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PS pump failure/replace story
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Posted by MS (more from MS) on Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:51:29 Share Post by Email
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I've read on here many times how the 16V style PS pump rarely fails and it's almost always the rack that goes first. This is to affirm that the PS pump can, does and did go bad in my case. I noticed "wierdness" months ago - a periodic and random "tightening" of the steering ability. I also noticed a drop in the fluid capacity. So I crawled underneath with rags and a flashlight and looked for evident signs of leaking. I was pleased to find it appeared to be coming from the back of the pump, not anywhere on the rack. Trying to put off the inevitable miserable job of replacing the pump, I just filled the container when necessary and drove on.

Then just two weeks ago I successfully upgraded/replaced the cylinder head and upon the initial turn of the key I got the sound of a howling PS pump, plus foamy fluid in the reservoir. I call that perfect continuum timing! It so happened I had a replacement pump ready to go, but didn't have the time then do deal with it. I also needed time to adjust to the idea of doing one more dirty job and boning up on my cursewords. It took me a week to get around to it, and in all that time, including a 120 mile trip, I drove without PS. Felt like driving a truck.

To replace the pump and it's bracket, ya have to make room by unbolting the engine support bracket, the motor mount and it's bracket which connects to the motor in two places along the block just above the transmission. I didn't actually remove any of those components, I just removed the bolts (including the large 19mm nut on top of the motor mount) to make the components loose so as to push them around enough to make room for the pump and it's bracket to slip out from the rear. To lift and support the engine I used the SAAB scizzor jack with a small 2x4 block of wood against the head positioned just aft of the battery. The hard part was reaching and turning the rearmost 12mm bolt to remove the engine mount support bracket. I ended up using a breaker bar which had just enough room to loosen the bolt before the bar movement stopped because of the AC pulley.

The install of the replacement pump and reattachment of all components was simple and straightforward. Almost had a disaster on my hands when I reattached the AC belt. In the dim light I had crossed the bottom of the AC belt belt across the PS belt and into the alternator pulley. I only found it when I crawled under to check for leaks after I filled the reservoir. Would have made for a horrible sound, broken belts and possibly bent brackets had I tried to start the car. When I did eventually start the car, the steering was power assisted normal. Proof that those pumps can go bad. For the first time, my experience was an 8 on a 10 scale of difficulty. The hardest part was figuring out initially what would have to be removed or loosened. Were I to do it again, I'd know exactly what to do and rate the chore a 6 out of 10. It would be a 5 if not for the oily dirty mess. That's always worth one additional point.

posted by 207.200.116...
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