Power Steering Question

[lsetten]

Did some searches and did not really find any good info. The other day I was on a slight incline waiting for a gate to open. I had slight pressure on the steering wheel to one side, I heard a bit of squealing(not that loud) for about 10 seconds. For the rest of the trip my power steering was pretty much non-existent unless the engine increased in RPMs. I was mainly cruising down the interstate, so I could steer just fine, only when I would take off from a full stop would it be hard to steer unless, as mentioned, I would rev the engine a bit. Towards the end of the trip the power steering came back and it has been fine ever since. I didn't notice much difference in the braking aside from it feeling a little "spongy" until the power steering issue went away. I didn't notice any funny smells, or anything out of the ordinary and there were no fluid leaks of any kind. I looked under the hood with the engine running and couldn't notice anything unusual.

Could the power steering pump just have been clogged? Should I flush the system as a first check, or is there something that you guys would recommend otherwise?

Thanks.

[astroturf]

Did some searches and did not really find any good info. The other day I was on a slight incline waiting for a gate to open. I had slight pressure on the steering wheel to one side, I heard a bit of squealing(not that loud) for about 10 seconds. For the rest of the trip my power steering was pretty much non-existent unless the engine increased in RPMs. I was mainly cruising down the interstate, so I could steer just fine, only when I would take off from a full stop would it be hard to steer unless, as mentioned, I would rev the engine a bit. Towards the end of the trip the power steering came back and it has been fine ever since. I didn't notice much difference in the braking aside from it feeling a little "spongy" until the power steering issue went away. I didn't notice any funny smells, or anything out of the ordinary and there were no fluid leaks of any kind. I looked under the hood with the engine running and couldn't notice anything unusual.

Could the power steering pump just have been clogged? Should I flush the system as a first check, or is there something that you guys would recommend otherwise?

Thanks.

PS Fluid level? Age of drive belt? How many miles on van?

[lsetten]

Fluid Level is just fine. At cold line when cold, at hot line when hot.

Van has 180,000 miles

Belt looks to be in good condition, no tears, cracking, glazing, etc. though I have not replaced the belt since I bought the van at 114,000 miles.

The power steering pump was replaced before I bought the van at around 100,000 I believe.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Again.

[doyoulikeithere]

I wish i had THE answer for you.
I had my PS pump changed at a shop, and ever since, I had a slight issue where the "Power" would fade off if I tried to steer sharp and brake at the same time. Suddenly, I would have no power assist for either steering or brakes. yikes! Once I would rev the engine up a bit, or under normal highway driving etc, there was no problem. I understood it to be air in the system. I tried to bleed it how the "Haynes" manual says, but no luck. I never did figure it out because I disassembled that van eventually.
Sorry, I guess this int much help, but I want the answer too!!

[chevy57bert]

For the basic bleeding. (not specific for astro safari)
check fluid level. check belt tension, your jack up your front axle, start engine and steer from left to right several times.
check fluid level again. if you have to ad some fluid, means there was some air in the system.

also it go be that there is a defect on the pressure valve.
if you steer to the left and the engine will not go down in rpm you have a defect pressure regulator.

hope that someone will claim in for this issue.....

[cowboydan]

could be something simple like the shop missed the mark when reinstalling steering pump pully. if it's off alot, it will squeel but it will likely throw the belt. the small sqeel will likely be caused by the pully rubbing on the pump housing, you might mistake this noise as a bit of belt squeel. the only way i know how to check for pully misaligngment is by looking closely at the the pully with the belt, but you have to have a good eye. in many cases the pully is in too far. i'd take it back to them and have them fix it. they can adjust the pully with minimal effort. if your peddle doesn't feel right, you may have a leak and it can cause your pump to malfunction. but since you didn't mention any leaks on the ground i can assume it's not leaking.... that's all i got. one note, if you have a leak it will get worse rapidly, so i wouldn't waste time getting it back to the shop. with this style pump, did you pay big bucks for the pump? or was the pump around 100 bucks? the reason i ask is that the expensive one comes with a new housing, the cheap one is just the pump and requires retro fit to the original housing.
i might have other ideas but the pully seems to stick out for me. best of luck

[cowboydan]

accually i remember now. the pully must be flush on the end of the pump shaft, you can check it with a small geometry ruler and a flashlight, but you might have to remove the top shroud. it can also be done from the bottom but it's just as challanging as the shroud is still in the way