How-To: Replace Power Steering Pump

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So far my car is on its 3rd PS pump, one replaced under warranty when the vanes burnt up and I had no PS at idle, and the next when the shaft cracked off and I lost PS all together.

The second pump I replaced myself as the warranty was up. I got one used for $75 CDN, resivoir and all.

1. Remove the passenger side engine mount, remember to support the engine with a block of wood and a floor jack) and remove the belt.

2. Losen the 2 lines comming into the pump, then there are 3 bolts to remove (look at the replacement pump for their locations). Rotate the pulley to line the large hole up with the bolts to remove them one at a time.

Installation is same as reverse, except you have to fill the resivior and bleed the system by running the car and turning wheel lock to lock repeatedly and check fluid level while doing so.

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bump, for the guy in the performance page.

[Woody87]

I just had to do this about 3 days ago because I was being stupid and did a doughnut on friday night and broke the pump. went through 2 pulleys in the process.
kids: dont put your car in reverse and slam on the accelerator with the wheel turned...you will only break things

[customcarsff]

yeah i just did the same thing. sure its the pump

[tenspeed]

kids: dont put your car in reverse and slam on the accelerator with the wheel turned...you will only break things


I hear the same words every winter. It seems to break the shaft off the PS pump.

Use the E brake and watch out for potholes and curbs.

[customcarsff]

is that internal. on the pump. i'm going through the same thing but my mechanic mentioned the rack and pinion. which is like 1000 bucks. not sure on spelling. but could this be the problem or is it more likely the pump. b/c i did the same thing woody87 said he did.

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Some a-hole mechanic told me the same thing, was going to replace the whole rack. I thought better and called the dealer, they told me to check the pump pulley first. If you can move the pulleyin and out AT ALL then the shaft is cracked off and the pump needs to be replaced.

Alot easier and cheaper then replacing the rack.

[customcarsff]

what if the pulley doesnt move. but another guy told me if the fluid doesnt move when you turn it could be the pump.

[Woody87]

Use the E brake and watch out for potholes and curbs.

lol, my friends did that all the time last winter with their cars and one of them ended up bending his drive axle and bent like 2 different rims.

[monteman]

I'm in a similar boat, I replaced the stock pump about 6 months ago after my wife got stuck in a corn field (during an ice storm). The (stock) pump went bad almost immediatly, so I put on a pump from Advance Auto. I remember having trouble getting all of the air out of the lines, the new pump seemed to make a lot of noise.
Now tonight I had to replace the pump again! So I'm on my THIRD pump! and the thing makes noise like crazy! And again I'm having trouble getting all the air out of the lines I think. Everytime that I check the fluid I find lots of bubbles and foam in the tank. Now, both times that I replaced the pump I used the same variable assist solinoid (so I'm still on the stock one) and fluid tank.

My question is, has anyone ever had the variable assist valve go bad? Or how do you know when it's bad? Also, if this isn't the problem, I NEED HELP, any and all is appreciated!

[Woody87]

ok, since I've replaced my pump, one of the pulleys clicks all the time and its really loud. its not the pulley on the PS pump though. its the one on the very bottom towards the rear of the car. anyone know what causes this or how I can stop it?
(its the one that you adjust to let off the slack so you can put on the accessory belt.

[Woody87]

It was my TENSIONER. It was just bad and I just put a new one on and now its quiet finally!

[pontiacman99]

So what you guys are saying is I should quit whipping doughnuts in my grand am lol