PS Pump Question

[bigred88]

I just put a new (well, reman) ps pump on my 88 K5 with a 350. Now, at idle, I have no power steering. When the rpms are up, the power steering is great, at idle I can barely turn the wheel. I went through the whole bleeding procedure, and it seems to me that if it simply weren't bled enough, the rpms wouldn't matter- I would run into that issue across the whole rpm range.

When I got the pump (from a major autoparts store at which I work), I looked up the pulley as well, and their system showed a serp pulley. My belt is definitely a v-belt, not serp. Could it be that the pump I got was designed for a different rotating speed with a serpentine belt, and therefore isn't turning fast enough at idle, and therefore is the wrong pump altogether? In that case, could I just get one say, for an 85, and be fine? Or do I just need to bleed the system more?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Fordum]

Several possibilities.
I'm sure someone will chip in here as to the rpm difference, but I'm curious about the pulley.
I assume you had to put one on, it did not come with one. Did it push on tightly?

In other words, when you used the bolt was it reasonably hard to turn?

Those pulleys are a press fit, no key, and if they are loose, they will slip on the shaft and can cause that problem.

You can take a small amount of paint and mark the end of the shaft and the hub of the pulley. Crank it and move the wheel a time or two.
When you turn it off, it the paint marks don't line up anymore, thats the problem.

 

[4X4HIGH]

The problem is no doubt in the pressure fitting in the back of the pump. If you haven't turned yours in as a core yet swap the fitting and plunger from your old pump into the remanned pump and i'll bet it fixes your problem.