I just replaced the p/s pump and hoses on my 1977. Filled the fluid to specs, but for whatever reason, I am still without power steering. I have no clue why not. Belt is good and running properly too...any suggestions?

 

Did you bleed the system? With front wheels off the ground and engine not running, cycle the steering lock to lock about 30 times. Ck. fluid level after each 10 cycles. mike...

 

Below is how I bled my system. Had no problems since.

Bleed power steering pump by turning the pulley backwards
(counter-clockwise as viewed from front) until air bubbles
cease to appear.
Tighten pump mounting bolts, torque to 25 ft-lbs and install
drive belt, adjust tension until a 1/2 inch deflection is
obtained with a 5 lb. load (applied at the center of the belt).
Do not overtighten belt since this may cause premature bearing
failure to pump(s).
With power steering reservoir full and bled, start engine
momentarily and then shut off. Check reservoir level, if
empty, refill to correct level. Repeat operation until
reservoir level remains constant.
CAUTION: Keep arms away from steering wheel; occasionally, the wheel may start
to turn by itself because the control valve has not yet been centered, (every vehicle
is slightly different and it is not possible to exactly preset all valves at the factory).
If centering is required, remove the metal cap at the end of
the control valve (marked "c"), and adjust the centering by
turning the screw (under cap), while the engine is running at
1500 RPM and the front wheels are off the ground. Steering
will move left or right as the screw is adjusted. Once
steering remains straight, replace cap and continue to next
step.
Top-off reservoir, recheck for leaks, check for twisted hoses
during operation of steering system and reset, if required.
S. We recommend that the wheel alignment be checked and adjusted if it is no
longer in factory specifications.

 

One minor but important recommendation. When centering the valve turn the nut until the wheels just start to move in one direction. Paying attention to how far you are turning the nut turn it in the opposite direction until the wheels just start to turn in the other direction. Now move the nut to the mid point between those two positions. If you just move it until the wheels just stay straight you could be closer to one direction than the other which will result in the steering being stiffer in one direction than the other.

Steve g

 

If all you do is spin the pump (either foreword or reverse rotation) you may work most of the air out of the hoses and part of the control valve. However, if you have replaced the assist cylinder (ram) on a Corvette (or the integral power steering gear on most GM passenger cars and light trucks) just spinning the pump will not get the air out of those parts.

Particularly, if the assist cylinder (or power gear) is completely empty of oil there will still be a very large amount of air in those components. Now when you start your engine and rotate your steering wheel, air in the cylinder (or power gear) will begin to circulate through your power steering system; enter the pumping section inside your power steering pump; and the air and oil will get whipped to a milky froth with millions of very tiny air bubbles trapped in the oil.

You will have created a compressible fluid with all the tiny air bubbles. Your steering will feel spongy and you will experience a loss of power assist. It takes a couple of overnight sits for the small bubbles to combine into larger bubbles and make their way up into the pump reservoir and back to atmosphere.

Here is the address for the procedure that I recommend to "get the air out" before you start the engine.

http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-co...08DE201012.pdf

Good luck,
Jim

 

Go with Jim Shea's article. I'll be changing my saved document to his. Helps to listen to the resident steering guru.

 

Okay, thanks for all of the help/suggestions everyone!
Well, I'm a noob and it showed when I figured out what was wrong! (please no flaming...my face is red enough...lol)

Anyways, before anyone posted how to's on bleeding the system, I was under the car unscrewing the hoses and making sure the fluid was going through, and pretty much unscrewing anything I could find that was attached to the p/s system, to see if that was how to bleed it. Well, as it turns out, I saw a nut at the end of what I didn't know at the time was the p/s control valve. I noticed it was screwed on very tight, so I unscrewed it, nothing happened, so I screwed it back on all the way. (red face)
Then I was baffled because I did everything everyone was suggesting, and the hoses are all good because the fluid was flowing through them, but still...every time I put the car back down off of the stands, it didn't have power steering.
I did some more research online and found out exactly how the p/s system actually works. So I figured out that the adjusting nut at the end of the PSCV should have stayed where it was. So, being the "smart guy" I am, went out to the car, and unscrewed it to where I though it originally was.
A couple of hours went by and I was going to leave to go to the grocery store, and when I turned on the car (I'm sure you can guess what happened next), the steering wheel jerked all the way right, and when it hit the stop, it kept on trying to go!
I remembered this thread, put the car back on the stands, and adjusted the nut again, this time the opposite way, and voila...the steering corrected itself right before my eyes. Before I dropped the car again, I tried the steering, and it needed just a little more adjustment, I made that, and everything was right with the world!
I breathed a sigh of relief 1) that I was not on the road when it happened, and 2) that I finally figured out how to complete my p/s issues, and has p/s again! Definitely won't make that mistake again...it was TOO frustrating.

Like I said....thank you all for your help and suggestions!
And a big thank you to Willcox for the AIM! That was a big help too!