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Power Steering Bleeding-Can it be power bled??

B

Boss

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I'm wondering if the power steering system can be bled like power brakes. I never heard of such a thing, but I spent like 3 hours bleeding mine (it has a cooler and the ram) and I'm not even sure if all the air is out, b/c it still runs pretty hot. (the ps pump and the gearbox gets pretty darn hot).
Anyhow, I may just bring it to a shop and see what they can do with it, but I rather not. Just tired of bleeding I guess. Thanks for any suggestions.
Boss

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The only way i've ever heard of to bleed a P/S system is to start it up and turn it lock to lock a couple of times. i don't really see how you could power bleed it, but i'm not exactly an expert in the P/S world.

RaisedK5

"Of all the things I've lost, I think I miss my mind the most!"
 
Yeah, I didn't think you could.
This is how you bleed it though.
Raise the front end. Don't start the truck. Turn ignition on, so that you can turn the wheel. Then turn it back and forth until you don't see anymore bubbles (2 person job), then after no more bubbles, lower truck, then turn on ignition, and turn left and right, and if its a smooth noisless operation, then you should be good to go.
Well, for me, I don't get any noise or anything, but my pump and box runs super hot. I bled till the cows came home! Hot box and pump is an indication of air still in the system. I'm sick of bleeding, so I thought I asked to see if it can be done a much easier way. Guess not though. Thanks for your input.
Boss

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Is it warm to the touch or HOT to the touch?
Does your cooler have a fan on it?
If not and you are sitting in your driveway/garage turning the wheel back and forth A.) you are working the pump and hydraulics hard because it's easier to turn when the vehicle is in motion rather than stationary. B.) you are not getting air through the cooler if the vehicle is not moving at a decent speed.
You can bleed till the cows come home but the system will get hot and stay hot until cool air is forced through the cooler to take away the heat generated from working the system while you bleed.
You didn't say whether or not you ran it down the road or not, so this may or may not apply.

If you didn't built it yourself, how can you call it yours.......?
 
Lead,
Sorry, forgot to mention that. Ok, when driving it still gets hot. Driving for like 5 min or so. My cooler does not have a fan on it, but I mounted it infront of the rad.
Hot to touch, not warm. Hot as in like, you will burn your hands if you leave it there for more than 5 seconds. So, not extremely hot, but hot!! Hard to explain I guess.
I think I will just keep on bleeding!! Thanks for your input.
Boss

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Hey man no problem. I forget to mention things like that in my posts too, and it never fails, somebody has to point it out
smile.gif
.
Keep me posted as to how you make out (PM me if you like).
I am going to be doing a hydraulic ram assist on mine and will definitely need to bleed the system, and your help/experiences will be greatly appreciated.

If you didn't built it yourself, how can you call it yours.......?
 
Lead,
I'll definately keep you posted. Doing the ram isn't hard, just a pain, especially if you're swapping out PS Pumps with an 89' to 91' K5. Pain.
If you have any Q's, let me know here or PM me. Take care.
Boss

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HEY EVERYBODY, bleeding the power steering system is a little different than just turning the steering wheel back and forth. You need to do the following:
Unhook the return line behind the pump and let it hang over a drain pan. Find a vacuum cap and cap the fitting on the back of the pump off. With another guy, one behind the wheel and the other at the pump, you need to turn the wheel back and forth slowly while the other guy watches the fluid level in the pump. When it starts to go down, he needs to fill it back up ALL WHILE TURNING THE WHEEL. He also needs to watch the return line hanging above the drain pan to see for a steady stream coming out. When it is steady, it is bled. Take the vacuum cap off the fitting and hook the return line back on. Go test drive it.

<font color=red>I m so we Todd did.
I m sofa king we Todd did.</font color=red>
 
K30...thanks for the info man...I've never heard of that. Learn something new everyday!! I'll try that out..thanks!
Boss

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