Power Steering issue

[tjg8675]

Hi All,
I have a 1995 Bronco that I've done a "Saginaw" power steering pump conversion and I'm having an issue where the pump seems to lose power and makes sort of a grinding sound at idle when I'm turning the steering wheel. This happens when I'm trying to do low speed maneuvering such as parallel parking or turning up onto a curb when the pump has to do extra work.
It doesn't do it when driving above idle or when turning on wet or slick/polished pavement surfaces, only when steering when the engine is at idle on normal, dry & stickier than normal pavement surfaces or when turning the tires against something like a curb or rock. I had both a rebuilt Saginaw power steering pump (from older E150 van w/ stock pulley) & a rebuilt Steering gear installed when the Saginaw conversion was completed.

My initial thoughts are that the pulley may not be spinning fast enough at idle and am wondering if a larger pulley might solve the problem.

Thanks in advance for any help trouble shooting this annoying issue

 

[L\Bronco]

Hey TJG
This may sound dumb, but, it sounds like belt slippage. If the tension is good, verify pulley widths, (the belt might be bottoming in the pulley)
Hope that helps
Cheers

 

[tjg8675]

Hey TJG
This may sound dumb, but, it sounds like belt slippage. If the tension is good, verify pulley widths, (the belt might be bottoming in the pulley)
Hope that helps
Cheers

Hi L\Bronco, Thanks for the reply. Sorry my description of the sound it's making was a little off (I've changed it for better clarity from screeching to grinding). Its definitely not a belt screeching sound (I've had that before), its more of a grinding sound, kinda like the steering gear isn't getting enough pressure from the pump to move the tires back and forth.

Can you upload video or audio files to this site?

 

[Tiha]

Video or audio has to be hosted elsewhere like imgr or youtube.

How big are those tires you are trying to turn?

have you pulled the cap to make sure it is not full of tiny bubbles yet? Meaning you could still have air in the system.

 

[tjg8675]

Video or audio has to be hosted elsewhere like imgr or youtube.

How big are those tires you are trying to turn?

have you pulled the cap to make sure it is not full of tiny bubbles yet? Meaning you could still have air in the system.

Hi Tiha,
Thanks for the reply, The tires are 33"s... so not too big, I think the pump should handle those just fine. I haven't seen any bubbles previously but I'm going check it again soon & probably put it up on jacks and cycle it back & forth for awhile just to be sure.

 

[L\Bronco]

My initial thoughts are that the pulley may not be spinning fast enough at idle and am wondering if a larger pulley might solve the problem.

Hey tjg
Thanks for the clarity.
Your idea might have merit, has it done this since the conversion? Or is it a new thing?
A bigger drive pulley on the balancer or a smaller pump pulley will speed up the pump for sure, this may solve the issue.
Sounds like possible pump cavitation.
That can happen from too much demand at low rpm or pump wear/damage.
Good luck
Cheers

 

[ShadetreeSeattle]

does iding up the engine in these situations solve the noise or performance issue? that would in theory be simulating the smaller diameter pump pulley, giving a little bit of pedal while turning. I will say, rebuilt (reman) pumps from the typical parts houses can be sort of trashy right out of the box. i delt with one that made hideous sound under load and foamed up the whole resivoir, another that had a failed regulator, which lead to the unit cutting in and out intermittantly, which was scary, both units being installed after a flush and replacing with compatable fluid.