Fixed my PS leak today, after 2 weeks of not having a drivable X. The leak was so bad that after running the engine for 5 minutes, the reservoir was empty.
Got a replacement (reman'd unit) from Napa a few days after the GG trip, tried to put it in the following Saturday - no go. The replacement wasn't the right one. Brought it (and the original) back to them the following Monday, showed them what was different; and had the new (correct) PS gear the next day.
Had to wait until Saturday (today) due to work and general business around the house during the week. Install went very smoothly, it's amazing how much easier having the right part can make a job
Then I replaced my oil pressure sending unit. Easy-peasy...just difficult to get at. Made sure to slather it up with dielectric grease before plugging in the connector.
After triple-checking all connections and torques, I filled the PS reservoir with Lucas PS Fluid with conditioner, and ran the engine until the reservoir was empty. Lather, rinse, repeat until the fluid stopped emptying. Bled the system, holy crap; the noises my PS pump was making...I thought I'd end up burning it up before I got the system bled.
Bled all the air out and went for a drive. Everything's good to go! Steering feels crisp and responsive; and no more oil light!
The only problem is that my steering wheel is very crooked now, it's pretty far to the right. I don't get how that's possible though. I used the seat belt to secure the steering wheel while everything was disconnected. The input/output shafts, as well as the lower steering column joint and the pitman arm are splined and keyed, so they'll only go on one way...so how the hell is my steering wheel so crooked?
Anybody know a way to remedy this?
I might just wait until I get my recall taken care of, and see if they can straighten it out for me; seeing as they'll be removing my column anyway.
It rained all day, so here's my impromptu protection from the elements:
New PS gear in:
New oil pressure sending unit:
Old pics from 2 weeks ago when I first started this job, right before I learned that I had the wrong part:
Everything soaked in PB Blaster:
Steering wheel secured:
Pitman arm off:
Old PS gear out: The bag is full of PS fluid, it's got the ends of the feed/return lines in it. I did that (and caked the center link ball joint stud with grease) to prevent everything from rusting. This is how my truck sat all week while I waited for the right part.
First new PS gear (the wrong one) in:
Differences between original and new:
Stepped feed/return line surface:
Versus flat surface:
Long splines with keyway:
Versus 2 short sections of splines with no keyway: