Reman Cardone P/S Pump Follies

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BigD1

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My power steering pump on my Oldsmobile finally bit the dust. It was gushing fluid from the shaft seal. Had a $20 off $50 Advance Auto Speed Perks reward, so I bought the reman Cardone power steering pump from Advance Auto knowing that I should not take the chance. First pump did not work right in that sitting at a stop sign, and making say a left hand turn the power steering would not work until the rpm came back up.

The second pump was a whiner just sitting there idling in park, and the whine would got louder as the rpm increased. Take off sounded like a jet engine or what ever, and it was so annoying it was driving me crazy. Talked to the manager at the main warehouse here in my area, and he said that Cardone was having machining problems. I told him I did not want to go for Cardone pump number three. Cardone can find another sucker to weed out the bad pumps. He refunded my money, and since I had no core he gave me $10 cash for old core.

Off I went to O'Reilly's to buy a pump because they said they don't sell Cardone reman pumps no more because of all the problems. Installed the pump, and it is working good. Everybody else in town is selling Cardone except for O'Reilly's. I knew from the start to stay away from the reman Cardone pump, but saving $20 got the best of me.

Costed me gas money going back and forth to Advance since the main warehouse is on the other side of the county, but in the end I can install a GM 3.1 P/S pump pretty dang fast.
 
I had a similar experience recently with a pump for my 1976 K10 Chevrolet. In my case I had just performed a fluid exchange because the fluid in mine was milky grey in color instead of red after sucking it out and refilling it about a half dozen or more times using fresh ATF it developed a terrible front seal leak.I ordered a top of the line CarDone pump withthe extra filtration package. When it arrived it had more end play than my original. The next two were the same or worse. I gave up on them based on this and other past bad experiences with them. Instead I elected to attempt a rebuild myself, I bought a complete rebuild kit from Amazon for $9.00 and rebuilt it myself. It wasn't difficult and it works perfectly now. I will do the same should I ever need to rebuild another in the future.
 
Out of five reman Cardone pumps total over the last couple years, I got one good for my Jeep. The third pump I installed on the Jeep was good.

I don't think it's the cores. The Advance Auto manager mentioned Cardone was having machining problems at the Mexico plant, and there are a lot of reman pumps that are in the pipe line that are going to have to be weeded out since they are not going to do a recall it seems.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
I had a similar experience recently with a pump for my 1976 K10 Chevrolet. In my case I had just performed a fluid exchange because the fluid in mine was milky grey in color instead of red after sucking it out and refilling it about a half dozen or more times using fresh ATF it developed a terrible front seal leak.I ordered a top of the line CarDone pump withthe extra filtration package. When it arrived it had more end play than my original. The next two were the same or worse. I gave up on them based on this and other past bad experiences with them. Instead I elected to attempt a rebuild myself, I bought a complete rebuild kit from Amazon for $9.00 and rebuilt it myself. It wasn't difficult and it works perfectly now. I will do the same should I ever need to rebuild another in the future.


I tried to get my old core back, but it had already been shipped. I was going to get a kit, and either do it myself, or take it to a local machine shop that would fix it. Water under the bridge now. Satisfied with the O'Reilly pump.

Did those pumps whine because of the end play?
 
I never installed any of the pumps, they didn't feel right out of the box so they got sent back. All three that I tried were all built in the Mexico facility wherever that is. It was so bad that had the home rebuild not worked I was going to buy a brand new Delphi pump from PSC. Luckily I didn't have to. Not sure how complicated the newer pumps are but the one for my 1976 Chevy was super simple to do with basic hand tools.
 
I wonder what supplier O'R went with? I could never recommend reman auto store pumps since Cardone supplies most of them and after trying so many pumps I gave up on them. It's better to spend the dough with a brand new OE pump or spend the time rebuilding the original pump. Saginaw's are ridiculously easy to rebuild.
 
Cardone = car-be-done.

We have had terrible experience with aftermarket, reman hydraulic parts, whether it is a power steering pump or brake calipers. Try to go new (OE) or used OE whenever possible.
 
Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
I wonder what supplier O'R went with? I could never recommend reman auto store pumps since Cardone supplies most of them and after trying so many pumps I gave up on them. It's better to spend the dough with a brand new OE pump or spend the time rebuilding the original pump. Saginaw's are ridiculously easy to rebuild.


I asked the guy at O'Reilly, and he said he could not remember, but he knew for a fact it was not Cardone because of all the problems. One thing is for sure the instructions were nothing like Cardone, and the pump did not have that goofy 3F stikcer on it either. The 3F is Cardone speak for Fluid/Flush/Filter. Only label on the pump was an orange sticker on the back side of the reservoir that said remanufactured.
 
I have a Cardone reman on my Accord. The old pump seized up on a cold Sunday evening and AAP was the only place open. With Speedperks and discount codes, I got the pump for super cheap. So far it's still good *knock on wood.*
 
Originally Posted By: BigD1
Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
I wonder what supplier O'R went with? I could never recommend reman auto store pumps since Cardone supplies most of them and after trying so many pumps I gave up on them. It's better to spend the dough with a brand new OE pump or spend the time rebuilding the original pump. Saginaw's are ridiculously easy to rebuild.


I asked the guy at O'Reilly, and he said he could not remember, but he knew for a fact it was not Cardone because of all the problems. One thing is for sure the instructions were nothing like Cardone, and the pump did not have that goofy 3F stikcer on it either. The 3F is Cardone speak for Fluid/Flush/Filter. Only label on the pump was an orange sticker on the back side of the reservoir that said remanufactured.


I'd bet it's a BBB. FWIW, I've had problems with them too, but less than the Car-dont junk.
 
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
I'd bet it's a BBB. FWIW, I've had problems with them too, but less than the Car-dont junk.


You are right. It is BBB because O'Reilly's part number(734-54105), and the BBB part number are the same. Confirmed it by doing a parts search on the BBB website. Pretty sure a remanufactured ACDelco pump for my car is the same BBB P/S pump.

I am going to stay away from the Cardone reman stuff, but I have had good luck with the new Cardone Select parts that are made in China. Cardone Select some times is the only new part available for old cars.
 
I've had a DOA Cardone pump - I got an O'Reilly pump to replace it and it was remanned in China. I usually stay away from Cardone - in the past I've had luck with them.
 
The Cardone pumps typically only last one year. Any P/S pump that has black paint carelessly applied to it is not going to last very long.

I once replaced the P/S pump on mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with one from the dealer. It was perfect, and from that day on, I decided I would never buy a P/S pump that wasn't OEM.

It wouldn't surprise me if your rebuilt P/S pump didn't last because there are few good cores left. I see that often when dealing with CV axles.
 
Originally Posted By: artificialist
The Cardone pumps typically only last one year. Any P/S pump that has black paint carelessly applied to it is not going to last very long.

I once replaced the P/S pump on mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with one from the dealer. It was perfect, and from that day on, I decided I would never buy a P/S pump that wasn't OEM.

It wouldn't surprise me if your rebuilt P/S pump didn't last because there are few good cores left. I see that often when dealing with CV axles.


I have 1 yr and roughly 3 1/2 months and its still working great. I properly flushed the fluid before installation; about 6 months later, I added Lubegard PS protectant.
 
Originally Posted By: RevelationLion
Originally Posted By: artificialist
The Cardone pumps typically only last one year. Any P/S pump that has black paint carelessly applied to it is not going to last very long.

I once replaced the P/S pump on mom's 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee with one from the dealer. It was perfect, and from that day on, I decided I would never buy a P/S pump that wasn't OEM.

It wouldn't surprise me if your rebuilt P/S pump didn't last because there are few good cores left. I see that often when dealing with CV axles.


I have 1 yr and roughly 3 1/2 months and its still working great. I properly flushed the fluid before installation; about 6 months later, I added Lubegard PS protectant.

Some people get lucky with Cardone reman parts.

May dad did, because he got 4 years of life from a Cardone remanufactured MAF on his 2007 Pontiac G6.
 
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