Power steering won't bleed. Wits end

[scouthead]

I have the idea to pull the return hose off at the pump end and pull a vacuum through it, once I have good fluid flow, plug it back onto the pump. Theoretically, wouldn’t that mean the box now had no air in it?

might be worth a shot- with the motor off and the the reservoir plugged... could rig it up to a jar or one of the brake bleeding kits, and start sucking/ adding fluid to reservoir if it draws through?

also, what about and if when maybe?????
- i know that when the high pressure line is disconnected, you can shove the tires and it squirts all over your friends that were getting in the way and standing around the engine bay... your results may vary, but Jeremy got a cool set of red/brown stripes across his shirt.
for the purpose of bleeding air out- is there any benefit to getting the truck off the ground and / or steering disconnected, and manhandling the box from the sector shaft side to side? - as opposed to driving the box through the input?

 

[scouthead]

So that one has the 2 notches for these pumps and seals tight? I guess the better question is why is this necessary. Im wondering if the reason these are so difficult is because of the routing of the hoses, the way that they come straight up off of the box and make a loop that is higher than the fluid inlets in the pump, instead of making a 90 and running down underneath the pump and then up to it like the older squares.

I'm guessing the idea is just to force tiny emulsion bubbles to separate from the oil faster than standing around and waiting for the bubbles to overcome gravity/buoyancy/temperature/viscosity/whatever on their own, at whatever altitude and weather pattern you happen to be experiencing that day? putting pressure on fluids has a tendency to help keep gasses suspended chemically and mechanically... removing pressure should do the opposite?

"Alex, I'll take -things I've learned from beer for 500"

 

[K85 Octane]

Daily Double

What a pain. I’m so happy my random rebuilt swap meet box has performed flawlessly for the last 10 years. (Knock on wood) Everything bled out fine first try. (Ram, pump, box, cooler) Such a bitch hearing about the troubles. Can’t add anything that hasn’t already been said.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Well, I just ordered a mityvac cap to try. Haven't touched the truck since I last updated this thread. Tired of seeing it sit. Also afraid of what I might do to it if it still won't bleed with this vacuum cap...

 

[muddybuddy]

I’ll give you $400 for the jimmy since it cant steer. Being paid to take your troubles away

Kidding aside, this has got to be beyond frustrating. Reminds me of my battle with death wobble that came out of nowhere about 11yrs ago. I threw countless parts that were sure to be the issue, nothing worked. Ended up trading it for another truck about 2yrs after the DW started. 3yrs after that, saw the truck up on craigslist and guy noted it had death wobble and he couldnt figure it out. I at least felt vindicated that me and at least one other idiot had put their own hand on it to attempt to fix and had failed. He sold it for a sizable loss…i shoulda bought it back but didnt want to deal with it.

 

[76k5blazerr]

I’ll give you $400 for the jimmy since it cant steer. Being paid to take your troubles away

Kidding aside, this has got to be beyond frustrating. Reminds me of my battle with death wobble that came out of nowhere about 11yrs ago. I threw countless parts that were sure to be the issue, nothing worked. Ended up trading it for another truck about 2yrs after the DW started. 3yrs after that, saw the truck up on craigslist and guy noted it had death wobble and he couldnt figure it out. I at least felt vindicated that me and at least one other idiot had put their own hand on it to attempt to fix and had failed. He sold it for a sizable loss…i shoulda bought it back but didnt want to deal with it.

Indeed, beyond frustrating. I've had more trouble rebuilding the front end of this truck than doing the last LS swap I did. Weird thing is this rig has been pretty much trouble free the entire time I have owned it, about 6 years now. In the first 3 months I owned it the AC compressor seized and I blew the rear end but after that all I have done is normal service/wear items. It has never failed to crank and never been on a tow truck. Really has been a great truck. Here I am trying to do something nice for it, I rebuilt the whole front end, ball joints, wheel bearings, complete new steering linkage, all new brakes and steering components, and this is how it responds... I can tell that there is a big improvement as far as the play and leaks in the steering that it used to have and no longer does, but I literally haven't been able to drive it since May because the steering wont bleed. I am sick of it sitting though so either this vacuum cap bleeds it or I'm pulling the box and getting a warranty replacement because it is the only thing I haven't replaced twice yet.

 

[76k5blazerr]

No go on the mity vac cap. Pulled 20 inches on it and turned steering back and forth, also just let it sit for an hour with vacuum. Not even surprised honestly. Something is wrong. I’ve got one last thing to do to my jeep that’s in the shop right now then I’ll pull it back in a send the steering box off for a warranty replacement.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Installed the warranty replacement reman steering box this evening. Bled the steering by turning the wheel maybe 4-5 times back and forth, fired it up and it felt completely different right off the bat. It’s fixed! What was wrong with the first box I do not know. But F that thing for causing all this trouble. I knew it wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

 

[Fastereddie]

Installed the warranty replacement reman steering box this evening. Bled the steering by turning the wheel maybe 4-5 times back and forth, fired it up and it felt completely different right off the bat. It’s fixed! What was wrong with the first box I do not know. But F that thing for causing all this trouble. I knew it wasn’t supposed to be this hard.

Finally! Glad you got it

 

[HankScorpio]

Mine was a bad reman pump. Really pissed me off. All that wasted time. Thinking I am a crappy mechanic, I should just sell everything and buy a prius. Then it turns out to be the rebuilders fault.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Mine was a bad reman pump. Really pissed me off. All that wasted time. Thinking I am a crappy mechanic, I should just sell everything and buy a prius. Then it turns out to be the rebuilders fault.

Yep. It’s more frustrating to have a correctly installed bad part then it is to install something wrong and damage it yourself. To me at least. I at least learn from mistakes I made and get better from them. Nothing good comes from experiences like we both just had lol. I’m just glad to finally experience my fresh front end after 3 months of messing with the steering.

 

[The_Tomato]

Bought a redhead box earlier this year and she bled nice and quick. Being in VA and just now catching up on this thread, I was just about ready to ask what part of NC you're in. I just moved to Lynchburg so I was ready to ride down and bring you a cold Coors.

 

[76k5blazerr]

Bought a redhead box earlier this year and she bled nice and quick. Being in VA and just now catching up on this thread, I was just about ready to ask what part of NC you're in. I just moved to Lynchburg so I was ready to ride down and bring you a cold Coors.

Maybe one day! I am in Charlotte

 

[JM1]

Found my issue. Replaced the power steering pump for the 3rd time with a new unit and no remanufactured crap. Made sure the pump never went dry when running the pump and it works! So excited to have power steering again!