Power steering pump expelling fluid...

[35Remmy]

Hey guys, lately the cap on my power steering pump has had some fluid sitting in it like the pump pressure was too high and it expelled some oil.

Is this normal?

The pump was changed by the Ford dealer when I bought the truck (8 months ago) because they felt the old pump was "loud" and on it's way out.

Well, this pump from the dealership is loud too!!!

 

[glfredrick]

Hey guys, lately the cap on my power steering pump has had some fluid sitting in it like the pump pressure was too high and it expelled some oil.

Is this normal?

The pump was changed by the Ford dealer when I bought the truck (8 months ago) because they felt the old pump was "loud" and on it's way out.

Well, this pump from the dealership is loud too!!!

Welcome to Ford power steering pumps.

The best cure is to replace your Ford unit with a Saginaw pump, but that is a little bit difficult, and the parts are hard to find (Ford used Saginaw pumps on vans and heavy cars -- even they know their pumps are gargabe!). Napa sells them, cost is in the $150 range, and cores are non-existant.

In your case, it isn't excessive pressure, there is no pressure under the cap. That is a mere storage container for the oil and it has to breath in order to let oil move through the system as it expands and contracts from heating and cooling and steering use.

What I'd suspect is a leak in a return line, allowing the oil to foam up. That will do two things: 1) It will blow out the cap, making a mess 2) It will eat up your pump from something called cavitation (air in oil works similarly inside pumps to introducing a handful of BBs.)

One other thing comes to mind -- if you have recently pushed your truck and steered it with the motor off, the pump may have belched out some oil from the cap. They do that.

Otherwise, I'd be looking for leaks!

 

[Bill Kemp]

Take it back to the dealer and ask them what the problem is with "their" pump.

 

[35Remmy]

GL...thanks for the ideas, especially the leak in the return line. I'll be sure to check everything over tomorrow.

What is the freaking problem...how hard was it to design a reliable, QUIET power steering pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a Ford fanatic, but the steering pump issue is ridiculous.

My '88 Ranger STX is quieter!!!

 

[glfredrick]

Ford fanatic or not, each company has some things that they do better than their rivals. Saginaw, though a GM-based company, sells steering gear to almost everyone, including Ford. It's sort of like Dana, who makes axles for everyone.

As far as I know, Ford never reallly did make a good power steering pump since the early 80s.

Oh, and all the "quality is job 1" and other advertising hype was just that (for Ford). I used to work in the hydraulics industry, and we were a supplier for Ford, GM, John Deer, International Harvestor, Cat, etc. Ford was the worst as far as actual quality control was concerned. They would have a big dog and pony show at our plant once a year, and once we were certified, we could have sent them broken parts in a box and they would never have cared a bit. EVERYONE else was much more rigourous, demanding QA specs on every order shipped, etc. That Ford lived through that era and survived is a miracle...

Note that I'm not really ripping on Ford with this -- every manufacturer has their issues -- just take your loyalty with a grain of salt and use the best parts available and be happy.

 

[35Remmy]

GL...the reason I'm a Ford fanatic is because I left the military 3 years ago as a mechanic who worked on mostly GM (and some Ford) vehicles that were sent to hell and back. The Fords were the only trucks that held up, period. GM products made my life miserable, and I'll never own one again, especially after past experience even before my enlistment. The problem with GM? They underline it.

 

[glfredrick]

GL...the reason I'm a Ford fanatic is because I left the military 3 years ago as a mechanic who worked on mostly GM (and some Ford) vehicles that were sent to hell and back. The Fords were the only trucks that held up, period. GM products made my life miserable, and I'll never own one again, especially after past experience even before my enlistment. The problem with GM? They underline it.

No problem... You're the one that doesn't like the Ford steering pumps...

 

[ranger7ltr]

When I do a V8 conversion on a Ranger, I started using the V8 Explorer ps pump with remote reservoir a long time ago... That pump is quiet and efficient whether I use the old recirculating ball steering gear on older rangers or a rack on later models...

The old style Ford pumps just were noisy, leaky, and messy in gerenal.. Maybe I will convert from that one to the Explorer V8 pump now that I have a 99 Explorer Sport to play with...

 

[35Remmy]

Ranger...is the 5.0 explorer pump a direct bolt on besides the remote reservoir?

Yeah, my '00 5.0 Ex steering pump is completely quiet.