Plug screw on the back of the PS pump backed out; need replacement. (1 Viewer)

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M

Mandrake

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Gentlemens. So it seems that the plug screw on the back of my power steering pump on my '97 backed out and went out on its own adventure. Here's a thread with a picture of the hole I'm talking about, for reference.

Power steering pump

It happened about 40 miles from home, and I had no choice to but just drive home. The pump made no noises, and when I got home, it was still leaking fluid. I refilled the reservoir, but it poured out the hole exactly as you see in that other thread. I was able to push a small diameter 3" long screw driver all the way in, but on my '95, the screw driver only went in an inch or so.

Does anyone know the thread pitch and diameter of the hole? It's a bitch to get to without pulling the pump or battery or oil filter, and if someone has a pump laying around, it'd be much easier for you to pull the plug screw and measure it. Alternately, has anyone put the plug back in only to find that the pump was toast? I'd rather throw a plug in it and fill the system than just go replace the pump if this one is still good.

Thanks, guys!
 
Mandrake said:
Gentlemens. So it seems that the plug screw on the back of my power steering pump on my '97 backed out and went out on its own adventure. Here's a thread with a picture of the hole I'm talking about, for reference.

Power steering pump

It happened about 40 miles from home, and I had no choice to but just drive home. The pump made no noises, and when I got home, it was still leaking fluid. I refilled the reservoir, but it poured out the hole exactly as you see in that other thread. I was able to push a small diameter 3" long screw driver all the way in, but on my '95, the screw driver only went in an inch or so.

Does anyone know the thread pitch and diameter of the hole? It's a bitch to get to without pulling the pump or battery or oil filter, and if someone has a pump laying around, it'd be much easier for you to pull the plug screw and measure it. Alternately, has anyone put the plug back in only to find that the pump was toast? I'd rather throw a plug in it and fill the system than just go replace the pump if this one is still good.

Thanks, guys!
Click to expand...
There's not a threaded plug in there. It's pressed in with an o-ring. There are a few threads on this. Most of them state to replace the pump.

We fixed one for a friend of mine but he had his original plug. We put on a new o-ring and then cleaned and filled with epoxy.

Someone else suggested finding a freeze plug and pressing in there, but we couldn't find one the right size. You'll need to to mic the hole and search the internet for one the right size. Then tap it in and epoxy it.

There's no spring or ball or anything behind it.
 
Thanks for the reply. I did search and I only found two threads, neither of which had resolutions beyond giving up on plugging the hole and replacing the pump. Either way, replacement it is. As for the plug itself, every picture I've found of a pump that shows the plug, shows either a slot for a screw driver or a hex for an allen key, that's why I figured it was a threaded plug.
 
Is this the port in question. What is it? Overpressure bypass?? I didn't touch it, and now I wonder...

DSC_5225 (Medium).JPG
DSC_5223 (Medium).JPG
 
Same thing happened to my pump on a trip through Baja. Blew the plug out and the pump wouldn’t hold fluid. I sealed it up with JB weld and it actually worked well for about a month till that blew out from wheelin. I have to admit I put the JB weld on the pump while it was still in place and tried to clean it as best as possible beforehand but I’m sure there was still a lot of dirt and oil that caused the JB weld to not seal 100%.

I’ve since resealed the hole using a cheap rubber plug from the hardware store with JB marine weld covering the rubber plug completely. This was back in October and I have not had any problems since then, including driving across country from CA to SC. I did have the pump out to rebuild it so I cleaned it up big time before sealing the hole.

IMO, replacing the pump would be good security for having a nice, functioning pump whereas plugging the hole would be a simple and cheap fix. Do what you feel comfortable with or what your wallet allows.

Unfortunately I don’t have a very good pic of the finished product but you can somewhat see what I’m talking about at the bottom of my first picture. Also have a pic of the rubber plug I used to seal it up with.

DEE6ED44-D4B7-4C08-ACA5-2EE4C412DC5A.jpeg
06F7F959-B6CF-46CE-86CE-BA79B62DDE39.jpeg
 
blkprj80 said:
Is this the port in question. What is it? Overpressure bypass?? I didn't touch it, and now I wonder...

View attachment 1601368 View attachment 1601369
Click to expand...
That's the one, it's machined into the pump body. I think the reason why it's there, it allows the inlet tube that provides fluid to the pump, to intersect with a cavity/port that channels that fluid to the low pressure side of the pump rotor.
img_7582-1-jpg.1399461
 
on3i11s said:
I’ve since resealed the hole using a cheap rubber plug from the hardware store with JB marine weld covering the rubber plug completely.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying your going to have problems with the rubber plug you installed in your pump, but you might. The rubber that's used for automatic transmission hoses, and power steering hoses is made out of a special rubber for use in "hot oil service". The temps for hot oil service can run upwards of 350 degrees, not all rubber is compatible with those types of temps or ATF fluid.
 
Rifleman said:
I'm not saying your going to have problems with the rubber plug you installed in your pump, but you might. The rubber that's used for automatic transmission hoses, and power steering hoses is made out of a special rubber for use in "hot oil service". The temps for hot oil service can run upwards of 350 degrees, not all rubber is compatible with those types of temps or ATF fluid.
Click to expand...


Completely agree 100%. At the time I needed to get back up and running so I used the cheap plug...I was thinking of tapping the hole and inserting a screw or bolt of some sorts but oh well. So far I’ve put over 4000 miles since plugging the hole so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on it.
 
subzali said:
Comparing with the photo above, is my plug still in place? Looks almost hollow.
View attachment 2993675
Click to expand...
Yes. Clean out that area and fill with epoxy and you shouldn't have a problem. Or do as jonheld shows above. Then you would have to remove that plug.
 
jonheld said:
That plug looks long gone to me.
Click to expand...
No, it's still in there. You can see where the face of the plug is in line with the casting ridge inside there. You can verify by going to the link you provided, as Joey has provided some FANTASTIC reference pics on his site. @NLXTACY
 
BILT4ME said:
No, it's still in there. You can see where the face of the plug is in line with the casting ridge inside there. You can verify by going to the link you provided, as Joey has provided some FANTASTIC reference pics on his site. @NLXTACY
Click to expand...
I see, said the blind man...
So we're looking at the inside of the plug in that picture above. Gotcha.
 
I reached inside and I could feel the curved part of the plug on the inside, so I think it's still there. Just not what I expected to see from the outside.

I spent about an hour cleaning up my garage floor and picking through my garage trash cans thinking I mistakenly threw it away because I thought it fell out on the floor.

forum.ih8mud.com

Wits' End- so much free time to develop more stupid crap (AKA PS plug)

Here's the deal, as many of our 80 Series Land Cruisers increase the age and road time, things start, well...breaking down. Its inevitable. But some things breaking down can be more annoying than catastrophic. That brings us to the gear driven power steering pump found on the 1FZ Land Cruisers...
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com

1651090762734.png
 
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