Wasn't quite sure where to place this one. It's been a really long week for the Electra and me. Power steering troubles. In the last 7 days I've had both the power steering pump and box out of the car (curse, grumble, curse...right hand drive conversions...grumble, throw spanner, curse, kick wall - hurt ankle) and while I was at it I decided to re-route my power steering lines. I could fill this page with the stories from just this last week but for now I only have this one basic query which is about the powersteering cap. Read on... I understand that the power steering system will bleed itself automatically, so while the car was up on stands (pitman arm disconnected) I slowly turned the wheel from lock to lock(touching the ends but not dwelling there) several dozen times until the fluid was clear. I switched the engine off at which point a huge waterfall/2 foot fountian of frothy pink liquid erupted all over my engine, windhsield, underhood...everywhere. Ok, so it needed burping. I can understand that - 'thems' the breaks. The engine could probably do with a clean anyway. Well, this happened another two times before the pump started to "feel better". I was satisfied that the the fluid looked clear (no bubbles) and we took it for a spin around the block. The steering is a bit notchy when 'steering' down the road in a straight line but it works. My problem is that now the fluid is squirting up through the tiny hole in the power steering pump filler cap (like a radiator cap but with a hole in the top). I am really getting tired of wiping down my entire engine bay daily. What is going on here? The pump is not overfilled, I check it every time. I've had a fairly long look through the manual and couldn't find a spec for the filler cap. There is obviously a need for the little hole to vent the system or it wouldn't be there. What does it do anyway? Relieve pressure or vacuum? Anyone got any input on this at all? P.S. Yes, the wide rear tyres on my new avatar are photoshop fakes.
There are three things I can think of that could be wrong. 1. You have switched supply and return lines (Don't know if PS would "kinda" work this way, but I seems possible) 2. You didn't use highpressure lines when you rerouted the lines. That would make the lines "pump-up" until the PS pump stops rotating, causing a backsurge that most likely would blow out through all holes it can find. 3. Your lines are too small Don't know if it makes any sense but it's a start
Thanks Pete, All my supplies where obtained from an automatic transmission and power steering supplies house. I explained everything to them and they gave me two hoses. The high pressure line has an OD of 19mm and has two steel braids and is rubber inside and out. The low pressure line the same but with 2 fabric braids (sheaths) and is 17.5mm. They are secure and have been connected to the correct inlets and outlets both on the pump and the box. Since my first post I rang around some transmission shops (they usually handle power steerng as well) and none of them can ever remember specs on the power steering pump filler cap. One guy said he's pretty sure that it's just a small hole and is designed to release oil when it's over filled (mmm). "It's possible that it hasn't finished bleeding. Air takes a while to release when trapped in oil." he said. The fact that several transmission/PS shops couldn't me give specs to any filler caps leads me to believe that the caps have no specs. It's just a little hole. Mind you it doesn't squirt out of the hole all the time, just on tight cornering such as a U-Turn or into a driveway. It's only been a few days so maybe it will settle down.
Your cap have a rubber ring about an inch down, this should make a seal to prevent splashing. This ring isn't damaged? If not, drain some oil, just leave enough to make sure the pump don't run dry. Drive around with it this way for a week or so then try filling it again
I have a seal but it's more like normal gasket material than rubber, I'll keep the level just above the main body and will drive post back in a week after it's had a chance to settle down. Thanks for your time Pete. :TU:
