Im the newbie here...Hello! I'm having problems with the power steering on my 96 grand caravan ( 3.3L ) with 135k. When not moving or moving very slow it's a bear to steer, it takes some serious arm strong steering! but once up to speed it steers great. I checked everything out tonight and believe it to be the power steering pump? I raised the front and removed the wheels, started the van and turned the steering wheel back and forth, worked fine. checked the power steering fluid, smells slightly burnt. next I checked under the van, the steering rack and everything looks ok, no play in the shafts ect. then I checked the power steering pump, the bottom side of the pump is completly wet with power steering fluid ( looks like it's coming from the pully shaft seal? My thought is obviously the pump. Now here's the catch... I bought this at a ford dealer at a very low price knowing it needed a repair, the salesman told me their shop checked it out and it needs a rack and pinion. The obvious to me is a power steering pump? I'm on a tight budget and need to get this operational so any helpfull insight would be much appriciated.

 

What has happened is that the pump leaked so much that it burned itself up from the lack of fluid. I have a used pump if you are interested. They are fun to change!

Its possible that if the pump self destructed enough that there may be metal in the rack, but there is no way to tell until you replace the pump. If the rack is dry I would leave it alone until the pump is replaced.

 

Thanks for the info, is there a way to flush out the steering rack when I replace the power steering pump? pm me a price on the pump + shipping to 55720. Im unsure if I'll go used or rebuilt. The rack is over $300. so I'm hoping it's not both...

 

There really isn't a good way without a power steering flusher. You'd have to have some way to put pressurized fluid into the return line at the pump and push the fluid backwards through the rack out the pressure side. I PM'd you about the pump.

 

with the lines disconected I turned the steering back and forth to get as much as I could out. who's great idea was it to stick the pump in such a impossible to get out spot?

 

I'm not sure whos idea it was, but I bet they made a heck of a lot more money than we do! Hopefully your van is not all wheel drive, they are much more fun....