catastrophic power steering pump failure

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dfrfsucks

dfrfsucks

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Threads
25
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91
Location
denver
Has anyone ever had a pump snap in two peaces under normal driving this was a week old remaned pump

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Are you sure the mounting surface was clean? I could see the case cracking if something was stuck between it and the gear cover when then mounting bolts are tightened.
 
Is that a mounting bolt hole on the piece that broke off? Was it seated correctly when it was tightened down?

Edit: it is a mounting bolt hole. I'd bet it wasn't installed correctly and when you tightened it down it cracked.
 
Yeah was fully seated when I torqued it down to 27 lbs per the book I had no leaks everything was fine. I was pulling out of a parking space and lost my power steering and that's what I found
 
Have installed a bunch of those, never had any problems. Maybe it had been dropped/fractured before you got it? I always snug both bolts before going up to torque. I suppose it could stress it if you ran one bolt up to torque without any load on the other bolt?
 
I'd guess that when the bolt on the broken piece was torqued, the housing cracked. It probably separated a week later.

It's cast, not forged, so it really isn't that strong.
 
I used a 3-jaw puller to remove the gear on my pump when I rebuilt it.. turns out the clearance between the gear and the face of the pump was tight enough that the jaws of the puller dimpled the face of the pump very slightly.

I didn't notice that until I went to reinstall the pump and it wounldn't sit flush.. wouldn't even really start going into the bore. I spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to figure out why something that came out so easy wouldn't go back in.. until I saw the little bumps and filed them down.

Point is.. the round inner face is quite a tight fit into the bore the pump slides into. If anything happened like my rebuild I could see it getting jammed and cracked.. or weakened during a previous install.
 
Since the pumps housing is made of cast iron, my best guess is that it got dropped on that mounting ear, causing a hair line crack to form. Probably happen at the place where they rebuild them, you just happened to be the unlucky sole that owned it when it broke.

bloc said:
I used a 3-jaw puller to remove the gear on my pump when I rebuilt it.. turns out the clearance between the gear and the face of the pump was tight enough that the jaws of the puller dimpled the face of the pump very slightly.

I didn't notice that until I went to reinstall the pump and it wounldn't sit flush.. wouldn't even really start going into the bore. I spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to figure out why something that came out so easy wouldn't go back in.. until I saw the little bumps and filed them down.

Point is.. the round inner face is quite a tight fit into the bore the pump slides into. If anything happened like my rebuild I could see it getting jammed and cracked.. or weakened during a previous install.
Click to expand...

Next time you got to rebuild your pump used a bearing separator to remove that gear instead of a 3 jaw puller, the separator doesn't leave any marks. It slides right in between the gear, and the pump body, then you use your 2 jaw puller to pull on the separator to remover the gear.

Amazon.com: OTC (1123) Bearing Splitter - 1/2" to 4-5/8": Automotive
 
Rifleman said:
Next time you got to rebuild your pump used a bearing separator to remove that gear instead of a 3 jaw puller, the separator doesn't leave any marks. It slides right in between the gear, and the pump body, then you use your 2 jaw puller to pull on the separator to remover the gear.
Click to expand...

I have one and assumed it'd work, but it is the largest size and wouldn't get between the gear and face without wedging between them. I was planning on reusing the bearing, so I didn't want to apply that axial force on it.

Either way.. great tool, and yes the properly sized one would have avoided my issues with the PS pump rebuild.
 
The pump that was in there was the OG with about 280k on it it took little to no effert to get the gear off no puller involved the pump on install did not fight at all going in just hard to line up the teeth but it was kinda hard to spin the pump. Anyhow I guess I was that unlucky guy that got the dropped pump thank fully it not mess up the inside of the timing copartment or crack the housing
 
Rifleman said:
Since the pumps housing is made of cast iron, my best guess is that it got dropped on that mounting ear, causing a hair line crack to form. Probably happen at the place where they rebuild them, you just happened to be the unlucky sole that owned it when it broke.



Next time you got to rebuild your pump used a bearing separator to remove that gear instead of a 3 jaw puller, the separator doesn't leave any marks. It slides right in between the gear, and the pump body, then you use your 2 jaw puller to pull on the separator to remover the gear.

Amazon.com: OTC (1123) Bearing Splitter - 1/2" to 4-5/8": Automotive
Click to expand...

Is it not easier to drop a deep well socket over the shaft and give it a tap to separate shaft from bearing?
I held the shaft in the vise with 2 pieces of wood.
 
Last edited:
Hornd said:
Is it not easier to drop a deep well socket over the shaft and give it a tap to separate shaft from bearing?
I held the shaft in the vise with 2 pieces of wood.
Click to expand...
I wasn't talking about getting the bearing off the shaft, but in fact removing the pumps main drive gear on the front of the pump. You know the gear, the one that everyone has a hard time holding still while trying to remove that 12 point nut.
 
FWIW, I have dropped a power steering pump unit on floor (from about 4 feet up) and the case cracked... Does not take much to break...
 
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