Ok heres my problem the other night i was out and my power steering just started to quit, like it would be ok for a while then alll of a sudden when i tried to turn around i heard my pump start to die out and then all of a sudden i was without power steering ( which is not fun with the 20's lol), then it would be for a bit then again it did it. my power steering fluid level seems ok it looks a bit light, usually its clear but it looks like its frothing, its not clear at all any more its a bright red. i have no idea where to start. any help please ive learned so much from this forum already. im banging my head against the wall here ive come to a dead end.

 

oh yeah its a 2006 dodge ram 1500 with a 5.7 hemi . the motor is out of a 07 long story lol. also the rack and pinion is out of a sumberged 06 we flushed it already once should i try flushing it again maybe to much condensation in it? has 158000 kms on it now

 

Hmm. Hard call IMO. Flushing would be the easiest but you have a lot of donor parts in that truck. Was it wrecked and damaged or something?

 

The cab is from a flood truck which is an 06 we bought it had a blown motor so we bought a burnt 2007 dodge 1500 the motor was perfect so we switched them and the frame is from an 2008 which we had to switch frames due to the fact we had to swap them because in manitoba here u cant register a water damaged vehicle without either changing the frame or cab. anyways the drive train is an 07 that was burnt flushed it alll once motor runs like a dream now just power steering is all wacky haha this truck was a nightmare now its ok. lol i have some storys from this puppy

 

power steering pump sounds like that is your problem time for a new one

 

Im not sure the PS pump is the issue but it could be and is certainly the cheapest and easiest to replace first.

 

So you got an 06 cab on an 08 frame running an 07 powertrain... thats got to be a fun one to explain to the shop when their working on it. Like the others have said, PS pump is probably the cheapest/easiest first shot. beyond that... tough to tell, possibly could be an issue with the rack.

nateroach

 

Alright i work at an auto wrecker so ill be able to get a pump dirt cheap just trying to figure out where to start thank you guys for all your help really appreciate and yeah its fun to explain this to mechanics. Takes longer for me to explain it than it takes for them to fix the damn thing

 

First off, Power steering is always bright red. it's brake fluid that's clear.
Frothing is usually air trapped in your system. Are you certain you porperly bled the air out of your R&P uopn installation? That would also expalin your hard turning abilities only part of the time. Frothing can be excessive pump wear too, but that would be a progressive steering issue and not intermittent.
If there are no leaks, I would bleed your system again and see if that helps prior to replacing your pump.

nateroach, 06-08's are identical other than minor pcm diffferences which are due to vin options at those years. otherwise, everything is identical for interchangeability.

 

I've never seen brake fluid put in ps res. tranny fluid is what people usualy use for ps fluid prob why its red.