Air in my power steering system

[getthingsready]

So my battery died so I had to move my car without the engine. After I changed the battery, the car started fine, but I started to have symptoms of air bubbles in my power steering system. My steering wheel vibrated violently at any movement to the left and right... so upon investigation online, I learned of the lock to lock procedure with a vacuum pump installed and the engine on... with the front wheel jacked up of course. Anyways, I can't seem to keep my vacuum and I keep aspiration air from the power steering system. I've the the lock to lock procedure about 3 times now, and each time my steering fluid ends up being frotty with air bubbles. So I am guessing I some how have a vacuum leak in my power steering system, but what is puzzling me is that I don't have any visual power steering fluid leak nor am I loosing any power steering fluid. Does that make any sense to anyone out there? Thanks in advance for your insights.

 

[Gadget X]

Raise the front wheels off the ground, and slowly turn the wheel from lock to lock several times, with the engine off! That should clear your bubbles! Good luck!

 

[getthingsready]

Did that technique too... and no go. With my year, I am supposed to install a vacuum pump to draw the air out. Thanks though.

 

[imp]

Check the fluid lines for a possible leak on the suction side, probably very close to, or at the pump. Such a leak could be allowing air to enter the hydraulic system. Failing to actually see that an air leak into the system is occurring, it might be worth the expense to replace the inlet hose to the pump.

This all assumes you have not noticed fluid leaking anywhere. imp

 

[drdoom]

Turn lock to lock a few times engine on not off.

 

[my98nnj]

And leave the vehicle on the ground, rolling slowly. You may have to repeat this a few times.

 

[shadowless127]

I was in a similar situation as you and it took me like a month to figure out how to get rid of it. With the car on the ground and engine on, pop the hood, open the power steering fluid reservoir and turn the wheel from lock to lock a bunch of times. Chances are after you do this you will see your fluid level decrease, add fluid to bring it back up to the proper level then turn the wheel lock to lock a few more times and check the level of fluid. This is what I did and I haven't had a single issue since, and that was back in December.

 

[getthingsready]

I was in a similar situation as you and it took me like a month to figure out how to get rid of it. With the car on the ground and engine on, pop the hood, open the power steering fluid reservoir and turn the wheel from lock to lock a bunch of times. Chances are after you do this you will see your fluid level decrease, add fluid to bring it back up to the proper level then turn the wheel lock to lock a few more times and check the level of fluid. This is what I did and I haven't had a single issue since, and that was back in December.

How many times did you have to do that? Actually, how long did you have to do it in total? I've been doing the same thing... but it is taking forever. I've probably done that for about 30 minutes in total already.

 

[koda2000]

wheels ON the ground and engine RUNNING. keep turning the steering wheel from lock to lock. if you haven't lost any fluid you shouldn't need to add any. if you do add make sure it's Mercon V ATF. it could take a while (maybe days) to get all the air out, but you should see some improvement right away. NEVER turn the steering wheel with the engine off or this will occur. i believe this happens because air gets sucked in through the seals when you do this.

 

[getthingsready]

wheels ON the ground and engine RUNNING. keep turning the steering wheel from lock to lock. if you haven't lost any fluid you shouldn't need to add any. if you do add make sure it's Mercon V ATF. it could take a while (maybe days) to get all the air out, but you should see some improvement right away. NEVER turn the steering wheel with the engine off or this will occur. i believe this happens because air gets sucked in through the seals when you do this.

AIR GETS SUCKED IN THROUGH THE SEALS!?!?!?! Now that makes sense now why I would have a leak when I put on the vacuum. I guess I will keep doing the lock to lock procedure without the vacuum... for days...

 

[koda2000]

AIR GETS SUCKED IN THROUGH THE SEALS!?!?!?! Now that makes sense now why I would have a leak when I put on the vacuum. I guess I will keep doing the lock to lock procedure without the vacuum... for days...

that's my theory. where else would the air come from? do whatever you like.

 

[getthingsready]

that's my theory. where else would the air come from? do whatever you like.

hahaha... I just thought that it would get sucked in through the reservoir... Such a weird system that would allow this... I've run plenty of calls without the engine on, and my explorer is the first one that is giving me a problem with power steering afterwards.

 

[koda2000]

hahaha... I just thought that it would get sucked in through the reservoir... Such a weird system that would allow this... I've run plenty of calls without the engine on, and my explorer is the first one that is giving me a problem with power steering afterwards.

yeah, it's a Ford thing. in my theory, the seals are designed to prevent leaks under pressure. when you turn the wheels with the engine off the fluid is pulled one way or the other creating a vacuum (or suction) which pulls on the seals in a direction they weren't designed to withstand. this allows air to enter the system through the rack. anyway that's me theory and i've never heard anyone off a better one. after changing a rack on a mid ninety's Pontiac i had, it took a good week to work all the air bubbles out of the system. of course, that was just noise, not accompanying vibration.

 

[imp]

This is getting mystifying, like a weird unexplainable phenomenon! Air gets admitted into a closed system where none should be, it f..ks up the operation of the system, then everybody tries to figger out how!

Oil seals DO prevent leakage against pressure, but DO NOT prevent leakage, very effectively, in the other direction. So, yes, maybe that's how air is entering.

MY question is, if air so easily gets IN, why are tens of thousands, or more, of the same units NOT letting air in?

Or are they, and nobody knows?? imp

 

[koda2000]

This is getting mystifying, like a weird unexplainable phenomenon! Air gets admitted into a closed system where none should be, it f..ks up the operation of the system, then everybody tries to figger out how!

Oil seals DO prevent leakage against pressure, but DO NOT prevent leakage, very effectively, in the other direction. So, yes, maybe that's how air is entering.

MY question is, if air so easily gets IN, why are tens of thousands, or more, of the same units NOT letting air in?

Or are they, and nobody knows?? imp

well, if you want to experiment and screw up your power steering you're welcome to try.

if you turn the steering wheel (or the wheels manually) with the engine OFF they do let air in. this is a common complaint, which has been covered here many times.

a few months ago, one guy had problems for months. he tried everything to get the air out without success. then he admitted to having changed the p/s fluid and had not replaced it with Mercon V. he finally drained it and refilled it with Mercon V and the problem apparently went away. in his case, i believe pump cavitation was the problem. you hear about this happening with outboard motor props.

 

[shadowless127]

How many times did you have to do that? Actually, how long did you have to do it in total? I've been doing the same thing... but it is taking forever. I've probably done that for about 30 minutes in total already.

Not nearly that long. 5min got the job done. I did it in an Advance Auto parking lot.

 

[imp]

well, if you want to experiment and screw up your power steering you're welcome to try.

if you turn the steering wheel (or the wheels manually) with the engine OFF they do let air in. this is a common complaint, which has been covered here many times.

a few months ago, one guy had problems for months. he tried everything to get the air out without success. then he admitted to having changed the p/s fluid and had not replaced it with Mercon V. he finally drained it and refilled it with Mercon V and the problem apparently went away. in his case, i believe pump cavitation was the problem. you hear about this happening with outboard motor props.

You are right about cavitation, but the concept does not involve trapped air. Cavitation is the loss of liquid fluid in small, localized areas, due to much lower fluid pressure than that prevailing.

Cavitation can be a VERY bad thing in fluid-driven systems, to the extent that it can actually erode away metal parts. Historically, (story time), some of the largest water pumps ever built, intended for use in the then being-built Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant west of Phoenix, AZ, began eating their impellers due to cavitation.

The Japanese company which won the contract to build the pumps admitted they were of unprecedented size, an unknown from their viewpoint. These pumps were rated at something like 120,000 gallons per minute! imp