PS Pump & Coolant Manifold Hose Replacements

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sdpatt

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It was a busy weekend for me and the 15 year old, 307,000 mile old SHO. During the second day of the two day event at the Texas World Speedway Feb 4-5, the power steering checked out early during the low speed parade laps. I guess it had all it could take helping the SHO drift through those 80-90 mph corners. The replacement of that little pump is not a trivial task. I read all that I could and knew that it would be tough.

Pulling the wheel and tire, the fender splash shield, the rear engine mount, the power steering pump pulley, the engine roll damper and bracket and lifting the PS fluid reservoir allowed the necessary clearance to get the pump out of its very cramped location. Oh, and after pulling the rear engine mount, I found it was time for a new part there too. The metal to rubber bond was long gone and the rubber was deteriorated due to oil and power steering fluid exposure.

The suction hose slipped off rather easily after loosening the hose clamp, but the fitting on the high pressure hose had to be loosened one flat at a time due to wrench clearance. The front three mounting bolts were fairly easy to access, but the rear bolt caused me to lay atop the engine to reach it between the engine and firewall.

With the pump wiggled free from the car, the suction hose fitting was removed from the old pump by unscrewing the single 10 mm bolt. The O-ring supplied with the remanufactured pump was installed on the fitting and the device was attached to the new pump.

The only adjustment necessary to get the new A1 Cardone 21-5785 pump installed was the filing of some paint and rounding the edges of the mounting flanges to allow it to slide into the interference fit within the mounting bracket on the engine.

Reattaching the hoses and filling and flushing the system returned the power steering back to full functionality. Phew!

The new pump with suction hose fitting. The fitting slips into the smooth bore hole on the top of the pump.
NewPSPump1.JPG


The new pump with the suction fitting installed. The whole pump is only as big as your fist. The view is into the high pressure discharge.

NewPSPump2.JPG


The second service of my busy weekend had me address the well hidden leak deep in the bowels of the coolant distribution manifold. The 2" long, 1-5/8" diameter (approx) hose that connects the left and right parts of this manifold had cracked from the age and heat of 15 years of use and the pressures from high revving during that time.

To gain access to the manifold, I removed the intake hose and air filter box lid and the throttle body. The manifold is in two pieces; one bolting to each head. You can't just take off half of the manifold - you must remove both parts - because the rubber hose that connects the two halves cannot be slipped off since there is only a small gap between the parts. Before you can do that, all of the hoses that attach to both halves must first be removed along with the ECT sensor.

Once the manifold is out of the car, the replacement of the hose is simple. I found a properly sized radiator hose that I could cut to size. I cut new gaskets for the manifold to head flanges. I cut a piece of foam to support and locate the crossover tube from the water pump so that it would mate with the receiver on the left manifold piece. Test fittings were made to see how the parts would fit back together. before the final fit up was performed.

Installation was simple. The parts went back together nicely and after starting the engine and allowing it to pressurize the cooling system, I found two small leaks that were stopped with a bit more tightening of the oil cooler hose clamp and a tad more torque on the left manifold mounting nuts. She feels good again and I look forward to installing the rear engine mount soon.

The manifold parts and crossover tube.
P2122191(2).JPG
 
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platoribs

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I've heard it said you've got a big wrench on ya kid!

Your an inspiration to us all Scott!

I tackled a really tough job this weekend, replacing the starter. After taking the old part and the new part down to Autozone where the dufus tech didn't get a good ground and told me both starters were bad I took it elsewhere and tested my replacement part good, cut off the ring terminal and replaced it with a spade terminal for the relay. Had it back together in about 1/2 hour.

Comparing these two jobs...well one really can't! One day I'll graduate to the really big PITA jobs but for now I just pray nothing serious goes wrong before my lottery numbers hit! (Oh and I actually buy a ticket!)

Great write up Scott, I definately think if my power stearing pumps goes out... I'll pay the bill!
 

sdpatt

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projectSHO89 said:
Scott,

Did you do an FA on the old pump to see what had failed internally?

Steve

I was very tempted, but not sure if I would get my $50 core charge back if the pump had been opened. When checking with my old Chilton's manual, it had a section for diagnosing steering problems. For loss of power assist, it referenced a failure mode of the pump that would make much more sense with an exploded view of the parts.
 

TRSCobra

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That high pressure line on the back of the pump was one of the toughest things to connect when I put my engine back in. It just wouldn't thread straight.

I hope my PS pump lasts forever... :bonk:
 
S

shoebilly

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All these hoses can be replaced on the PS system & rack if you have the proper tools & patience. Every coolant hose... without moving the engine. No fun but doable. Done that. To change the ps pump idonno. Only done this motor out. All these areas suck. Especially if your losing track time. If you're getting 307000 mi out of the thing you ain't driving it right.
 

NotSoSlowSHO

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shoebilly said:
If you're getting 307000 mi out of the thing you ain't driving it right.

:lol:

Its a daily driver, it tows a boat, and goes to the track regularly.

yeah, I guess he aint driving it right! :laugh_ti:

-------------------------

Great photos/info Scott. Im going to save these pics for future reference if you dont mind :thumb:
 

AREA 91

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Scott is my hero. Hey Scott, you gonna be in Memphis? I'd like to meet you. I owe you a beer for all your advice over the past few years. :thumb:
 

ManySHOs

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TRSCobra, I feel your pain. When I installed my 3.2, that line was very difficult to thread back into the pump.

Sdpatt, the friction fit between the pump and the cast iron bracket is a royal pain. I had those brackets powdercoated for the 3.2 and had a heck of a time installing my new (reman) pump in the bracket. This is with everything off of the engine! I had to do a bit of "clearancing".

I also hope that my pump lasts forever. I was thinking of installing a non VAPS rack in my car but I thought that I'd need to install the older high pressure line first. (I've heard that you don't, but the fittings on the rack side are def. diffent although the threads are probably the same). If I need to replace that line, I don't know if I'm going to tackle that job!!

Ian
 

gas it

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witsimpala said:
Scott is my hero. Hey Scott, you gonna be in Memphis? I'd like to meet you. I owe you a beer for all your advice over the past few years. :thumb:
Hopefully we can get quite a few Texas SHO folk to Memphis. Scott was in Tulsa back in '01 so it's about time he show up for another one.
 

SHO SPD

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The MTX pump is really a PITA to replace. Only takes about 1.5 hrs. in the ATX to replace. Pretty simple. But the MTX the very first time I did it took like 6 hrs, and most of the time was trying to get the pump back in the bracket. Nice work looks like yet another job well done. :thumb:
 

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