OB steering pump rebuild

[Danglerb]

Car is my 85 Euro, with a 84 Euro motor, and steering pump is the early style, kind of a square box shape, not the later style with a nose to it and a pulley with 3 bolts.

Steering was very heavy the other day, so today while it was in the shop the suction line was pulled off and it didn't suck, no sign of flow into the pump. By the time I showed up the pump was sitting on a bench, and unfortunately the spare pump I found was the newer design.

Over the next hour or two I pretty much disassembled the whole pump, and didn't really find anything wrong. In the morning I am planning on putting in a seal kit and giving it another try. Maybe something in the kit will turn on a light bulb as to why it wasn't working.

Its this style, 78/84, but bare aluminum.

[rhjames]

if all looks well, you may have an air pocket in the system or a collapsed hose. while doing the rebuild, I suggest you replace all hoses, make sure there are no leaks on the rack, pump, or reservour, and prime the system. after re-assembly you may need to bleed the entire system to get it to function properly.

Problems with power steering systems usually show up as leaks, but system failure can be in several areas----loose belt, low fluid level, bad seals and gaskets, collapsed hoses---you get the idea.

-R

[Danglerb]

I bought the rebuild part from 928Intl,

928 347 921 00, Seal Kit, P/s Pump 79-84

But the parts don't exactly match the types and number of "things" the pump had in it.

Original in pump, from back to front:
Large Oring, smaller oring, teflon ring, and a seal at the pulley end.

Rebuild kit contains:
Two teflon rings both about twice as thick as original.
One oring, appears to be smaller size.
One large seal, about the size of the larger oring in original.
One seal for the pulley end, same as original, different brand.

Any tips on how this goes together?

My Pump is dated 7/84 ZF 7671955146 1262842.

[Danglerb]

I ended up taking the old Orings down the street to a bearing shop and they gave me some similar Orings. We took the pump "completely" apart and dropped it all into Greg's ultrasonic cleaner, never noticed anything "wrong" and carefully put it back together using a mixture of blood and ATF (sharp stuff inside the pump). I learned some lessons on putting EVERYTHING into labeled ziplock bags, and how woodruff keys are best measured instead of guessing the size.

Finally got it back on tonight including a nice new filter/reservoir from Pelican and it seems to be working fine.

Were I to do it again, and since I have another one on my 83, chances are good I will do it again, I would buy the same kit (new shaft seal and Teflon ring essential even if you have generic Orings).

Tips and mistakes I won't repeat.

All parts immediately into labeled ziplock bags.
Take some pictures.
Grab the pulley ONLY via the groove just below the nut on the shaft to press it off.
Leave the inner mysteries of the pump ALONE, replace the seals and Oring per WSM directions and mess with nothing else.
Read the full workshop manual instructions first.

[Landseer]

Thanks. Mine is next, so this helps a great deal.

[Danglerb]

Make sure of which pump you have, early one nut on the shaft pulley, or the newer 3 bolts through the pulley. Take pictures.

[wacoykc]

Looking at one of the offers on e-bay offering a P.S. pump, a statement alluded to the fact that they were all the same, which I highly doubt. Mine being a '89 s-4 with a 3 bolt pulley, I was wondering if the 'rebuild kit' that is offered by several vendors, is a universal kit that would include my '89. I think I saw somewhere the kit even included the 968....Byron

[Danglerb]

All the 928 normal vendors are savvy to those issues, tell them what year you have and they will send you the correct rebuild kit.