- Joined
- November 11, 2005
- Messages
- 56,691
- Reaction score
- 1,186
- City, State
- Brooklyn, NY
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 88 89 93 95 96 Aerostars
The front seal on my 1995 Aerostar van blew out. This seal is sold as a replacement part but no local store stocks it. They are a special order, and take a while to get. Don't try to order parts during a holiday season. They tell you that they will get them in the next day or at the end of the week. I had a spare pump from my old 1989 Mercury Sable which is the same part number for the actual pump but not for the reservoir. The reservoir on the 1995 van has the inlet facing down while the reservoir on the 1989 Sable has the fitting facing the cabin area. This wasn't an issue since I installed a filter with a short piece of hose.
The front fan assembly has to be removed to get access to the power steering pump. Here's a front view of the pump:
Even though it's a van with limited under the hood access, it's not so bad since it's a RWD. Some FWD engines are very difficult to work on even in cars with a lot of under the hood access.
The next step is to unscrew the hydraulic fittings. The pressure line was very difficult to remove. I wasn't able to separate the hydraulic hose from the pump fitting on the pressure side so I transferred the whole part as one assembly. There wasn't enough access to the return hose at this point so I left this for later since it only has a pinch clamp connecting it to the pump reservoir.
The front pulley had to be removed to obtain access to the three front bolts. A special tool is required to remove the pulley. Use caution since the pulley is a fragile plastic, and chips easily.
The front pulley is out of the way. You could see that the front seal on the pump blew out of the metal frame:
This was the reason that two different types of stop leak chemicals didn't work. There wasn't anything left of the seal. Stop leak chemicals cause rubber seals to expand to make a tighter bond. I wouldn't be surprised if the stop leak additives caused this to happen since a lot of power steering fluids have stop leak chemicals added to them.
After the three bolts are removed, the pump could be turned on its side to remove the lower return hose:
Always use a special hose removal tool on this fitting. Failure to do this might cause the lower nipple on the reservoir to break off into the return hose. The auto parts store won't accept it as a valid core, and you will have to pay a core charge when you purchase another remanufactured pump.
It's now a good time to install a filter on the return line before the pump gets in the way. You have two choices of filters:
The orange filter on the left is for power steering, and the black filter on the right is for a transmission. Both have the same fittings, and could be used for power steering systems.
The pump is bolted into place with three bolts. The hydraulic fitting & return hose are reconnected next. The pulley requires an special installation tool:
You have to hold the front bolt on the tool while turning the inner nut to press the pulley back into place:
The tool will get loose several times while tighting it. My tool got stripped on the front bolt so don't over tighten it. Replace the belt, front fan assembly, refill the reservoir, start the engine, then turn the wheel several times from lock to lock, then add more fluid.
The front fan assembly has to be removed to get access to the power steering pump. Here's a front view of the pump:
Even though it's a van with limited under the hood access, it's not so bad since it's a RWD. Some FWD engines are very difficult to work on even in cars with a lot of under the hood access.
The next step is to unscrew the hydraulic fittings. The pressure line was very difficult to remove. I wasn't able to separate the hydraulic hose from the pump fitting on the pressure side so I transferred the whole part as one assembly. There wasn't enough access to the return hose at this point so I left this for later since it only has a pinch clamp connecting it to the pump reservoir.
The front pulley had to be removed to obtain access to the three front bolts. A special tool is required to remove the pulley. Use caution since the pulley is a fragile plastic, and chips easily.
The front pulley is out of the way. You could see that the front seal on the pump blew out of the metal frame:
This was the reason that two different types of stop leak chemicals didn't work. There wasn't anything left of the seal. Stop leak chemicals cause rubber seals to expand to make a tighter bond. I wouldn't be surprised if the stop leak additives caused this to happen since a lot of power steering fluids have stop leak chemicals added to them.
After the three bolts are removed, the pump could be turned on its side to remove the lower return hose:
Always use a special hose removal tool on this fitting. Failure to do this might cause the lower nipple on the reservoir to break off into the return hose. The auto parts store won't accept it as a valid core, and you will have to pay a core charge when you purchase another remanufactured pump.
It's now a good time to install a filter on the return line before the pump gets in the way. You have two choices of filters:
The orange filter on the left is for power steering, and the black filter on the right is for a transmission. Both have the same fittings, and could be used for power steering systems.
The pump is bolted into place with three bolts. The hydraulic fitting & return hose are reconnected next. The pulley requires an special installation tool:
You have to hold the front bolt on the tool while turning the inner nut to press the pulley back into place:
The tool will get loose several times while tighting it. My tool got stripped on the front bolt so don't over tighten it. Replace the belt, front fan assembly, refill the reservoir, start the engine, then turn the wheel several times from lock to lock, then add more fluid.
