I don't have to do it yet, but the pump in my truck is starting to go bad. I'm not entirely sure how it happened- I parked it Friday night after work. Didn't use it Sat or Sun because we used my wifes jeep to run around, and didn't drive it to work Mon or Tue because it was nice enough to drive my motorcycle.

This morning I got in it to head to work and noticed the steering was very tough- revving the engine for about 5 seconds straightened it out and I made it to work okay but it was still steering a little tough. When I went to leave, I noticed a small puddle under the truck- I added some fluid to it and it steers fine, but it has a terrible whining to it whenever I make the slightest change to the wheel. I give it a week, maybe two, and it'll need to be replaced.

Weather permitting I'll drive my motorcycle as often as I can, otherwise I'm just going to be investing in power steering fluid to get by as I can't afford a new pump just yet.

I'm sure I can change the pump itself without much trouble,[save for the knuckle scrapes and pains of 130k miles worth of driving has done] but if I'm not mistaken the system has to be bled after the pump is changed and I've never done it before so I have no idea how to do it.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Ok, I've done a few and this is what I learned;
1. Unless the new pump has the pulley on it, and they don't usually, you'll need a specific PS pulley puller. This device goes on the shaft and does not pull on the edges of the pulley. Using a normal one will ruin the pulley.
2. The bleeding of the unit, as was written in the books I read was as follows;
- after the pump and lines are all attached fill the resevior
- crack the return on the rack (or other type, not sure what year/make your truck is) until the fluid comes out slightly
- start the car and turn the steering all the way to either side, then the other a few times.
- Check the fluid again
- Repeat.

Hope that helps.

The whining is from air in the system. Just keep filling it and turning it all the way back and forth till it's full. It would be easier if you jack the wheels off the ground. You probably jusy let it get so low on fluid it quit working. It's probably the lower seal on the pitman shaft on the gearbox or a hose crimp or just a bad hose. The pump might be okay if you didn't run it dry too long.

914 world? :WTF :

Hence the "OT" in the topic title.

And charlie, I didn't think about the fact that dryness was causing the whining. I may not be the most punctual person when it comes to maintenance, but all of the fluids in my vehicles get regular checks- 2 weeks apart at the most because I try to be prepared for instances like this. It's more likely that something happened Friday to cause the leak and I just didn't catch it because it's not like the fluid is just dumping out of the pump.

I'll try to find the source of the leak and repair it if possible before I go tearing the pump off- at the very least I'll eliminate the leaking and at best I'll have saved myself the trouble of replacing the pump.

Thanks for the help- you too cupomeat as if the pump is going bad, your advice will be of use to me.

Frends helping friends.... not a bad thing. Now when I talked about European football it got kicked down into the kitty litter and naked women, but I understand that. Car troubles are different. Help a guy out.

Have you tryed Ford F-150 Forms , My son and I use this for repair info,,

nice guys, much like this place. Dave

Now that you say it, it seemed so obvious...