Where is my power steering fluid cylinder?

[NeilV]

My first motorhome was on the mid 90's WorkHorse/Chevy chassis and the system is pretty simple with the power steering and power brake booster tied together using the same power steering pump. The pump is nothing special and just a pretty typical power steering pump with a remote reservoir which if your having trouble finding it you can locate by following the rubber hoses from the steering box on the inside of the drivers side frame rail connected to the shaft from the steering wheel and the drag link connected to the knuckle on the left front wheel.

Looking up from the bottom you should be able to see and check all the belts for tightness testing for deflection and if any have too much deflection just follow them through their path until you come to the component with the adjuster on it so you can tighten it. If it has an automatic adjuster, that may need to be replaced if the spring has broken or become weak.

On an ancient unit like that it would not be unusual for hoses to have degraded internally with their residue clogging the inlet screen on the power steering pump. If they have to replace the pump its best to also replace the hoses and put an in-line filter on the return line to better protect the pump.

Even if you do not need to replace any parts it would be a good idea to drain all the old power steering fluid from the system, flush it out with fresh fluid until it comes out clear and fill it with fresh clean fluid.

Anyone who has worked on a step vans based on the GM Chassis such as used by UPS, FedEx, Bakeries, etc, etc should be intimately familiar with the system and how it works. Its not unique and is still used to this day by both GM and Ford on their larger trucks and vans.

[Jinxtv]

I thought I would have a final update today, but maybe it's not over.

I drove the rig to a mechanics two weeks ago and he said it's probably the pump (as I already felt pretty certain of, thanks to this forum) and a new pump plus labor would probably be $700. He couldn't do it right away, so I decided to keep going to Chehalis, WA and look for a mechanic there who could maybe order the pump ahead of time.

Well, before I got to Chehalis I was on I-5 and completely lost the ability to accelerate. I was able to coast off the freeway and down an exit ramp and eventually found a place that could tow me, but nobody who could work on my rig. They towed me to an empty lot across from the tow place.

The next day, the tow shop helped me find a place that would work on my rig and towed me there.

The mechanic looked at my rig and said I needed a new transmission. He couldn't build me a new transmission but found me a place that would, convinced them to move me to the front of the line, and let me stay with the rig at the shop for a week. Didn't charge me for any of it. The best people ever.

After the holiday weekend, the tow company came back and towed the rig to the transmission shop. They winched the rig up onto their rack and started on it right away. They weren't able to get the right parts to build a new transmission, so they rebuilt the old one. It comes with a warranty.

Once the transmission was done and the new pump arrived, they finally started working on the power steering/brakes issue. There was a LOT of swearing going on when the mechanic was accessing the pump. It seems to be extremely difficult to get to. New pump was finally put in, but fluid keeps leaking SO it's either the wrong pump or wrong fittings or ???

It looked like I would finally be leaving this morning, but not any more. Who knew rebuilding the transmission would be the easy part.

[1972VWbus]

Originally Posted by Jinxtv

I thought I would have a final update today, but maybe it's not over.

I drove the rig to a mechanics two weeks ago and he said it's probably the pump (as I already felt pretty certain of, thanks to this forum) and a new pump plus labor would probably be $700. He couldn't do it right away, so I decided to keep going to Chehalis, WA and look for a mechanic there who could maybe order the pump ahead of time.

Well, before I got to Chehalis I was on I-5 and completely lost the ability to accelerate. I was able to coast off the freeway and down an exit ramp and eventually found a place that could tow me, but nobody who could work on my rig. They towed me to an empty lot across from the tow place.

The next day, the tow shop helped me find a place that would work on my rig and towed me there.

The mechanic looked at my rig and said I needed a new transmission. He couldn't build me a new transmission but found me a place that would, convinced them to move me to the front of the line, and let me stay with the rig at the shop for a week. Didn't charge me for any of it. The best people ever.

After the holiday weekend, the tow company came back and towed the rig to the transmission shop. They winched the rig up onto their rack and started on it right away. They weren't able to get the right parts to build a new transmission, so they rebuilt the old one. It comes with a warranty.

Once the transmission was done and the new pump arrived, they finally started working on the power steering/brakes issue. There was a LOT of swearing going on when the mechanic was accessing the pump. It seems to be extremely difficult to get to. New pump was finally put in, but fluid keeps leaking SO it's either the wrong pump or wrong fittings or ???

It looked like I would finally be leaving this morning, but not any more. Who knew rebuilding the transmission would be the easy part.

If the drivers wheel is turned and the panel removed in the wheel well the PS pump is right in front of you.



Can you see where it is leaking from?

[MrMark52]

I thought ours (‘91 P30 chassis) was a leaky pump until looking closer - we had 2 leaks, one on the seal of the hydro boost where it connected to the master cylinder, the other was one of the pressure hoses between the p/s pump and hydro boost.

I replaced the hydro boost with a rebuilt one from NAPA (couldn’t find a new one). Replaced all pressure hoses (RockAuto).

No more leaks.

A pain in the keister to replace the hoses.