Thread: 01 GP GTP - Help w/ replacing power steering pump and lines...

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

you sure the lines are bolted to the right holes?

I believe so. High pressure line mounted on the lower side of the rack from left to Right and therefore to the hole closet to the firewall. Return running along the topside of the rack and therefore on the hole nearest the engine bay.

Update here. I drove it last night about 15 miles. It was making noise. I checked it after and it was a bit low. Filled up to hot line and called it a night. This morning it made some noise when I started driving it but now it seems quiet. I’ll check the level again later. I hear a bit a creaking from left to right. Have new tie rod ends as well.

Creaking could be your struts. Have someone turn the wheels (with the car running) and check the rubber strut mount you can see under the hood. Mine was creaking there until I replaced the mounts.

Originally Posted by FordMan77

Creaking could be your struts. Have someone turn the wheels (with the car running) and check the rubber strut mount you can see under the hood. Mine was creaking there until I replaced the mounts.

Turns out that one of the wheels were lose. I had a helper putting on the wheels and apparently they did not torque it correctly. I should have checked their work.

Aside from that the, power steering seems great. I plan to do the alignment tomorrow.

Thanks everyone for their help! Btw, I called the service department at local dealer. They wanted $3300 to do the rack, lines and a pump. That includes parts, labor, fluids and an alignment. I think I have about $500 or so in parts thus far. That amount actually includes two new AC-Delco drive belts too. Granted, I spent a LOT of time doing this repair myself.

Okay... So the saga continues. I just got the alignment done today. I was driving home and started to hear a noise and the power steering got harder. Fluid is leaking all over the place on the passenger side. The car is stuck by my girlfriends condo.

I do feel stupid and I will tell you why. I installed a filter in line on the return hose. I cut a perfectly good return line and inserted it. Stupid right. I did that cause I heard it would prolong the life of the system. I will say that I noticed that the steering was a bit harder than usual on my way to the alignment shop this AM. I told myself that maybe the fluid was a bit low. Looking back, low fluid would probably cause the pump to make noise but not make it harder.

I don't know if the line started to kink or if it is leaking by the filter. I am out of energy and steam to fix this. May just junk the car at this point.

No reason to junk a car over a botched install, it happens. We've all done stupid sh*t at one time or another. Replace the low side line as Scotty said and call it a day. There is no need for a filter fyi. In fact it may become a source of restriction in the system at some point making the pump work harder than it should have to. Since you replaced everything in the system there should be no junk in it. Just drive and enjoy.

Okay, update here. Had car towed back to my garage to work on. Replaced pos filter with a piece of hose, brass connector and some clamps. Bled the system again. Appears to be okay for now. Power steering definitely works but sometimes wonder if it should be a bit easier than it is.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

with magna steer theres 3 settings, firm med and soft. when you change the rack to a new one it reverts to the firmest setting.

you need a tech 2 to tune the rack back to easy or med. mine used to turn like butter, now its firm since my new rack.

Ok, I think I will leave it as is then. Don’t want to spend anymore money on this car unless it’s truly needed. I just wasn’t sure if the firmness was hinting at an install issue or a problem with the remanufactured rack.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

with magna steer theres 3 settings, firm med and soft. when you change the rack to a new one it reverts to the firmest setting.

you need a tech 2 to tune the rack back to easy or med. mine used to turn like butter, now its firm since my new rack.

On a side note, any ideas on how to resolve a P1404 check engine light? One more thing to fix since my emissions test and registration renewal is due next month. DMV here will not renew registration without it.

The check engine light is randomly coming on. Was on a few years ago and I replaced my original EGR with a Standard Motors Product one. After replacing it, light was still coming on so I went to a shop and it magically went away. They claimed they did not do anything at the time. Mysteriously battery died while the car was there so maybe disconnecting the battery then had something to do with it.

Now it has come back randomly over the past few months. I tried the usual clearing codes and also disconnecting the connector, turning ignition on, clearing codes, turning off ignition and then connecting EGR back. By the way, battery was disconnected for power steering rack and pump replacement so I know that does not help.


Thoughts? I heard about a PCM reflash, not sure if that's relevant.

I checked the tubes last year. From what I could tell they were completely clear. I didn't see much of anything to be honest.

Btw, A few months ago the car was having issues idling. In addition to this code I had another. I don't recall it but it did not appear obvious to me what to replace. I took a gamble and replaced the mass air flow and that resolved the issue. I will say that my fuel economy is not what it used to be in general. I am getting combined of about 18 - 20 and I used to do a bit better than that. Not sure if that's just a side effect of higher mileage but I don't know if that's truly the reason.

No, I don't believe so.

Originally Posted by Scottydoggs

ever clean the TB?

I’ll try tonight. I’ll remove the mass air flow and spray some carburetor cleaner through the screen.
Was also thinking about picking up some sea foam and soaking the EGR’s base in it. Not sure if that’s a good idea too.

You need to remove the entire TB to clean it. The carbon builds up on the BACK of the butterfly and around the edge where it closes inside. Once you have it off, spray it down and wipe it clean. And yes, you will loose some coolant when you pull it, but not much. And grab a new TB gasket too.