power steering and input shaft

[jademan]

Power steering was leaking bad from input shaft location. I installed a new seal kit for input shaft. When trying to bleed the power steering i'm unable to get all the air out. Cant figure out what i'm doing wrong. I turn the wheels from side to side with truck off and front end lifted up and cap off. I'm able to get it to turn relatively free without the truck running after 30 to 50 turns "usually more", but as soon as i start the truck, the wheels crank to the driver side and bottom out. I've retried the process a few times and now it to the point when the wheels bottom out like before, the power steering doesn't squeal or make any indication that its trying to work. I don't know if i messed something up installing the new input seal? Do you think i should rebuild the pump? or should i drain all the fluid and retry the process?

 

[75gmck25]

First - Set the wheels pointing straight ahead and off the ground and the steering wheel at center. From there, turn the steering wheel full lock in each direction, and count the number of turns in each direction. If it is not equal, the box is not centered. I’m not sure off-center would cause your issues, but you do need it centered.

When I pulled off my horn cap my steering wheel had a mark punched at the top of the shaft. I made sure that mark was at the top, and then checked the steering shaft to make sure the flat area was on top. That checked the shaft alignment with the wheel.
Then I turned the wheel from side to side and found the center point of the steering box. Mine was off slightly after I installed a new steering box.
To fix it I chocked the wheels to hold the steering box at the center point, took the steering shaft lower joint loose, and rotated the shaft until the wheel was aligned so that the flat on the shaft was up. The connection is splined, so you can easily move it one or two notches to get it all lined up. This put the wheel, shaft and box at the proper center point - based on my calibrated eyeball.

My steering wheel is still a couple degrees off exact center when I drive the truck back and forth and let the tires align and center themselves. I’ll make the final adjustment using the drag link to put the steering wheel at exact center. Just waiting for warmer weather.