No Power Steering /Replaced Pump!

[DearestNameless]

I bought a 99 Eclipse GS-T about a week ago and the person said the power steering pump needed changed. Well I went and bought a new pump and installed it and filled it to the proper spot and started the car and no power steering. The pump kept sucking all the fluid down so my dad kept putting it in. I tried twisting the wheel from lock to lock hoping it would clear out the air but the only thing that happened was the pump groaned. Then we finally gave up and shut off the car. The reservoir then decided to start spitting up a foamy coke looking liquid. After I tried a few more time to release any air. Then I also noticed we put in PS fluid instead of ATF II as recommended. Do you think the fluid is the problem? I've also heard that a air leak in one hose can cause the bubbles. Or did the person before me tear up something else. I'm SOL right now. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Rob10_99]

PS replacement is a huge pita,
You need to fill it up, run the car till it foams turning lock to lock.
Let it sit until the bubbles are gone.
repeat until there are no more bubbles.

There's no other way around this unless you hook up some vacuum pump to force liquid into the rack, which I don't see happening.

 

[DearestNameless]

PS replacement is a huge pita,
You need to fill it up, run the car till it foams turning lock to lock.
Let it sit until the bubbles are gone.
repeat until there are no more bubbles.

There's no other way around this unless you hook up some vacuum pump to force liquid into the rack, which I don't see happening.

Should I have power steering by now? I replaced a few hoses today incase they were leaking air. I'm affraid if I run the car to long with the resivor empty I'm going to burn something up because when the car is running it just keeps sucking more and more fluid and then when I shut the car off it bubles out. Anyone else?

 

[gstryyder]

you need to have someone turning the wheel... (tires off the ground) back n forth forever while you constantly keep that reservoir full. it should eventually fix it. it will eventually get to the point where it can't hold anymore fluid. if you never get to that point.. well, then you have to find where the leaking spot in the system is... but seriously it will take a little while, ALWAYS keep the reservoir full... and never do it with your wheels on the ground..

 

[Rob10_99]

Yeah with the wheels on the ground you will fight foam forever. Just keep pourin it in, might take 3-4 bottles to fill the system. Not sure the exact capacity, too lazy to look it up atm.

 

[Lusion972]

you will need to drain the PS fluid first, mixing the two fluids is no good.

 

[DearestNameless]

you will need to drain the PS fluid first, mixing the two fluids is no good.

Follow up

I found a kinked line that ran in front of the radiator that I guess is for cooling the fluid so I replaced it with a much shorter hose as a loop instead just for testing purposes By now I have flushed all the fluid out so it is all new Last night I jacked the car up and I filled the reservoir to the max line then started the car it sucked it down to the minimum so I filled it back to the max line trying to avoid running it dry I had someone else turn the car lock to lock while I watched the reservoir The pump is now groaning more then ever I'm not sure if the new pump is going bad or what but when we shut the car off it foamed over again So we tried this like 4-5 more times and it still foams and we never gain any power steering when set back on the ground The only thing that is left in the system from what I understand is the steering box and the two hoses going to and from it I'm going to try and ask a friend this afternoon if he has any other ideas I guess

I talked to my friend today and he said they might have sent me a bad pump so I called and ordered a new one today. Lifetime warranty works. After school tomorrow I might tear apart the car and check out the rack. I wish I could figure this dang thing out.

 

[DearestNameless]

Still no clue, Anyone?

 

[romeen]

Just keep going through the bleeding procedure. Front wheels off the ground, turning lock to lock, holding it at full lock for a couple seconds each time. Don't let the fluid get too low otherwise air gets sucked in and you go back to square one. Do this for at least 15 minutes then let the car sit for several hours or overnight (until no more bubbles are coming up into the reservoir) and repeat.

You'd be surprised at how long it can take to completely bleed the system. Just have patience and keep at it. I did mine off and on over a couple days before it finally felt normal.

 

[DearestNameless]

After fixing kinked line, replacing the bad NEW power steering pump, and getting all the air out of the lines it works!