Finally finished replacing the power steering pump on the 2008 Ford Focus that I have been working on for over a week. On Sunday I replaced the Teflon seal again on the high-pressure line and let the car sit overnight.
I check where the line meets the pump and it's wet again with PS fluid. Where the reservoir meets the pump is also leaking. I say screw it and decide to order a re-man Motorcraft pump from Ford along with a new Ford reservoir from Amazon. The original pump had a different design inside the hole where the high-pressure line screws in compared to the new Cardone pump we bought, and I think that is why it wouldn't seal up.
I get the new parts on Tuesday and install the pump and reservoir yesterday. I also bled the system using the Mityvak PS adapters and vacuum pump and it actually held vacuum this time without bleeding off, so I was pretty confident I had no leaks.
Today, I check the high-pressure line and where the reservoir meets the pump and no leaks or signs of fluid. I install the pulley, belt and plastic shield and top off the fluid and start it up and its quiet, even when I go lock to lock. Let it get to operating temp and then re-check fluid and add a little more to get it full and finally the job is done.
What a cluster this job turned out to be and the lesson that I learned with this job is that sometimes using aftermarket parts will bite you in the rear. I'm just glad that it's over.
Autozone also took back the Cardone pump and reservoir since I told them I could not get it to seal for anything.
Had to put the wife's bird back.
