My 2001 Neon with 108,000km lost power steering, it suddenly went from OK to nothing. No leaks, no pump noise (even at when turned to left or right stop). The belt was in poor shape so I replaced it with no change as expected. Spoke to several shops, the most common response was the rack is bad (of course the most expensive part and difficult to do at home). One shop suggested the pressure switch on the rack but, it should give an error code. When I suggested it might be the pump I got a resounding, “no it can’t be”. The fluid was very dark colored so I decide to flush it, (thinking that the pressure/bypass valve may be gummed up) used a suction gun to empty the reservoir and then fill with new fluid, run the engine and turn stop to stop then repeat until the fluid stayed clean (it took about 2.5 liters to flush it). OK so this told me the pump is circulating the fluid just not building pressure. I found a used pump at a wrecker and replaced the pump and the problem is solved, my power steering is back to normal.

Being curious I just had to disassemble the old pump to see what happened. The pump appeared to be in mint condition with the exception of the pressure/bypass valve that showed some minor wear marks and seemed to be stuck in place (residue from the dirty fluid).

So my question is are repair parts or kits available for these pumps? I haven’t been able to find any.

By the way, flushing my power steering system will now be on my preventative maintenance list of things to do!!

 

Unfortunately in today litigious society the repair part is the pump.

If you were not building pressure with the old pump I would recommend the flush and fill again just get anything else out you can. Would hate to score a relief valve or get it stuck on some particle again.

 

Thanks for the response, the only thing I found wrong with the pump was a stuck bypass valve all the seals, O-rings and gasket were in good condition. The inside of the bypass chamber looked good too. So I polished the outside of the bypass valve with 1500 grit silicon carbide wet dry paper (1500 grit is not much rougher than a sheet of bond paper). This brought it back to a mirror finish without removing a significant amount of metal. The Valve is still fits snugly but moves freely and smoothly in the chamber without sticking. I don't plan on swapping it back on as long as the used pump keeps working. I’ll just keep it for a spare I guess.