Hard to steer after new steering box...

[Chaz]

I replaced my steering box with a rebuilt one from local parts store. Nothing wrong with the old box other than it leaked ps fluid everwhere. When the motor is at idle its like theres no power at all,,,if I increase the rpm,s then theres some power but its nowhere near what it was with the old box. With old box I could turn the wheels to full lock left and right with the truck stopped. New box wont budge at all stopped,,,

 

[87ChevyR10]

I replaced my steering box with a rebuilt one from local parts store. Nothing wrong with the old box other than it leaked ps fluid everwhere. When the motor is at idle its like theres no power at all,,,if I increase the rpm,s then theres some power but its nowhere near what it was with the old box. With old box I could turn the wheels to full lock left and right with the truck stopped. New box wont budge at all stopped,,,

Does your PS system make any kind of whining noise when you try turning the wheels? If so, there is air in the system. Might be a silly question, but did you replace/refill the PS pump? Something else to consider is the PS pump is shot.

Just some ideas to think about.

 

[kdo58]

Did you have the front wheels off the ground and turn the wheel back and forth to get the air out of the system ?

 

[Chaz]

PS pump makes no whining noise at all. I did jack up the front end and cycled the steering back and forth many times. First with the engine off then later with the engine running. The first time I started the engine with wheels up off the ground the steering was real smooth like it was working properly. I drove it around the block a few times and I had power steering, no ps box whine. Seemed like it was gonna be ok. It slowly got worse after I drove it on the freeway. There was no power at idle but if engine rpms were increased I would get a little power. Now theres no power at idle or with engine revved up. Even with the front end jacked up off the ground and engine running theres no power steering that I can feel in the steering wheel?

What do you guys think? Could the PS pump go bad becasue of the new gear box? Or is the gear box a POS. I messed with the nut on top of the gear box to "loosen" the worm gear and all it did was make the steering wheel turn sloppy. Didnt give it more power, I thought that if the gears were set too tight there would not be enough hydraulic pressure from the pump so thats why I loosened it but that didnt work.

 

[Georgeb]

Do you still have your old gearbox? Might need to put it back in and see if it's the box or the pump.

 

[bucket]

GM gearboxes from the parts store are often rebuilt incorrectly. If I had a nickel for every defective box I've seen from a parts store... well, I wouldn't be rich, but I'd have a lot of nickels.

If you are sure the system is bled, you just have to return it and hope the next one works better. Or fix the leak on your old one. Or look for a local shop that specializes in rebuilding steering boxes.

 

[yevgenievich]

I went through two parts store gear boxes befote settling on most decent one. If you can test the pressure of the system, that will tell you if it is the pump or the gear box

 

[jetman]

Take it back to the local auto parts store.
Pick up an AC Delco rebuilt box (not actually built by AC D, but it carries their logo/TM and seem to be built a little better than the others). Rock Auto has them for a little over 100 bucks if you use the 5% discount code.

 

[Chaz]

Well the power steering pump was bad. I put a new (rebuilt) PS pump in and its working really good now. Dont know why the old pump went bad it was working fine with the old gearbox and it wasnt and old pump either. Anyway thanks for the replies.

 

[bucket]

Well the power steering pump was bad. I put a new (rebuilt) PS pump in and its working really good now. Dont know why the old pump went bad it was working fine with the old gearbox and it wasnt and old pump either. Anyway thanks for the replies.

Call my glass half empty, I'd say the old pump was fine and it's just a coincidence. Whatever was sticking in the new box might have just freed up after the new pump was on.

 

[highdesertrange]

x2 on what bucket said. take it to a local rebuilder. highdesertranger