Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

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shift_
240sx Wannabe
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Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by shift_ »

Ok guys, you all are my first line of defense, i hope you can help me solve my issue.

I amd the guy who bought Brian's (orion s14?) Car a while back, and ive been doing quite a few things to it, and ive run into a bit of a persisting issue that's keeping me from driving it so i want to get it solved.

So basically i picked up a chase bays power steering resovoir and lines, becauae i wanted non perishible lines for everything on the car, and because i wanted to, really.

Anyway, i pulled all of the factory lines and resovoir off, and find out that brian had already made a ss high pressure line so i reused that because it fits quite well. I installed the chase bays return line from the rack to the resovoir and that fit quire well, then i went to install the large feed from the resovoir to the pump inlet and it was just awkwardly positioned. The inlet to the power steering was 90 degrees to the resovoir so i decided to machine a new inlet pipe that was straight to the resovoir.

That seemed to go well and fit quite well and made a direct path to the resovoir.

As far as fluid that was drained, i removed the two lines from the rack that supplyand return the fluid, but thats it, and never drained the system entirely.

So i filled the fluid and took off for a drive. And about 15 minutes later i hear the pump start to whine a bit, and it got worse quickly so i pulled over and popped the cap and the fluid was bright pink, indicating to me that there was lots of air. Crap. I let it sit, started it back up about 30 minutes later, and it was black and solid looking in the resovoir. Then slowly over about 15 minutes, small bubbles proceed to show up in the res and it gets brighter and brighter until it is bright pink and i can hear the pump slightly rattle.

It does this same behavior every time it runs now.

I figured this could only be due to air getting pulled in on the vacuum side of the pump, so here are the things ive tried:

Remove the inlet pipe i made and reinstall with a bit of rtv just in case, as the stock oring is quite flat and probably hard by now.

Also i took ofd the chase bays clamp on said pipe and replaced with another clamp as i didnt feel it clamped well enough.

Neither item had any effect on the outcome, so now im at a loss.

There are no leaks anywhere along any of the lines.

One thing i thought was a bit odd was when the fluid gets warm it begins to spiral like a tornado in the resovoir, moving quite rapidly. Seems like it is pumping fluid quite quickly through the system.

Ive tied lifting the nose of the car off the ground while its idling and turning the wheel slowly lock to lock for 20 minutes at a time, 4 times so far, with the same results every time, fluid gets aerated and pump starts rattling just a bit.

Any ideas appreciated.
Thanks
Chris

P.s. help me i want to drive my car!!!
fully built block, 8.8cr, sc6152s, jdm oem kouki bits
shift_
240sx Wannabe
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:37 pm
Location: terre haute, Indiana
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Re: Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by shift_ »

Ok, so I took another good look at the car last night and there's only one thing sticking out as a possibility to me right now. I can't figure as how any air could be getting in on the input side to the pump, as all of the fittings are very tight and clamps are very secure, but while looking at the factory pump inlet closely, I'm realizing it is angled down slightly. The inlet to the pump is angled down probably 20-30 degrees from horizontal, and the inlet tube I machined is straight, so the AN hose comes out of the reservoir at a 45 degree angle (from straight down) and arcs into the pump inlet. So this does create a "dip" in the line. It's not much, maybe an inch worth across the 1 foot span, but it is something.

Is this possibly a case of the pump not being fully primed and whipping the fluid and air around? If the pump does get fully primed, will it keep the prime and keep the line charged so this doesn't happen every time I turn the car off?

I'm thinking about trying to modify the factory inlet pipe, as it has an immediate 90 degree bend that runs the fluid directly back toward the firewall (instead of straight out on a decline) and then up to the reservoir, which would erase the dip in the line.

Any ideas?
Thanks,
Chris
fully built block, 8.8cr, sc6152s, jdm oem kouki bits
shift_
240sx Wannabe
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:37 pm
Location: terre haute, Indiana
Contact:

Re: Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by shift_ »

So i decided to eliminate the dip in the feed line from the reservoir today. Welded a male AN fitting on the stock pump inlet pipe and made a new line straight to the pump that is a perfect decline feed to the pump inlet and..... same exact result. Idle the car for 15 min and the fluid turns bright pink and is full of air.

Help me im at a loss
fully built block, 8.8cr, sc6152s, jdm oem kouki bits
adamky
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Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 6:40 am
Location: Louisville, KY

Re: Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by adamky »

Can you post some pics? I've never had an issue with air in the power steering system, even after I rebuilt my steering rack. So I'm not sure what the issue is, but pics may help.
Wiseco/Eagle, JWT S1 cams, BC valve springs, PT5857, ID1700 injectors, SR20DET ECU w/ Nismotronic, COP conversion with LS ignition coils, etc, etc...
--> YouTube channel --> my build thread
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shift_
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Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2005 9:37 pm
Location: terre haute, Indiana
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Re: Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by shift_ »

Well to make a long story long, I solved the issue.

I couldn't get any good results with the pump on the car so I took the pump off and bench tested it by looping the lines from the reservoir to the pump and back so I could eliminate variables. Then I spun the pump up with my hand drill until the fluid warmed up and the bubbles just started trickling in, so I knew the problem was in the pump.

It only seems to be an issue once the pump is warmed up, and I'm thinking the stock cooler line was masking the issue a bit as it was able to keep the fluid cooler and the bubbles to a minimum. When I replaced all of the lines with AN lines and the new reservoir, I deleted the stock cooler line, as it would have been a pain to make AN connections to it. The lack of a heat exchanger exposed the aeration problem a bit more so that's what puzzled me in the first place. I figured since the pump was fine before, it couldn't be the pump, when in fact, it was.

So I got the cheap gates rebuild kit for the pump and completely rebuilt it, and voila, no more air in the system, period. Runs like a swiss watch. I also decided to add a cooler back into the system, as I plan to road race, and figured it would be a nice thing to have, and seeing as I had a spare cooler just sitting in a box from my uncles old fiat 1600 race car, I figured why not eh.

So all is well now, just need the weather to cooperate so I can get out and drive the car again.
fully built block, 8.8cr, sc6152s, jdm oem kouki bits
adamky
SuperMod
Posts: 3511
Joined: Wed May 31, 2006 6:40 am
Location: Louisville, KY

Re: Need help troubleshooting air in power steering system

Post by adamky »

Fantastic. I didn't realize Gates made a rebuild kit for the pumps.
Wiseco/Eagle, JWT S1 cams, BC valve springs, PT5857, ID1700 injectors, SR20DET ECU w/ Nismotronic, COP conversion with LS ignition coils, etc, etc...
--> YouTube channel --> my build thread
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