Ford 2000 Power Steering Pump Replace Issue

[mtnxtreme]

OK I have 2 issues, I had no power steering and it was leaking out the steering arms, so I had the steering box rebuilt by a machine shop, also since my old style pump with detached tank was shot I upgraded to the later pump with integrated tank. Fired it up, had the front end off the ground, steering was nice and easy for all of 60 seconds and then splat I got fluid coming out the steering tube just below the steering wheel. So in another post I read that the steering shaft gets pitted and fluid will leak past and come up thru the tube so I picked up a sleeve kit with oversized seal which hopefully will alleviate this issue. But someone else mentioned my new pump may have too much pressure 1100 psi versus the old 650 psi may be causing the leak, so I checked and yes the pump I bought is an 1100 psi. So, now what ?

 

[Sean in PA]

The higher pressure on the pump can cause a system to leak that otherwise would not leak. It never develops the full 1100 psi pressure except when the steering wheel is held at either full right or full left against the stops. That is when the pressure builds to the point that the relief valve opens. At all other times, it should never approach even the 650 psi rating of the original pump. With that being said, if the shaft is pitted, but not bad enough to leak normally, then holding an 1100 psi pump against the steering stops will help it to leak where it might otherwise not. I recommend installing the speedy sleeve, or whatever brand of sleeve kit you found, as well as re-shimming the pump for the proper 650 psi relief setting.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I haven't done it but I believe the
pressure relief valve in the pump has shims
you can remove to reduce the pressure.
Remove the reservoir and have a look.
PS,
I wrote a reply to your other thread
yesterday about modern vs classic views.
Click here

 

[mtnxtreme]

(quoted from post at 15:35:24 06/07/22) The higher pressure on the pump can cause a system to leak that otherwise would not leak. It never develops the full 1100 psi pressure except when the steering wheel is held at either full right or full left against the stops. That is when the pressure builds to the point that the relief valve opens. At all other times, it should never approach even the 650 psi rating of the original pump. With that being said, if the shaft is pitted, but not bad enough to leak normally, then holding an 1100 psi pump against the steering stops will help it to leak where it might otherwise not. I recommend installing the speedy sleeve, or whatever brand of sleeve kit you found, as well as re-shimming the pump for the proper 650 psi relief setting.

OK so I never moved the steering even close to the stops, it actually leaked pretty much right away, I just turned it side to side a little so i'm assuming the shift has to be pitted or grooved. Should I use any kind of sealer on the sleeve ?

Also how do I shim this pump, where do I get the shim,
sounds like a pain, especially since its full of fluid.

 

[jimtrs]

(quoted from post at 18:45:00 06/07/22) OK so I never moved the steering even close to the stops, it actually leaked pretty much right away

As Sean said you weren't near full pressure unless at full lock left or right. I would think normal operating pressures would be near your old pump. If that one didn't leak, and it leaks now, you may have something else going on, ie: plumbed wrong, faulty valve, etc.

(quoted from post at 18:35:24 06/07/22) .....At all other times, it should never approach even the 650 psi rating of the original pump. With that being said, if the shaft is pitted, but not bad enough to leak normally, then holding an 1100 psi pump against the steering stops will help it to leak where it might otherwise not

Also how do I shim this pump, where do I get the shim,

You would be [b:a008e37175][i:a008e37175]removing [/i:a008e37175][/b:a008e37175]shims to reduce pressure, not adding.

(quoted from post at 18:39:32 06/07/22) I haven't done it but I believe the
pressure relief valve in the pump has shims
you can remove to reduce the pressure

 

[Sean in PA]

I guess it's possible that in all of the taking things apart and reconnecting them, some debris (pronounced DAY-BREE by Nascar announcers) might have gotten into the system and is blocking the flow, which could be causing the pressure to be higher than normal.

 

[Bern]

Given that it started to leak almost immediately upon startup, and given that it leaks quite a bit (since oil filled the tube in 60 seconds), you have a lot more going on than a pitted shaft. I would hazard to say that something was put together wrong inside that steering box; either the seal was damaged or installed upside down or something obvious.

I also don't think that your seal leak has anything to do with the fact that the pump has a higher relief setting than it's supposed to have. The only damage there would bent cylinder rods.

 

[mtnxtreme]

Does anyone have a pic of these shims, where they are an how many do I remove ? I'm gonna pull the top off and change out this seal and sleeve it, wondering if this guy did put the seal upside down ?

 

[Bern]

Shims are #16 at the link below. Can't answer how many, you have to guess and then recheck the pressure with a gauge.
Pump shims

 

[Sean in PA]

The shims were available in a few different thicknesses. Both the Ford and I&T Service manuals will tell you approximately how much the pressure will change for each x amount of shim thickness that you remove. I am not home and do not have access to the manual at the moment so I cannot give you the exact information, but if you do not have a Service Manual, you should get one. You could also try contacting whoever you purchased the new pump from.

 

[mtnxtreme]

(quoted from post at 17:41:44 06/08/22) Shims are #16 at the link below. Can't answer how many, you have to guess and then recheck the pressure with a gauge.
Pump shims

From that diagram it looks like there are two size shims a .010 and .015, so I'm thinking you don't add or remove, you use one or the other ?
Also someone mentioned wrong plumbing, I hooked up the old line that had a rubber hose and clamps, which I assume was low pressure to the back of new pump, and the hard line, hi pressure to the front of the new pump, which I was told in another thread.

 

[Bern]

On the shims, you might find multiples of each size in there. You remove until you get down to the pressure you want. Removing a .015 will lower the pressure more than removing a .010.

 

[mtnxtreme]

I guess that diagram is kinda misleading then, kinda make it seem like 1 of each, or one or the other are required.Have you ever done this I wonder what removing each size does ? I don't have a gauge that has bypass, it would only deadhead it and explode !

 

[Bern]

If you look closely in the parts book, after the part number for the shim it says AR, which stands for As Required. As I said earlier, you could have multiple sizes of each, you could have one of each, you could have multiples of one thickness, it varies.

I can't answer the second part of your question. With regards to a gauge and deadheading, that will not be a problem as the relief valve is ahead of the gauge, nothing will explode.

 

[mtnxtreme]

Ahhhhhh OK, will this pump put out 1100 at all times or only under load ?

 

[Bern]

The pressure output of the pump varies depending on how you're using the steering. However, if you deadhead it with a gauge you'll see the max relief valve pressure instantly. If you deadhead, be sure to run the engine only long enough to get a reading (5-10 seconds or so), as doing that tends to make the oil get hot pretty quickly.

 

[mtnxtreme]

Can I run tranny fluid in this ?

 

[Sean in PA]

(quoted from post at 22:01:50 06/13/22)

Can I run tranny fluid in this ?

UTF or ATF? Then yes.

Manual transmission gear oil? Then no.

 

[mtnxtreme]

Ok so turns out the machine shop that rebuilt this steering box for me installed the upper seal upside down, so Im guessing this was my leak. The shaft didnt look too bad but I has a sleeve kit so I threw it in with the new seal. I measured it with a caliper and the sleeve needed to be all the way down so I may just leave the little flange used for install on it as I dont think its in the way of anything it sits flush at bottom of shaft. I pulled the cover off the pump and there are no shims to remove for the pressure valve just a single spring, and I searched everywhere for a low pressure spring to no a avail, so Im thinking of just running it that way and see how it works out.

 

[Sean in PA]

If it doesn't leak now, and you don't hold the steering to full stop left or right it should be fine with the higher pressure relief valve.

 

[mtnxtreme]

(quoted from post at 15:26:39 06/22/22) If it doesn't leak now, and you don't hold the steering to full stop left or right it should be fine with the higher pressure relief valve.

Fired it up no leaks, but then ! It started leaking from the what looks like a bleeder valve from the section below where I removed to replace the upper seal. Does this mean this guy installed the lower seal upside down too, and if it does, how difficult is it to replace, can I just leave the upper tube intact, remove the lower 4 nuts and pull it off, I'm ------ !

 

[Sean in PA]

What looks like a bleeder valve on the lower box is a breather for the sector gear housing. The sector gear housing should only have gear oil in it. If fluid is coming out of the breather, then yes, the lower seal is leaking. Unfortunately it will have to come completely apart from the top to replace or reverse the lower seal. If you look at the parts drawing you'll see that the lower end of the shaft becomes a larger diameter just above the nut assembly that engages the sector gears, and the lower seal won't fit over that wider part of the shaft.

 

[mtnxtreme]

Do you have a parts drawing ?

 

[Sean in PA]

[u:b818691e06]Link to Power steering gear exploded parts diagram for 3 cylinder 2000[/u:b818691e06]

 

[mtnxtreme]

Thanks Sean for all your help, and to Ultradog for all his posts on this subject, turns out the guy I paid to reseal this entire steering unit, installed the upper seal upside down and never even had the decency to replace the lower seal, even after I supplied him with a seal kit and charged me 300 bucks down the drain. I took off the lower box reluctantly after everyone was saying how hard it was and balls and springs would fly out, it was a piece of cake, if you need to do this job, just do it, its not difficult.