Where is the power steering fluid going? 97' 2500 PU with cummins is consuming the fluid. in about two to three hours the resivior is empty so I fill it. Thereare no external leaks, no spot in the driveway. Is it going through the input shaft seal and into the vacuum pump and into the engin oil? The folks at one Dodge dealer were not much help except to say they had a new pump at $465.

 

None on the ground???? If not check the dipstick. If its gaining Id stop driving it until you fix it, Its not a hard job,just alot of bolts on the front cover.

 

I'd say the seals between the PS pump and the valcuum pump need to be replaced.

 

I have not been able to tell if the oil level in the engine is rising. I thought of this several day ago and have checked but a few pints in 12 quarts well it is not conclusive as of now. I have had diesels fill the oil pan with diesel when the front seal of the injection pump was bad. This was obvious as there was several inches of extra oil on the dip stick. I will keep adding ps fluid and carefully checking the oil level. Now it is about 1/16" under brim full. The real question here is can the ps fluid get to theengine oilthrought hte vacuum pump? Anyone ever actually taken all this apart and know for sure?

Any idea where I could get a front seal for the pump? The Dodge dealer offers only the complete pump and it is high as I mentioned.

Thanks for the help

 

Drew, Isnt the pump behind the front cover? on my 2000 the front main seal blew and it seems like the pump gears were behind the cover. It looked like a grandfather clock under there. The stealership wanted 700 bucks to do the main seal. I told em to cram it and did it myself. I could not get the seal started straight so I pulled the cover and laid it on a table. It worked good. I really wanted to see what the internal looked likeI noticed on my 04 the ps pump is external ,Cummins must have had some trouble out of the old system.

 

on 97's the vacuum pump works off the same shaft the PS pump uses. this is a common problem and probably why the change. you can get the seal rebuild kit from the dealership for around $30, or you can go to your local cummins dealer and get it for around $10

 

Didn't most of the 97' CTD's have hydroboost brake assist?. It's very common for ps fluid to leak from the front seal where the pushrod meets the master cylinder. If the hydroboost leaks, it can run down a hose or wiring harness and be dripping where you might think it's engine or tranny oil. (Meaning in those areas on the ground, under the truck).

If you have hydroboost, follow the high pressure hose from where it leaves the pump (where you fill the reservoir is where the pump is located,by the way). The hose will run to the hydroboost unit first. Then another high pressure hose leaves the hydroboost, and continues down to your steer gear. Both the steer gear and the hydroboost units have their own, low pressure return hose. The return hoses meet back at the ps pump.


If you don't have hydroboost, your ps will only have 2 lines. Hp out, and lp retrun. Both lines are connected to the steer gear at the front end, and the ps pump is where the hoses terminate.

Fluid can leak only from a line, the pump/reservoir, the steer gear, ot the hydroboost unit. I can't remember if your year also utilized a ps fluid cooler. You have to look around. Something has to be soaked in fluid.


Your ps pump is a Saginaw-P series. Like the guys said, it is bolted to the vacuump pump. It's an easy fix if you have patience, and a lot of rags....lol. The vacuum pump front is bolted to the motor, the ps pump is bolted to the assend of the vacuum pump. So looking front to back, the ps pump is behind the vacuum pump.

And guess what.......that big ole' P7100 is bolted directly above where you need to get to.....lol.


Also make sure that your reservoir is not what leaking. On our trucks, the reservoir fits over the ps pump, and seals with an o-ring. When you add fluid, you pour it literally, on top of the rear of the pump. The intake side of the pump. Not to bore you.....lol, just helpin ya try to find the leak.

Wear plastic wrap, open the hood, and gun the motor.........LOL If it's a fine mist, it's probably a pinhole hose leak.Look at the pump, wipe or wash the areas down and see where you're losin fluid.

I hope this helps..... Maybe I will get ambitious and take a pic of a ps pump and a reservoir for you. No promises...lol

Good luck with your ride.

 

Drew and Dezldom you gus are on it. The ps pump is on the back of the vacuum pump. There are no leaks under the hood. It has hydorboost brakes. The first drips hit the ground in the past two days. Something is soaked in oil. The hydroboost unit is leaking into the cab. I have some of those big heavy duty rubber floor mats. There must be a gallon of oil soaked in the carpet under the one on the drivers side. It is finally driping from the frame under the drivers door. What a damn mess. The Zone has a rebuilt hydroboost for about $100. I was shocked to find that they also have a ps pump seal kit for about $15. The dealer has a seal kit for the vacuum pump but not fot for the ps pump. I thought the ps pump looked familuar as it looks the sameas the Sag unit GM used in a lot of cars for years back in the 60's $ 70's. Well yall know what I will be doing this weekend. Thanks for the help.

By the way this is the first Dodge I have ever owne in 25 years of driving pu's. I bought it two years ago with 77000 miles to pull the race car trailer. It has been over 35k miles now and I am sold.

 

All that ps fluid into the cab huh?.....that sucks, big time.

Let us know how you make out.

Good luck with your ride.