Power Steering stops working and then starts?

So I was at Spring Creek this weekend. At one point my power steering completely stopped working in the Klogger. I stopped and popped the hood. I assumed I had thrown the belt or something. I could not see anything wrong, still had power steering fluid, lines were not busted and the belt was still on. We drove the rest of the day without power steering, which sucked!!!

Then I was going to load the truck on the trailer and the power steering started working???? Got home, drove it off the trailer and it still worked?

Any ideas, the power steering pump is a 1990 F150 and the steering box is a 1982 F150....

Updated - 11/23/08, read the last post on this page

The discovery did this. It had yellow drank instead of red drank like the manual says. Changed it and it went away. Maybe the flushing had more to do with it.

heat?

cook/ sharpe is GAY!

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Originally Posted by agjohn02

heat?

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I did not see any evidence of the fluid boiling over???

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Originally Posted by RCcola55

pump is going out?

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no way, its only 18 years old:flipoff2:

edit: and therein lies my next suggestion

who the **** post from my login? i would say the box, my bronco used to do that and it was something internal in the box

My bronco has been doing the exact same thing on the past 2-3 runs.

I say heat. They oil won't work if it get's to hot. Use synthetic.

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Originally Posted by RCcola55

who the **** post from my login? i would say the box, my bronco used to do that and it was something internal in the box

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me *****

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Originally Posted by redcagepatrol

I say heat. They oil won't work if it get's to hot. Use synthetic.

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What does the pump call for, power steering fluid or ATF? If it is getting too hot you might want to try ATF.

belt could be wet it will slip and not make noise then dries out and works when it dose it have someone watch the pulley to see if it stalls

So I pull it in the garage Friday night to work on wipers, brakelines, etc... Power steering is working. Start it up this morning and the power steering does not work, It was not hot, it was cold. WTF?

So here are my 3 theories:

1) Air or trash in the system??? I will jack it up and run stop to stop and see if it cures it, but I do not know

2) The pump is crapping out, thoughts?

3) The steering gear in the box is shat??? Thoughts?

the plastic ford pump sucks, the saginaw metal can one is better but you have to go to a junkyard and look around in the molester van section to get one. Van powersteering lines fit f series trucks.

You should ask St.John to diagnose this. He gave me a lesson on steering boxes this saturday. Very informative. You might have a malfunctioning spool valve in your steering box or a blocked passage.

there is a saginaw pump made to fit that bracket but i cant remember the part number, tou do need a new pressure hose to use it thought. I still think its the box, the steering on my bronco would almost lock up when it stopped working, then start again. But with anything go the cheap route and change the fluid.

maybe an inline fuel filter will catch whatever is keeping it from working.

here lazy ass http://www.tamor.org/forums/showthre...eering&page=37

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Originally Posted by TMatheaus

here lazy ass http://www.tamor.org/forums/showthre...eering&page=37

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What post are you referring to, as it only shows that thread to have 17 pages when I open it up. ;)

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Originally Posted by TMatheaus

here lazy ass http://www.tamor.org/forums/showthre...eering&page=37

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Sounds like his was fixed by bleeding??? I will try the turning technique tonight. My front end is open, so it is not quite the same.

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Originally Posted by DRAGOONRANCH

What post are you referring to, as it only shows that thread to have 17 pages when I open it up. ;)

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this one big e

http://www.tamor.org/forums/showpost...&postcount=541

the part number for a saginaw pump to mount to the factory brackets

muy bien :gigem:

Got home, jacked the front end up and turned the steering wheel back and forth like 30 damn times. Then started it and turned it back and forth like another 30. Put the wheels back on, started it up and....

freaking nothing. I sat in it and tried turning the wheel, hard as hell, no power assistance. I rev'ed it up to like 2000 RPM's and tried turning it, it started working. With it rev'ed up I went back and forth like 5 times, I went back down to idle and again the suck started, no assistance.

So I guess next on the list is to try and change the pump??? I have a spare steering box from Mike's Bronco, but changing the steering box out is about as fun as punching myself repeatedly in the testicles....

Thoughts? Could it be that the pump vanes/seals are worn down and only at high RPM it generates enough pressure to work the steering box????

I would think it's the pump I would disconnect the return from the box and try to flush the system real good. If you have no flow while doing this you know its the pump

btw if it's a saginaw the line closest to the steering column u joint is the return

get a gallon or so of cheap hydraulic oil to use as a flush

I know you aren't locked in the front but before I started my rebuild I began to notice some lag in my power steering on the last trip. There was plenty of fluid and the belt hardly slipped but with a welded front I assumed it was the culprit for the pump going south. I overheated the saginaw pump which ruined the seals and internals. Ended up taking it to Oreilly's as a core to get a new one.

I would assume that the pump is the problem and not the steering box. Is it the same pump that has been on the Klogger all along? After research and rebuilding my steering box for hydro assist the main problem that people mentioned with steering boxes gone bad is slop in the steering from the output/pitman shaft.

Pump is from a 1990 F-150, it came with the motor. It did sit outside for quite some time. Think I will try changing it with the sag pump mentioned above.

I have not had any issues besides the initial dumbass "won't turn in the driveway" with the new pump. It really doesn't seem any better than the regular old pump, but I think it was similiar in price.

I love power steering! So I put the new super secret pump on. I have the hose which will make it work, plumb everything up, go to start it and apparently the hose was made incorrectly cause the high pressure hose blew off. I dumped an assload of power steering fluid on the floor. I went ahead and took everything back apart so I could get the broken hose out. I will get a new hose manana.

Joy!

:doh:

deskin that biatch so you have room to work on it. :D

I love that, ed's truck blew the return off of the orbital the other day and made a nice mess

i would make sure the box is actually flowing fluid or you risk blowing off another hose. also you haven't altered the pressure bypass in this new super secret pump have u?

I have not altered anything on the super secret pump. Truth be told I think I over tightened the line and cracked the fitting...

So the hose I used yesterday was from VatoZone. The end on it was aluminum. I went to Ho'Reilly's today, their hose has steel fittings. I installed it and put everything back together. All I have to say is this power steering swap is freaking awesome.

Once installed it worked like a champ. There is no noise and the wheel is easier than Doug's Mom. The pump bolted right in place. The only change I had to make was the pressure line. Luckily the box on my frame was an '82 Ford box. I just went and bought the hose for a '82 truck and it all fit together.

Anyone who has a 90's esk truck do this swap, it is outstanding*

*Note: I may change my mind if this thing craps out in Clayton!

damn, and doug's mom is pretty easy