power steering pump

[whitevrboi]

hey everyone my powersteering pump is leaking like nothing else and i wanna redo all the seals in it and was wondering if someone could supply a quick how to for gettin the pulley off, obviously undoing the 4 bolts would be a start but how do i get the pulley to stay still so i can get some torque to undo the bolts???

any help would be great and its a vr with an ecotec.

cheers jack

[dufus]

how do i get the pulley to stay still so i can get some torque to undo the bolts???

Leave the belt on

[thorny]

There is only 1 seal you can replace without taking apart the pump, which isn’t recommended. It is the high pressure o ring (at the back of the pump). I had a leak (not too bad, but def there), and I replaced my pump a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure whether my leak was just the high pressure o ring or something else so I just bought a whole new (well reco anyway) pump.

Here’s a rundown on how to do it, though I might forget a few steps.

With the belt on loosen the 4 bolts holding on the bell housing. Remove the belt. Undo the 4 bolts and remove the bell housing.

Take off the hose which lies at the lowest point of the system to drain as much fluid as possible (I can’t remember exactly which one without looking at the engine). Turn the steering wheel side to side to get every last drop of fluid out (it’ll come out in little bursts).

Remove the low pressure hose from the pump.

Undo the 2 bolts holding the pump on. Leave the pump rested on something.

Remove the high pressure hose (it’s a steel hose at the back). To do this, use a spanner to hold the nut bolted directly to the pump, and undo the nut that holds the hose in place.

You can now remove the pump. You’ll also expose the high pressure hose’s o ring. I think this was the cause of my leak. The o ring was pretty flattened, and all the fluid trails seemed to originate from right near it.

Now its up to you. Renew the pump yourself or chuck in a new one. The pump’s bearings are probably on their last legs (mine were), so I reckon its worth replacing the whole unit.

Reverse the procedure to reinstall. Fill the reservoir with dexron 3, and turn the wheel side to side (without the engine running!). Once as much fluid is running through the system, top it up and run the engine, turning the wheel side to side (working your way out to full lock). This will rid the system of air bubbles. Top up once the funny noises at full lock are gone and all should be sweet. Drive the car around for 10 minutes and check the whole thing for leaks and make sure the reservoir is full.

Done!

[moff_man]

to do the pump you will need a press and a puller, but to put the pulley back on you need a special tool,

the pumps do not have Bering's that i have seen. the main shaft runs on a plate in side the pump that centralizes it, maybe there are Bering's in this plate but i have not seen any.

rebuilding these pumps is not hard but if you don't know what you are doing, you could stuff it up, I'm a qualified mechanic and i still run in to trouble sometimes with them and it just makes the job longer and annoying

my suggestion is to get a change over unit, much quicker and at least you get a warranty

[coasty]

go to supercheap. they have new ones made by the same company who makes holden ones. theyre not too dear eather

[thorny]

i got one off ebay for around $100.

if you think its the o ring for the high pressure hose its prob worth payin a few bob for an o ring (or a kit if you can't buy it individually). that way if you're wrong, and it needs a replacement pump you're only down $10 max.

[DannyboyDS]

there IS a howto in the HOWTO section and it has pictures.