201fireman Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Replacing my pump because it is leaking. I can get a reman from the local parts store for $46. Summit racing has one for $158. Can anyone tell me the difference between these two? Is there a certain one anyone would recommend? Reman from Autozone Summit Racing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike 57 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 There is really not much to mess up rebuilding a power steering pump, a seal, and a bushing. The bushing needs to be pressed so that is and issue for some people. the kit is cheep and you keep your original parts. There is so little to rebuild in one it would be hard to have a rebuilder screw it up. I might try NAPA instead of AutoZone. Summit seems steep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gprimm Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I would buy from the best price. NAPA buys from rebuilders and repackages them. A company here in the area builds new alternators and starters and sells them to Summit, Jegs, NAPA, etc. NAPA buys new units from them but packages them as rebuilt; the reason is so their return % is lowered. They know they have issues. The advantage to the major chains is they have a lifetime warranty. NAPA does not. I buy the best price from the national chains and use the lifetime warranty. I am a nightmare as they don't count on someone keeping their vehicles as long as I do!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leghome Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I bought a rebuilt from NAPA and it had the lifetime warranty. It started leaking around the front seal but traded off the truck instead of replacing the pump that way I got a brand spanking new pump. LOL LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Todd, you probably have another practical option - rebuild it yourself! I did exactly that two years ago and mine has worked flawlessly with no leaks ever since. I am not an experienced mechanic so the entire project took me 7 hours. I bought the complete rebuild kit for $12.95 from my local Advance Auto Parts store which was $10 cheaper than any on-line price. I already had the 1970 GM Chassis Overhaul Manual so that may be something you will need, also. They are available on eBay for less than $25 and are well worth the investment. If you need any more arm-twisting, please take a look through my project photo journal at this link: Rebuilding a Power Steering Pump After clicking on the link, you must click on the first photo to see the caption below it and then you can advance through the photos with captions by clicking on the right pointing arrow in the current photo. Shown below is one of the photos from the 51 photos in the journal. Happy rebuilding and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
footballubet Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 If you aren't comfortable rebuilding your pump go with the place with a lifetime warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
201fireman Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverdogs00 Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Todd, you probably have another practical option - rebuild it yourself! I did exactly that two years ago and mine has worked flawlessly with no leaks ever since. I am not an experienced mechanic so the entire project took me 7 hours. I bought the complete rebuild kit for $12.95 from my local Advance Auto Parts store which was $10 cheaper than any on-line price. I already had the 1970 GM Chassis Overhaul Manual so that may be something you will need, also. They are available on eBay for less than $25 and are well worth the investment. If you need any more arm-twisting, please take a look through my project photo journal at this link: Rebuilding a Power Steering Pump After clicking on the link, you must click on the first photo to see the caption below it and then you can advance through the photos with captions by clicking on the right pointing arrow in the current photo. Shown below is one of the photos from the 51 photos in the journal. Happy rebuilding and good luck! MCfan, is it possible for fluid to leak out of the lower mounting bolts vs the front seal? I have a leak, put it up on ramps and it appears to be the 9/16 head screw. I was able to tighten it a 1/4 turn and will take it out and see if that fixes it. I did not notice fluid from the front seal, but really did not look to deep at it as i was focusing on where the drip was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripleydale Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Nice write up Dennis. It takes a lot of time to stop and take all those photos, and then do a write up and post it all. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCfan Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Mike, I am pretty sure the fluid leak is elsewhere in the pump and gravity is moving the fluid to a lower drip point like the mounting bolt. So, I doubt that tightening the mounting bolt will affect the leak at all - sorry. The most obvious point of a leak is the front shaft bearing because it can/will wear over time and the rotary motion of the shaft will encourage the oil to seep out if there is excessive clearance. However, there are other possible leakage points in the closed system. Check to be sure both the supply and return line connections are tight. There is a threaded hex head supply fitting on the back side of the pump that holds the volume control spring and plunger in place (see photo below). That fitting must be tight but also has an o-ring that may be damaged which could cause a leak around the plug and down onto the mounting bolts. Also, although unlikely, there is a big o-ring between the main pump housing and the cover that may be leaking (see photo below) Obviously, you will need to pull the pump off the car and disassemble it to fix to replace that o-ring. I would encourage you to get the rebuild kit, pull the pump off, disassemble it and replace all of the seals at once - my photo journal covers all the steps. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverdogs00 Posted January 1, 2017 Share Posted January 1, 2017 I bought a rebuilt pump yesterday and will install on the factory reservoir next weekend. when i looked at the new pump, I could see that those holes were blind, and no way for fluid to escape. I'm sure it's most likley the front seal as well. thx for the reply! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredmyer Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Nice write up Dennis. It takes a lot of time to stop and take all those photos, and then do a write up and post it all. Much appreciated. Not to hijack the thread but... I have been reading the forum for several weeks now and am just amazed by the number (and quality) of photo journals MCFan (Dennis) has made. I am sure others have made some as well but there does not appear to be any easy way to find information like this when it exists. It seems to me that these types of things are a gold mine of information. It would be awesome if there were some way to add a wiki type area on the site where folks could go and easily search for tutorials put together by other members of projects they have done. I realize it might take a bit of work to manage but it would be nice if there were a mechanism for submitting a write-up for consideration then once approved, the write-up could be given an easily searchable title and some appropriate tags (to aid in searching) then added to the wiki. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 I replaced mine a while back. I must have been the exception, as mine leaked from the O-ring that seals the pump to the reservoir surrounding it. Turns out that somewhere in the past someone had tightened the drive belt by levering the pump with a tie iron or something and had disfigured the reservoir enough that the O-ring didn't seal fully. I ended up having to get a new reservoir. Rebuilt pumps are available alone or with reservoirs...might be worth the piece of mind to get the full assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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