S14 Power steering foaming after belt change

[BC240]

I changed my alternator and PS belt due to some belt squeeling, to tighten the power steering belt I pushed the actual PS Motor towards the engine and tightened it up. Started up like a champ but my reservoir foamed up and started spewing fluid everywhere. Everytime I try to bleed it it basically overflows, do I have a massive leak somewhere or do I just have to bleed it more? The whine is really loud when I turn it lock to lock and it doesn't get any better as I do it. Any thoughts?

[silver350z05rb]

the PS pump might be bad or the rack and pinion, are you leaking from any of the boots? i had this when the pump was bad and the power steering line to the pump from the rack was bad,then went away after changing the 2....then im not sure if it came back again when the rack was leaking, but in the end i had replaced.......The rack and pinion,the power steeing pump,and the line from the rack and pinion to the power steering pump itself with what I think is a 19-22mm socket and it hasent foamed up since. or leaked(obviously since i replaced it all),theres not much to the PS system, very simple to look at.

[silver350z05rb]

how do you bleed the PS system??????

[BC240]

Bleed the air by turning my wheel lock to lock with the cap off.

I don't see visible leaks anywhere but there is fluid and dirt over everything so I'll have to clean it up and look closer tomorrow.

Can I damage anything by driving it? I guess I can't drive it if it's overflowing foam everytime I turn the car on.

[LBCtoofortee]

Bleed the air by turning my wheel lock to lock with the cap off.

I don't see visible leaks anywhere but there is fluid and dirt over everything so I'll have to clean it up and look closer tomorrow.

Can I damage anything by driving it? I guess I can't drive it if it's overflowing foam everytime I turn the car on.

i wouldn't wana drive it like that.. .. i dont think that's very good for the ps pump at all.. idk how the climate is where you are but here

found this somewhere

"Foaming over? Well it sounds like you have a leak and a lot of air in the system. Foaming is usually a result of excessive air in the system creating tiny bubbles from cycling the pump while running and causing the foam while the louder whine is a result of parts not full of fluid or submerged. Water can also have a similar affect.

Suggest first looking for leakage and addressing that. You can just top off the system to see if the whining goes away so you don't waste as much fluid if it is leaking. The colder temps can cause clamps to loosen. Start with hose ends and clamps"

[BC240]

Yeah I don't want to damage the pump due to impatience, was just wondering if I could make it to a mechanic.

Thanks for help

[LBCtoofortee]

Yeah I don't want to damage the pump due to impatience, was just wondering if I could make it to a mechanic.

Thanks for help

well i doubt the mechanic is more than 5-10 miles away.. if it was me i'd just drive it there. i don't think its serious enough to keep you from driving it there.. when you said driving i thought you meant like driving it around like nothing was wrong haha

[BC240]

OK I was thinking about this today. When I was tightening the belt I was pulling up on the power steering pump. Could I have damaged an O ring or something connecting to the pump?


Should I pop any of these off to check for damage?



http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/5194/asdf2p.jpg

[silver350z05rb]

if the rings were damaged, it should be leaking, maybe a really small amount, but you should be able to notice it, try cleaning it up real good like you said to see if you see any new stuff leaking.

[BC240]

if the rings were damaged, it should be leaking, maybe a really small amount, but you should be able to notice it, try cleaning it up real good like you said to see if you see any new stuff leaking.

I just cleaned up everything, nothing is leaking.. certainly not from the pump area. Those 3 fittings are bone dry.

I'm really baffled at the moment how air is getting in. I just tried to use my power steering again and again it overflowed fluid all over my car.

[BC240]

As an update I pulled off the hose that attached between the reservoir and the pump and there was a very thin o-ring inside, I'm going to replace that tomorrow and pray to baby jesus thats where the leak is

[BC240]

update, for future reference:

I replaced the O ring with a new one which is just a little fatter, oiled it up and replaced the fluid. For the first time my power steering actually worked! I drove around the block with no issues but heard the groans a bit when I got back.

At this point I think the o-ring worked but I just need to bleed the air in the system, before it would overflow like a volcano 5 seconds after starting the car.

[silver350z05rb]

any noises after what seems to be a weak washer as you stated, might be the result of a now damaged pump or rack and pinion from running incorrectly or inssuficent fluid, ive never had to "bleed" any PS system,your best bet is now....that you just have to bleed it like you said, other than that, like I said, theres not alot to the PS system, just the PS pump,hoses,Rack And Pinion.Let us know what happens

[BC240]

I drove to the gym and back today, it's probably 90% better. At low speeds sometimes it groans and is a little difficult to steer but it's not overflowing or leaking any fluid.

After a long drive I noticed only a few tiny air bubbles, I still havent done a full bleed yet. I don't have a proper jack so I might just take it to the mechanic by my work for a full flush/bleed and belt check.

Wouldn't I have a lot more troubles if the pump was damaged? worst case I can always rebuilt it, learned a lot this week

[fliprayzin240sx]

Man, all you have to do is bleed the damn system. Start the car, take the cover off the PS reservoir, turn the wheel all the way from one side to the other about 20x and you should be good. The bubble you're seeing are just air getting purged out of the system. You cant get air in the system unless you drain the whole system. Even if you have a leak, as long as the reservoir is tapped off, you shouldnt get air in the system.

Also, what fluid are you running? NEVER USE POWERSTEERING FLUID!!! You're only supposed to use ATF. Thicker fluid, less prone to leaking.