Trace

Got in my truck and started it up today. Ran find when I parked it last night. Once running I noticed my power steering sounded like it was low on fluid and made noises to that effect. Needless to say, it has plenty and nothing on the ground. Driving the truck without is tough and I also noticed the brakes are hard to push as well.

Any ideas on what I need to look at or into? All the fluids are showing as full. I did notice that when I took off the top to the power steering it bubbled up and runs over when the truck gets hot..

Thanks everyone..

benroberts3605

sounds to me like either a weak ps pump but with it making noise it could be one of the rubber hoses might have calasped restricting flow. id lean mor twards the pump being bad.

Trace

Any way of knowing or seeing a calasped hose? I dont have belt, something in front of it that drived the PS pump. I have had to change that out once about a year or so. Dont know what its called or what it does. Except is was expensive to change to save from having to use a belt in the good old days.
Wondering if I can take the cap off the PS and start the truck. Look down and see if anything is moving.. Im really lost as to what to look for next. We have a dodge dealer just down the street, but I dont know how they would be able to tell me what the problem is witout having the truck for 6hrs.
Ideas?

benroberts3605

the ps pump on these are gear driven under the timing cover so that if you were to loose a belt you would not loose your ability bo break, but as far as being able to see a calasped line you cant, its a hose within a hose and the inner one will calaspe on its self, from the way it sounds though i would be leaning twards a bad ps pump.

Trace

Called Dodge. Cant get me in today, but the seem to think its a bad pump. Getting me to the service manager now to pick his brain. They have one in stock at $550.00 OUCH!

benroberts3605

id hope thats labor too. seems a bit steep for just a pump but it is a dealer, i work at one and i know what they do to prices.

patdaly

Before you go all goofy, remove the oil with a turkey baster and change it out with fresh, do that a couple of times. Synthetic oil helps as well, but no one stocks it around here.

Try that before you spend a bunch changing a pump.......... There are numerous threads here about the same thing.

Trace

Tried that patdaly, but didnt work. Went with bentroberts 3605 advice and it took care of the issue. I called checkers and they had one in stock. $91.00 and a $41.00 core charge. Changed it out, filled it, bled it and I now have brakes and steering again. LOVE THIS SITE!!

Maybe someone can tell me this one. Been happening a long time.
When I first bought the truck back in 01 and 250.000 miles ago I had a heater that would blow you out of the cab!, Today, I have warm air at most even with the heater set to the highest settings. This has gone down hill over a long period of time. I have had my radiator flushed once and I can still see it moving around in the radiator with the cap off.

Thanks is you can help me fix that issue!
-Trace

Trace

Okay, so I replace the PS pump a couple weeks aga and everything is fine. Power Steering works and so do the power brakes. About a week ago I drive out to a jobsite and hookup to a 7,000 trailer and pull it 1-1/2hrs down the interstate. As I get off the exit, no PS, no Brakes!!
I get it home and drop the trailer. I take the cap off the ps pump and turn the tires right/left/righ/left to bleed them. For whatever reason this works. Everything is working again.
Drive the truck another few days and no problem.
Hook up to the trailer, pull it to the same jobsite again and leave it. No problems. Drive a couple days with no problems. Hook up the trailer to come home and the EXACT same exit again (getting off), I lost ps and brakes.
Have not got it back yet even without the trailer and with me bleeding the air by turning the wheels right/left/right/left with the ps cap off.

Could I have replaced the ps pump with another bad one? This has more than PI---ed me off now! Im normally pretty good and troubleshooting and replacment, but Im totally lost on why the ps pump and brakes.

I have noticed the following though. Say Im driving and turning right or left. If I press the clutch in and give it gas, its a-l-m-o-s-t like I have ps and pb again. But, as the truck slows down, I loose more and more of both to the point of having nothing but holding down hard on the brake petal to avoid going through the intersection or even hitting someone!!

Ideas? Im out of them!!
Thanks everyone

rich

bad hydroboost maybe or bad impellar shaft on pump

Trace

can you describe what the hydroboost is and what it does and when you talk about the impellar shaft on the pump, are you refering to the power steering pump?
Thanks!

rich

hydroboost is whats behind your master cylinder the lines from your ps pump run to it. yea the shaft to the ps pump

Trace

the shaft in the pump, or the shaft that runs the pump from the vaccuum in front of it?
Let me ask, if I took it into a dealership what would they test in the process of elimination? Im just trying to save the money, but at the same time I dont want to look at a replacement of the hydroboost if it ends up being a collapsed line.. Im just lost!!
Thanks

Trace

And I guess as long as Im asking questions, does anyone know why the heater just doesnt give the heat like it use to when the truck was new? I just replaced the thermostat, the coolent has been flushed one time in 250,000 miles and is always full when i check it. But, anymore its like warm air instead of "blow you out of the cab" heat like it was in 2001
Thanks

rich

try the line replace first its cheaper, look at your firewall behind the dash they will leak there sometimes if bad. could be a bad heater hose or clogged heater core, take both lines off and run a water hose on one and see if it will circulate