Power Steering only works one way?

[mechroneal]

Update: Well I thought this was going to be the weekend to get stuff done. Unfortunately, I had to move from one bedroom to another this weekend, and lost a bit of time on that.

I hate to sound like an idiot, but I'm good at it, how do I remove the Pittman arm? I got the top and bottom bolts off, manual says I need "Ford Special Tool Fc234523rsefsdv-123", or some such madness. I thought it was just a pickle fork, so a couple of pry bars should work...wrong!

 

[mechroneal]

Update: Well I thought this was going to be the weekend to get stuff done. Unfortunately, I had to move from one bedroom to another this weekend, and lost a bit of time on that.

I hate to sound like an idiot, but I'm good at it, how do I remove the Pittman arm? I got the top and bottom bolts off, manual says I need "Ford Special Tool Fc234523rsefsdv-123", or some such madness. I thought it was just a pickle fork, so a couple of pry bars should work...wrong!

Okay, scratch that. I have a front-end kit reserved at Autozone for later this week, so I will just use the puller. After looking through some more threads (and realizing I misspelles "Pitman" earlier) I only have one other question for now: Do I disconnect the Pitman Arm at both ends, or just the 1.25" bolt off the steering box? It seems like both would be logical, but the book only refers to the steering box connection.

 

[DeRocha]

Okay, scratch that. I have a front-end kit reserved at Autozone for later this week, so I will just use the puller. After looking through some more threads (and realizing I misspelles "Pitman" earlier) I only have one other question for now: Do I disconnect the Pitman Arm at both ends, or just the 1.25" bolt off the steering box? It seems like both would be logical, but the book only refers to the steering box connection.

yes you want to disconnect the pitman arm from both ends. Remove the pitman arm to the drag link and then use the puller to remove it from the steering gear.

BTW as scrivyscriv has indicated NEVER hold the steering wheel @ full lock. It causes the pump to be overloaded (thats why you hear the whine)..

 

[mechroneal]

Ok, got the pitman arm off, refilled & bled system, which (as I figured) did not help. I have the new steering box, gotta put on this week. It looks easy enough...I hope.

EDIT: They gave me a pickle fork, not a puller. It worked on the bottom end, but I never did get it off the steering link at the top.

 

[mechroneal]

If anyone is still reading at this point, excuse me while I talk my way through:

The power steering only works on one side. This can't be caused by the pump, as it would stop on both sides. The only thing this leaves (in theory) is the steering box, which engages the PS pump as needed. Since it isn't going to one side, that leaves a blockage in the gearing, or in the tubes (I should have check this weekend, drat).

That was just to make sure I understand this right. I was raised with a mechanic/machinist father who always walked me through these things. He's been on the road for a trucker, and wrenching on cars was never my strong suit. At 26 years old, I admit it, I need mah dad!

Now that being said, does this sum up how the system works? I am trying to wrap my mind around this, but the steering box...mystifies me.

 

[mechroneal]

Pulled off the steering gear yestersday. I went to replace, and noticed something in the instructions to the effect of "Ford 4x4 OEM boxes have a crappy design that makes them very hard to bleed. This may cause loss of power steering to ONE OR BOTH SIDES. To properly bleed, allow engine to warm to operating temp and turn wheel to full crank. Allow wheel to remain there for 5 minutes with engine off. Rewarm engine, repeat on opposite side (with engine off). This may need to be repeated MANY times to remove air. In extreme cases, a vacuum system may be needed to flush the system."

Now I don't have a 4x, but this is the first thing I have seen that mentions losing PS to one side as a symptom. Could this be the problem? I tried the bleed procedure to no avail (did it about 10 time last night). I do not have a vacuum system to assist, and I have a new steering gear if all else fails (of course if I could take back this $160 part + $140 core, that's be okay!).

Also, how much PS fluid should the whole system take?

 

[mechroneal]

Bump. Anyone?

 

[scrivyscriv]

I don't have any numbers on how much PS fluid the system holds - looked it up and found capacities for almost everything BUT that. I would think four normal size bottles would be more than enough.

As far as air being the problem, unless you're missing part of the bleeding instructions somehow... You might as well go ahead and replace the box. There's nothing like beating a dead horse in troubleshooting. If you can break down the original box and inspect everything, do it - see if you can come up with a satisfactory answer for what happened. I don't know how accessible the innards are though.

 

[fixxxer]

Maybe this link will help with the bleeding procedure:
Ford Shop Manual

It's for a Ford tractor but I can't see that the basic principles would be all that different

This is for 1991-1999 Explorers

 

[mechroneal]

Maybe this link will help with the bleeding procedure:
Ford Shop Manual

It's for a Ford tractor but I can't see that the basic principles would be all that different

This is for 1991-1999 Explorers

I got the new gear on yesterday...only to discover the nut securing the pitman arm from the old gear is a different thread pitch, and won't fit. I am more than pissed right now, especially after dealing with the clueless /b/tards from autozone. Argh...I have to call around and find out who has a nut that fits. Anyone know what the thread pitches are? The nut I have appears to be a fine thread, and the shaft has a coarse thread. Other than that it fits fine. I was going to fill and bleed last night, but got steamed when I couldn't re-attach the pitman arm.

Can someone who succesfully replaced a steering gear tell me the bleeding process they used? I have heard lik 5 differing methods. The one linked above (basically turning the wheel back and forth) produced tiny air bubles for about 40 minutes of bleeding, before we gave up.

 

[Maniak]

I didn't do anything odd when bleeding our ps when I changed out the PS box. I just turned the wheel all the way and held it there for < 5 seconds.. Then did the same to the other side.. That got rid of about 1/2 or more of the noise. The rest went away within 1 week of driving.

Also, we use Mobile 1 synthetic ATF in the PS instead of PS fluid.

~Mark

 

[mechroneal]

Ok, sounds good. So bleeding it improperly shouldn't in theory cause a major problem?

I was under the impression a large enough air-bubble could in fact be the cause. Right now, I am hung up on getting a bolt that fits!

 

[mechroneal]

Problem solved. See here.