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I don't think I have air in the system any longer, but I can't be 100% certain since I can't turn the tires and look in the reservoir at the same time. The pump isn't whining like there is air in the system and I'm not loosing any assist. I think the pump is just noisy, like an old Ford PS pump. Eventually I will flush the system with good synthetic fluid, but that will be after the ram.
 
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I dont know if you remember or not but my blue 60 did that on Cascade Cruiser run... Whined, got hot, and I lost power steering for a bit. I must have bled that system 3 or 4 times before the issue went away. I'd bleed it again.
 
CreeperSleeper said:
With the Christmas Tree Run coming up this weekend, I was pushing hard to get my power steering fixed this week. I ordered Trail Gear's 1650 psi pump kit thinking that it would be a great upgrade for the time being until I can put a ram on for hydro assist. Reading the instructions showed that the cooler that comes with the kit wouldn't work with an A/C truck because of the A/C condenser fan is where the cooler is supposed to mount. I ended up pulling the bumper and grill off to take a look and see what I could do instead. It may be a wheeler, but I really like having A/C!

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The truck has a A/T cooler in the radiator that isn't being used and my original thought was to use that as my PS cooler. After some Google-fu, I decided that wouldn't be a good solution because the coolant would raise the PS fluid temps. My compromise was to buy a single pass cooler to mount below the passenger side headlight. The next night my buddy Mike, TonsOFun, Mr. Jitz and his son came over to help knock this out. The hope was to get it finished in one night starting at 8:30 pm... On a weeknight. (I have awesome friends!) In typical Trail Gear fashion, the instructions sucked. It also is more of a "one size kinda fits nothing" ordeal. It seemed like every step took some ingenuity to figure out. I am so glad that I wasn't tackling this on my own! When we got to the part of mounting the cooler, my friends did what they should and laughed at me. The fact of the matter was the mini cooler I bought wasn't going to do a thing. I finally came to the realization that steering is more important than A/C and the fan needed to go. The next road block was the cooler was sized to not have the A/C condenser at all, not just the fan. A little frustrated, we figured out that the mounting holes on the cooler were the same width as the mounting location of the fan. That would put the cooler lower and out more than it should be, but I could trim the grill where nobody would see and it should work. We got everything together and started bleeding the system with the engine off. It just wouldn't bleed! I swear it seemed like the fluid was multiplying by itself in the system. Power steering fluid was everywhere... After about 50 or 60 turns lock to lock, we decided to start the truck to force the fluid through system. That is when we found a loose banjo fitting on the ABS actuator when it started spraying fluid. ("Oh! That's why it wouldn't bleed...") We worked it until the bubbles were mostly gone out and called it a night. It was about 3:30 in the morning.

The next day I was back at it after work trying to button everything up. I took the cap off the reservoir and PS fluid came pouring out! Like I said before, it's like the fluid was multiplying... Now I'm super confused and slightly worried. I sucked out some fluid and went back through the bleeding process. Once again I had very small bubbles, but I wasn't seeing any leaking. I can't be sure of this because it is hard to look for leaks when everything is wet with fluid and I needed to turn the wheel. I went until I didn't see bubbles anymore and started putting everything back together. I trimmed the grill and re-did the connection for my aux lights with a new plug. I got the bumper up to bolt it down and my winch ran smack dab into that PS cooler. I was not happy... So, everything came back off. I didn't want to remove any hoses, so my options were limited. I ended up finding the one spot I could get the cooler, but the only way to secure it was with zip-ties. I figured if it was good enough for Volkswagen...

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Then the process sped up a bit. I got the grill back on and made sure that nothing was rubbing or touching where it shouldn't be. All in all, I was happy with how it came out.

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I put the bumper back on and everything cleared! It was about 11:30 and my daughter was asleep so I didn't get a chance to test drive it, but I was overall happy with how it all turned out.

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This morning I drove it to work. It doesn't seem to be leaking or have any more air in the system. Driving the truck is kinda like driving something with Saginaw steering. There is almost no resistance in the steering wheel when you are turning on the street. I am very excited to see how it does off-road. The downside is this pump is noisy! Reading the reviews, I was prepared for it but it does make me a little nervous. It sounds like a supercharger or timing gears on a SBC. It's not annoying, but it is definitely noticeable. All in all, I think I will be happy with the upgrade and I am so thankful to everyone that helped! I guess we will see how he does this weekend.
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I still like our "Trail Gear Worthy" mounting location of the cooler better (you know I'm messing with you). Nice work Chad!!
 
I am proud to say ol Ben did great on the Christmas Tree Run! The PS fluid level never dropped, I never lost assist, and you could barely hear the pump with the radio on. LOL! In all seriousness, my fiancee got sick and we ended up leaving the group early to get her to urgent care. I drove a little over 15 miles on pavement at 8 psi in the tires and never had an issue with control or assist. Once we got there, I checked on the flow in the reservoir. There were no bubbles and everything looked to be proper. It hasn't earned my complete trust yet, but close! I think it's an excuse for a couple more snow runs...
 
Occasionally, you can get some pretty good whining with 90* pump fittings.

But, since you got it resolved, keep on keeping on :)
 
A PS cooler is my next upgrade. Maybe it will happen today:)
 
There's your first problem..
 
Amy and I had a chance to take the Runner up in the snow again yesterday, but we didn't have anyone else to join us so we had to be a bit careful. We had a lot of self-recovery gear, warm clothes, and survival equipment, so I wasn't too concerned. To start the day off, I realized that my Optima Red Top lost a cell and wouldn't hold more than 10.5 volts... So after swapping batteries in the parking lot, we were ready to go. I must say the day was perfect! The snow was nice powder and the weather was clear. What more could I ask for?!?

We decided to stay off trails, but the snow was deep enough that we soon got into areas that hadn't been driven yet. The Runner did great breaking snow and I was impressed with how well everything was going... Until I buried the truck up to the top of the tires, LOL! I figured that would be a good time to air down. 8 psi in the tires and a little shoveling made it so I could drive out without using the winch. I'm happy to say that everything worked as it was supposed to. Now, onto the pics (in no particular order):

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Last night I decided to spend some time figuring out why my high beams weren't working. The indicator on the dash would light up if you moved the stalk to high beam or flash, but the headlights would just go out. You could hear the relays click when messing with the switch, so I figured it had something to do with the multi-function switch on the steering column. I pulled off the trim and steering wheel, removed the switch from the column, and pulled the cover off the headlight and blinker part of the switch. From there I cleaned up the contacts and adjusted the brass arms so that everything worked and put it back together. Sorry, I didn't take any pics because the procedure is very well documented on the webs. If you have any questions, just ask!
 
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