New and Interesting Power Steering Shake

[maggie922]

Hi! Long time reader, first time poster. I have a 1995 Eddie Bauer that, with the help of this forum, my machinist father, and a willingness to get dirty, I have been able to do all of the engine work on myself (except the stupid starter, but that's another story).

Anyway, my situation is this: on Friday, about a mile from my house, my idler locked up and snapped my serpentine belt. Since I live in the hinterlands, I decided to turn around and go back home rather than wait an hour in the cold for a $75, one-mile tow. I had plenty of battery to make it that far, and the car hadn't yet warmed up, so the water pump wasn't an issue, but I did have to make the rather sharp turn into my driveway without benefit of power steering.

I replaced the idler and the belt yesterday, fired it up to recharge the battery, and everything seemed to be spinning properly. Because I'm apparently overconfident in my auto repair abilities, I didn't do a test drive. Lesson learned: today on the way to work, the power steering bucked and chattered at low speeds (especially sharp right turns), and talked back to me when I went over some rough ground.

I wasn't having issues with the power steering prior to this (beyond the usual cold whininess that every single Ford power steering pump ever built exhibits), so I took to the forums to search. I have it narrowed down to two things: either steering the car without the belt introduced air into the system (the wheels never moved when the car was turned off, though, so how likely is it that air got in the system?), or I did damage to the pump by driving the car without the belt.

I'm at work right now, so I can't try burping the pump, so I guess I'm just looking for opinions. Is it really possible that this killed my power steering? And honest advice on how easy/hard it is to replace a power steering pump on a gravel driveway in the winter would be appreciated (because I'm NOT having a repeat of the Great Starter Debacle of 2015 ). I've already done some forum searching and checked out a couple of YouTube videos, but videos have a habit of making things look easier than they are, and they're all done in garages with fun stuff like concrete floors and climate control.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

 

[koda2000]

If you turned the steering wheel w/out the p/s pump running air get's into the rack and causes rather violent shaking in the steering wheel. This seems serious, but is not.

To get the air out, drive slowly and turn the steering wheel from lock-to-lock (ie: all the way to the left and then all the way to the right) 3 or four times to work the air out. Very common complaint, very easy to remedy.

 

[toypaseo]

To get the air out, drive slowly and turn the steering wheel from lock-to-lock (ie: all the way to the left and then all the way to the right) 3 or four times to work the air out. Very common complaint, very easy to remedy.

That's what my ex-Ford mechanic ex-neighbor did to mine, but he just did the turning side to side while sitting in his garage...

 

[koda2000]

That's what my ex-Ford mechanic ex-neighbor did to mine, but he just did the turning side to side while sitting in his garage...

You can do it with the vehicle stationary, but it puts a lot on strain on the steering and tires. I just do it in an empty parking lot while rolling.

 

[maggie922]

You can do it with the vehicle stationary, but it puts a lot on strain on the steering and tires. I just do it in an empty parking lot while rolling.

Yeah, I just dropped a metric ton of money on tires: I'm in favor of doing this either in loose mud or while rolling. Just to verify, I do take the cap off the pump for this, yes?

 

[koda2000]

Yeah, I just dropped a metric ton of money on tires: I'm in favor of doing this either in loose mud or while rolling. Just to verify, I do take the cap off the pump for this, yes?

Nope. Not necessary.

 

[Robman]

Jack the front end up if you don't want to do it while rolling.

 

[chefduane]

I just did a few figure 8's in a parking lot. Clears the shakes right up.

 

[maggie922]

Thanks, all! The parking lot at work is pretty empty tonight, so I'll do some creative figure-eights and report back if it doesn't work.

Crossing my fingers!

 

[Flash]

That's what my ex-Ford mechanic ex-neighbor did to mine, but he just did the turning side to side while sitting in his garage...

With the door open I hope.