Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

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sonic reducer
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
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Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by sonic reducer »

The following will chronicle how I removed my power steering pump from my 2000 awd astro cargo with hydroboost and AC.

About a week ago I let my GF's friend borrow my astro so she could move her house. then I get the call a day later that the van won't steer or brake. Apparently they were parallel parking(most likely ham-fisted) when this occurred. drove it gingerly home, steering was no big thing but braking was a bit scary. slow and steady wins the race. Case in point: don't let people borrow your van. these vans are known to blow PS pumps when they are pushed to the limit.

I went to the auto parts store and bought a reman'd pump. A Cardone version IIRC. $34 and $10 core. A couple quarts of fluid and some brake cleaner. I elected to buy the one with no reservoir, thinking the term "reservoir" was meant in the traditional sense ie the point that you fill the system from. WRONG. it is the backer for the pump, a stamped sheetmetal pan of sorts with some welded hose barbs and holes. it is a press fit to the cast pump body. DO NOT purchase the one without the reservoir, fork out the extra $20 for the one that has a reservoir installed already because there is a strong likelihood that it will be rusty, difficult to remove, VERY difficult to reinstall correctly, easy to bend and dent during installation adding time and risk to what is already a pain in the ass job. My blood pressure was at its peak for this project during replacing the reservoir.

Gaining access to the pump, in order:

1. remove hood latch(13mm socket) because it will be in your belly the whole time. I waited til about step 6 to do this, take my word just do it right off the bat. remove airbox, air intake tube post MAF(flat screwdriver and 5/16 socket), and lower airbox(no fasteners).

2. remove upper fan shroud(10mm socket and 2 extensions). I had to bend the edge of the sheetmetal a bit to get it out easier. seems there is a bunch of core support that could be cut away. tie upper radiator hose as high as you can, it is in the way.

3. remove radiator fan. this was difficult for me and ate up a lot of time. the serpentine belt would not hold the pulley that the fan clutch threads onto with its single large nut(36mm?), so I removed the serpentine belt first and looped a strap wrench over the WP pulley, braced it to something on the engine, and threw a large crescent wrench on the nut and banged on it with a hammer. There is a special tool available for this job but I wasn't about to fork out for it. thankfully someone had put a good amount of anti sieze on there so if yours is dry do the same once you get it off.

4. remove lower radiator shroud being careful of the radiator fins.

5. remove the pulley from the pump with whatever puller setup you can come up with. my pump's shaft had snapped so I just pulled the shaft out of the pump and did this on the bench. Make sure that your puller is seated on the faces of the pulley correctly and does not try to walk off. the powerbuilt kit I had required shimming with a piece of a spoon inside the retaining ring. loose fitting piece of shit that kit is. hey, it was free.

6. remove the bolts from the AC compressor(13mm socket, wobbler, long extension, 13mm ratchet wrench). there are 4 long ones vertically and one short bolt which holds the oil filler neck. remove the bolts from the AC compressor/PS pump support bracket(1/2" socket). remove the 3 bolts from the front of the PS pump(13mm socket). remove the bracket and leave the AC compressor in place. make note of which bolts are which, there are some long ones and short ones. If I had removed this bracket from the get go, I would have saved hours of head scratching! with the differential right below the PS pump you just cannot get it out the bottom, it must come out the front. this is not optional AFAIK.

7. put down a huge piece of cardboard on the floor that you fished out of the truck accessories shop down the street's dumpster. get your widest drainpan out and position it below the PS pump area. Disconnect the smallest hose from the PS pump(needlenose vicegrip) and try to drain the fluid as gracefully as possible. you won't get all of it so just be prepared for drips thereafter. once you are drained all the way out at the fill reservoir, disconnect the large fill hose(needlenose vice grip) and the flare fitting on the upper end of the pressure line going into the boost(18mm flare wrench), leaving it connected to the PS pump.

8. remove the 2 nuts from behind the PS pump which are on the stupid little sheetmetal bracket.(15mm wrench with another hooked into it for leverage to break loose, then a 15mm ratchet wrench to unthread it). I ended up pulling the drivers front wheel and pulled back the fender liner but I don't think you need to so do that as a last resort. I think my van had the PS pump replaced before because the harder of the 2 to reach which is the inboard one, was not there. I am not sure these nuts are even necessary and I thought of removing their mounting bracket upon reinstallation but did not.

9. rejoice in yarding the PS pump out. have a frosty beverage.

10. you don't have to screw around with changing the pump's reservoir because you bought the whole assembly RIGHT????!

11. you may want to take some measures to insure that you don't have chunks of pump elsewhere in the system. try and flush the remaining fluid in the system using the exposed lines and something like a mityvac or air pressure. run a bit of fresh fluid through if you can.

12. reinstall all hoses.

13. reinstall support bracket. this is tricky, get all bolts started before any tightening. start with putting the bracket on the sud coming out of the block, suck it into place a bit with the nut, first start the bolt adjacent to the block, then the others, lastly the AC bolts. you labeled all the bolts to their locations didnt you????

14. install the pulley on the PS pump. with the powerbuilt kit it wanted to unthread from the pump snout so I was forced to keep a hand on the pulley and use the steering box to brace the 1/2" wrench of the threaded rod part while working the nut with a 13/16 wrench. verify that you have the PS pulley in plane with the crank pulley. a long straight edge off the PS pulley and a 6" ruler will help.

15. fill the system. spin the pump with a drill a bit to cycle the fluid as best you can.

16. reinstall the serpentine belt. there should be a diagram on the core support if you forgot the route, like me.

17. reinstall the lower shroud. LOTS easier with no fan in the way.

18. reinstall the fan. dont forget the anti sieze on that huge thread.

19. reinstall all the rest of the plastic junk.

20. check the fluid level and fire up the van. rejoice that your power assists have returned. have another frosty beverage(s).
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okie1
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by okie1 »

Good write-up, thanks I may need that in the future, but just in case, I already took care of the frosty beverages part. :cheers: :cheers:
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by doyoulikeithere »

Nice write up, but I would have to say thay you can save a bunch of cash by NOT buying another reservoir, because, it takes all of 5 minutes to complete the really easy task of putting your new pump into your old reservoir !! If it aint broke, dont fix it.
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Topic author
sonic reducer
I am merely driving my van
I am merely driving my van
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by sonic reducer »

I listed some of the reasons why I think it's worth it to spend the extra dough on the res. version. But to each their own. Mine was a major pain.
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Rileysowner
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by Rileysowner »

If it was only $20 here I would probably have purchased the reservoir, but it is going from $45 for the pump to $85. A little aggravation is worth it for me. I am more annoyed on my '97 that I can't seem to get the fan off. I am doing the strap wrench thing, but it won't budge at this point. I did get the pulley off the PS pump even with the fan in, but I am thinking it would be easier to get the pump out and new one in if I didn't have the fan in the way. Of course I can't figure out if my '97 is left of right hand thread. According to Haynes (not the most reliable of sources but it is what I have) if it is reverse threaded it will be shown on the sticker that shows the routing of the serpentine belt. I can't really see anything that indicates that one way or the other.
"I have a torque wrench and I am not afraid to use it."
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Smiliesafari
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by Smiliesafari »

I've done a water pump with the fan in place. Although I did remove the fan after because I needed it for the new pump. If I remember right the fan nut is 1 7/16 and it is right hand thread. I have noticed that when it needs to be removed you need to whack the end of the wrench several times with a hammer to break it loose. I always use anti seize when I replace it.
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Smiliesafari
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by Smiliesafari »

That size is also 36 mm if you have metric wrenches.
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Rileysowner
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by Rileysowner »

I have to get the upper rad hose out of the way to get a good swing with the hammer. It was getting too dark to see if the strap wrench was on well also, so hopefully with light and getting that hose tied out of the way, I can get a few good swings with the hammer and get it moving.
"I have a torque wrench and I am not afraid to use it."
Jim
1997 GMC Safari RWD, Power Windows and Locks, 7 passenger, a/c, rear heat

http://rileysowner.blogspot.com/

blacknome
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Re: Power steering pump on 2000 AWD astro van

Post by blacknome »

I have 6 reman'd pumps with no reservoir PN 20-860 / SP17250 here at work in S.Ont if anyone needs one for cheap. I actually have other PS pumps as well. I bought them years ago at a warehouse sale.
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