2000 Silverado LS Rack and Pinion plus Power Steering leak

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2000 Silverado has 65k miles and has been leaking power steering fluid thru the rack and pinion since it was replaced for the second time.
Father in law got into his truck to drive back home from his friends house and noticed that the steering wheel was extremely hard to turn.
He then got off the truck to look under and noticed that a power steering hose was dangling and leaking power steering fluid.
He drove off using brute force to make turns and continued driving a few blocks until he made it home.

Father in law mentioned that he had been hearing unusual sounds coming from under the hood and figured it was the power steering pump going out.
He's not sure exactly whats wrong but he knows that the steering rack (rack and pinion) has been leaking a lot and and so he thinks the reservoir probably was dry and that might have ruined the power steering pump.

I believe this is the second rack and pinion that has leaked.
First one was replaced at under 40k
Second rack and pinion was installed and began to leak within the year.

We want to replace the rack and pinion and are looking for advice on which makes (manufactures) to stay away from.
The first and second rack and pinions were Genuine from the dealer.

Are we dealing with two separate issues now? Pump and Rack and Pinion?
Is there a good way to test the power steering pump?
Did the leaky rack and pinion cause the power steering pump to fail?


Any advice is greatly appreciated
 
I will say......Very unusual for a GMT800 rack to leak!

It almost HAS to be a (High) pressure issue, Blowing a high pressure hose apart is further proof!

Install/perform.....
*New GM OE power steering pump.
*Flush the Return/Cooler real well with A/C flush.
*Send the Rack off to be cleaned, re-sealed & inspected! I have a local guy that does this type work, Trav probably has a more logistic friendly option!

The PS pump has a Pressure Regulator Valve & Spring......I bet the valve is stuck or has a Balance issue!!
 
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Trav probably has a more logistic friendly option!


I believe Trav likes Jurgen for racks and PS pumps. I wouldn't trust Cardone junk.
 
As said its probably more than just the rack. So don't put another on till you can see what the real issue is.


With that said racks are a crap shoot at best. I just did one on a land cruiser and went bonkers trying to find a good one at a decent price. I at first dismissed the new Chinese ones since you know china. Then I looked at several rebuilders but many had complaints and also bad customer service. Went back to the Chinese new ones and saw most, maybe all, were made at the same plant/machines. So bought one of those. Been a couple weeks and customer says no problems.

Only real great rack will most likely be a new OE one, not reman. But they can cost 3-6 times as much as others.
 
Originally Posted by nthach
Originally Posted by clinebarger
Trav probably has a more logistic friendly option!


I believe Trav likes Jurgen for racks and PS pumps. I wouldn't trust Cardone junk.


Yes Jorgen aka JAC rack. They do a nice rebuild and pay attention to detail.

https://www.jorgenauto.com/
 
We want to tackle this job ourselves and it would be our first time handling the power steering pump and rack and pinion.

I also own a Silverado (2002) with approx 377k miles.
Have made all repairs myself and when I need assistance for anything that looks complicated I have always been able to get thru it all with help from BITOG forum members.

How difficult is this job and do we have to pay extra attention to anything in particular?


Any advice is greatly appreciated
 
You will need a PS pulley puller & installer......K-D or OTC are probably the best options for occasional/DIY usage

OTC
K-D

Take a mental note as to the PS Pump Shaft depth in relation to the PS Pulley, It's usually FLUSH.....But manufacturing tolerances can stack-up! I've moved/adjusted many a PS pulleys on near new GM trucks to eliminate belt noise.

*3 15mm headed bolts holding the pump to the bracket, And 1 15mm headed bolt holding the stiffener bracket to the engine block.
*The pressure line on the back of the pump is 5/8"-16mm, You may need a 1" wrench to back-up the Regulator Nut while breaking the flare nut loose.
*The flare nut at the Rack is 18mm.
*I prefer OE PS hoses.....But Edelmann replacements work OK on these trucks.
 
Originally Posted by Gito
How difficult is this job and do we have to pay extra attention to anything in particular?


Get some service information. If you don't want to buy the factory service manuals, at least get a 1-year subscription to Alldata.
 
Originally Posted by clinebarger
I will say......Very unusual for a GMT800 rack to leak!

It almost HAS to be a (High) pressure issue, Blowing a high pressure hose apart is further proof!

Install/perform.....
*New GM OE power steering pump.
*Flush the Return/Cooler real well with A/C flush.
*Send the Rack off to be cleaned, re-sealed & inspected! I have a local guy that does this type work, Trav probably has a more logistic friendly option!

The PS pump has a Pressure Regulator Valve & Spring......I bet the valve is stuck or has a Balance issue!!




Is there a "How to Flush" tutorial for the return cooler. Is the return/cooler positioned next to the radiator where hoses from the power steering connect to?
I have never flushed the A/C system before so I wouldn't know how to flush the Return/Cooler.
 
I contacted the dealer and provided the vin#(last ten T0Y1395720) to our Silverado
Apparently, there are two different power steering pumps that pop up using the vin# and the only way to know which one fits is by removing the original one and getting the part# off of it.

I removed the pump and the only numbers that I found were A5766354 TF and PL031580B. Both of these numbers were printed on one sticker with a bar code. The pump appears to be aftermarket. I asked my father in law if someone had previously replaced the power steering pump and he could not remember.

The part numbers that are populated using our vin# are GM 15909830 and GM 20756710

Hoping the dealer has both power steering pumps in stock so that I can compare them to the one I removed.

Is there a different way to figure out which of the two pumps is the correct one for our truck?
 
Originally Posted by Gito
I contacted the dealer and provided the vin#(last ten T0Y1395720) to our Silverado
Apparently, there are two different power steering pumps that pop up using the vin# and the only way to know which one fits is by removing the original one and getting the part# off of it.

I removed the pump and the only numbers that I found were A5766354 TF and PL031580B. Both of these numbers were printed on one sticker with a bar code. The pump appears to be aftermarket. I asked my father in law if someone had previously replaced the power steering pump and he could not remember.

The part numbers that are populated using our vin# are GM 15909830 and GM 20756710

Hoping the dealer has both power steering pumps in stock so that I can compare them to the one I removed.

Is there a different way to figure out which of the two pumps is the correct one for our truck?


I'm using my vin# at www.gmpartsdirect.com.

Trying to also get the return hose and clamps and it appears that the hose has been discontinued.
Pretty sure that the pump that I removed is not the original one so I have no choice but to take it to the dealer and hope they have the correct pump in stock.
I was trying to but the pump from gmpartsdirect.com but it looks like thats not going to happen.

One other thing that I noticed is that Rockauto also indicates that there are two versions of the pump. One of the pumps indicates (w/o Triangular Reinforcement Welded to Cross Member at LH Rack Mount), and the other pump indicates (w/ Triangular Reinforcement Welded to Cross Member at LH Rack Mount).
 
Update: Apparently Rockauto indicates that the letters "TF" printed on the sticker refer to a code. That code, "TF", indicates that its the pump with the Welded Reinforcement.
 
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