Hi! 2000 Ford Taurus w Vulcan engine. I recently disconnected the lines to the power steering pump. I didn't have any power steering issues, but I had to replace the bracket that the power steering pump (and idler pulley) is bolted to because the idler pulley bolt threads got stripped. Long story short, air got in the power steering system, and I've been trying unsuccessfully to bleed it out. Here are the details:
This process was driving me insane; I've put over 30 hours into this... so I tried a new approach:
The thing that's driving me insane is this: If I'm applying vacuum, and losing it, I should expect the level of the power steering fluid to drop after I release vacuum. I'm not seeing that happen. If the seal between my adapter and the power steering reservoir were weak, it wouldn't cause the bubbling in the fluid--the air would just get in from outside the pump. Where is that bubbling air coming from? How on earth do I get the vacuum pump to hold 20mmHg of vacuum? There were no issues with power steering before this, so I feel like I'm just making things worse.
Does anybody have an idea where I should look to troubleshoot the problem?
- New low pressure return hose (this one) with new clamps
- New teflon seal (this one) for high pressure power steering line (followed for install)
- Front of car is jacked up so wheels can turn freely
- I bought a MityVac vacuum pump, and applied vacuum. During this process, I:
- See bubbles popping in the power steering reservoir
- Notice that vacuum never reaches anything past 15mmHg (Tested the vacuum of the MityVac by putting my thumb over the power steering vacuum adapter, and it holds vacuum up to 20mmHg) and the vacuum level drops constantly until about 5mmHg.
- See the level in the power steering reservoir sometimes goes down after I release vacuum (indicating I actually got some air out of the system), but most of the time returns to its level before vacuum.
- Checked all of the connections (two for the low pressure return line, one high pressure return line with a new teflon seal) and see no issues
- Still can't hold any vacuum above 5mmHg
This process was driving me insane; I've put over 30 hours into this... so I tried a new approach:
- I put my vacuum bleed adapter cap on the reservoir, with its hose going into a bottle filled with Mercon V.
- Turn the steering wheel from lock to lock
- See bubbles go into the bottle, and power steering fluid comes back
- Continue until the line is completely full of power steering fluid and see no more bubbles
- Start engine, everything gets sucked back into reservoir.
- See no identifiable leaks anywhere
- Turn the steering wheel from lock to lock
The thing that's driving me insane is this: If I'm applying vacuum, and losing it, I should expect the level of the power steering fluid to drop after I release vacuum. I'm not seeing that happen. If the seal between my adapter and the power steering reservoir were weak, it wouldn't cause the bubbling in the fluid--the air would just get in from outside the pump. Where is that bubbling air coming from? How on earth do I get the vacuum pump to hold 20mmHg of vacuum? There were no issues with power steering before this, so I feel like I'm just making things worse.
Does anybody have an idea where I should look to troubleshoot the problem?