steering pump rebuild screwed up...

Got my rebuild kit and I thought I put it together exactly the way I took it apart...

but I coulda sworn I heard hissing...

then smoke coming from it when I started the engine up...

the cap was mega tight and when i finally got it off...

The steering fluid was frothy!!!


AAAAARRRRGGG!!!

and maybe it was always there...

but the reservoir looks kinda cracked where it meets the fill cap...

I really screwed the pooch on this one...

Any idea what I did wrong?

Frothy means either air or water in the fluid. Jack the front end up and start the engine. Cycle the steering wheel lock to lock about a dozen times to bleed the air. It might quiet down.

old_man said:

Frothy means either air or water in the fluid. Jack the front end up and start the engine. Cycle the steering wheel lock to lock about a dozen times to bleed the air. It might quiet down.

Click to expand...

Should the bleeding be done with the cap off?

The res. is vented, so any air that will escape will find it's way out.

Fixed...

Must've been air...

Got home from work and when I removed the cap, I noticed the level of fluid had dropped considerably...

Started it up again and turned the wheels lock to lock...

It was whining and noisy for a while until I loosened the sepentine a little bit...

Seems ok now...

I'll find out tomorrow when I drive it to buy a steering pump cooler!

Thanks for the tips!

Did you re-check the fluid level or just loosen the belt?

ren said:

Did you re-check the fluid level or just loosen the belt?

Click to expand...

Both...

Since the level had dropped overnight, I had to add some more fluid.

and I'm pretty sure I had the belt too tight.