoir looks kinda cracked where it meets the fill cap...

I really screwed the pooch on this one...

Any idea what I did wrong?

 

[old_man]

Frothy means either air or water in the fluid. Jack the front end up and start the engine. Cycle the steering wheel lock to lock about a dozen times to bleed the air. It might quiet down.

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

Frothy means either air or water in the fluid. Jack the front end up and start the engine. Cycle the steering wheel lock to lock about a dozen times to bleed the air. It might quiet down.

Should the bleeding be done with the cap off?

 

[seanR]

The res. is vented, so any air that will escape will find it's way out.

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

Fixed...

Must've been air...

Got home from work and when I removed the cap, I noticed the level of fluid had dropped considerably...

Started it up again and turned the wheels lock to lock...

It was whining and noisy for a while until I loosened the sepentine a little bit...

Seems ok now...

I'll find out tomorrow when I drive it to buy a steering pump cooler!

Thanks for the tips!

 

[ren]

Did you re-check the fluid level or just loosen the belt?

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

Did you re-check the fluid level or just loosen the belt?

Both...

Since the level had dropped overnight, I had to add some more fluid.

and I'm pretty sure I had the belt too tight.