Can't bleed air out of steering system -- Installed new rack
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Nope, no weak tensioner. I didn't have this power assist air/shudder problem before I touched it. I changed the pump tonight, and of course, that wasn't the problem. I was told by some guys who used to be dealership mechanics that it'* normal to have a very hard time getting air bubbles out of a new rack, and it can take 500 miles of driving to get them out. I'll drive the car, I have put almost zero miles on it since changing the rack this week, haven't needed to go anywhere since I'm on spring break. If the power assist still shudders after lots of driving it'* time for rack #3 in a month. Yeay this thing sucks.
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I installed a reman Rack in my Bonneville... I get the sad feeling I got a Buick rack... My steering got way to light... I'm almost considering another rack as I hate this one..
But, after the install it seemed to take a few days for all of the air bubbles to finally bleed out of the system... I'd say either you sill have some air in the system or the PS pump may be on its way out... But see if the power steering gets any better first... Good Luck
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But, after the install it seemed to take a few days for all of the air bubbles to finally bleed out of the system... I'd say either you sill have some air in the system or the PS pump may be on its way out... But see if the power steering gets any better first... Good Luck
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You probably did get the Buick rack. I found out that some parts houses (namely A1-cardone) show the same part #* for Buick and pontiac racks, even though the factory part #* are not the same. The ratios are the same from Buick to Pontiac, but the racks are valved differently. The pontiac rack will use less power assist to make it feel firmer
BTW my PS pump is brand new now, it wasn't the problem. I noticed after driving for 15-20 miles the other day that the steering did feel better and I was getting less bubbles. I then tore the system down and installed a new pump, which got me back to the point where I have quiet a few bubbles and the power assist pulses. Hopefully this works out, or this will be the 4th time I've had my car aligned since November.
BTW my PS pump is brand new now, it wasn't the problem. I noticed after driving for 15-20 miles the other day that the steering did feel better and I was getting less bubbles. I then tore the system down and installed a new pump, which got me back to the point where I have quiet a few bubbles and the power assist pulses. Hopefully this works out, or this will be the 4th time I've had my car aligned since November.
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Originally Posted by 1997_LeSabre
You probably did get the Buick rack. I found out that some parts houses (namely A1-cardone) show the same part #* for Buick and pontiac racks, even though the factory part #* are not the same. The ratios are the same from Buick to Pontiac, but the racks are valved differently. The pontiac rack will use less power assist to make it feel firmer
BTW my PS pump is brand new now, it wasn't the problem. I noticed after driving for 15-20 miles the other day that the steering did feel better and I was getting less bubbles. I then tore the system down and installed a new pump, which got me back to the point where I have quiet a few bubbles and the power assist pulses. Hopefully this works out, or this will be the 4th time I've had my car aligned since November.
BTW my PS pump is brand new now, it wasn't the problem. I noticed after driving for 15-20 miles the other day that the steering did feel better and I was getting less bubbles. I then tore the system down and installed a new pump, which got me back to the point where I have quiet a few bubbles and the power assist pulses. Hopefully this works out, or this will be the 4th time I've had my car aligned since November.
It would be so much nicer if I could just get a reman FE2 Rack from GM, in one big piece...I believe it took about a week for me to finally have the power steering totally back to normal... I couldn't believe how long it took to bleed out the air bubbles.. I have yet to replace my power steering pump at 138,000 miles, but its been seeping from the front seal and has an odd high pitched whine...
And alignments... Grrrr... I need to replace my front strut mount bearings, while I'm there I should do the ball joints and the lower controll arm bushings.. Then yet another alignment..
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My reman GM rack was a piece of junk. I put 1000 miles on it then took it out. It had tons of center slop, which made highway driving a chore. It had a sticker on it that said "remanufactored for GM". There are only a handful of parts houses that remanufacture these things, so a dealership rack, other than being the correct part # for your app, will not be any better quality than what you can get at a chain parts store. In my case, it was worse. Autozone carries Fenco or Atsco Remans, which do distinguish between the Pontiac/Buick-Olds-Caddy racks, so you won't end up getting an old man overboosted rack. If there were different racks for FE1/2/3, they may not make this distinction though. In that case, Car-part.com will let you search for parts, and you can try to find a low mileage original rack. In my case, since I have a 97, it is not difficult to find major parts with only 30k miles on them.
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Mar 14, 2003 12:09 PM