Rebuilt Power Steering Pump - Won't Bleed - Spits Fluid

[93CorollaWagonDX1.8]

I rebuilt the power steering pump in my 93 Corolla DX Wagon 1.8L because the old pump got to whining pretty fierce even though the pump still worked. I installed the rebuilt pump, connected the lines & filled the reservoir. I started the car and the pump no longer made any whining noise like it did before the rebuild. The pump just ran silently. I twisted the steering wheel from to left to right a few hundred times. The system would not bleed or build steering pressure. Only thing that happened was fluid would spurt out the reservoir cap when the wheels were turned to the extreme of either side. Once the fluid was spurted to a low reading on the dipstick the spurting stopped. I would refill the reservoir & the same fluid spurting would happen all over again.

I replaced the old cap with a new one thinking maybe the old cap was bad. Nothing changed. Once filled the reservoir still spits fluid when wheels are cranked, nothing seems to bleed, no pressure builds.

I am pretty sure I put the pump back together right. There was only a handful of o rings & couple seals to mess with. The pump pretty much only goes back together one way. Maybe one of the o rings got in wrong, was damaged or the aftermarket seals are just crap? Or maybe the pump is fine & there is some other issue causing the system not to work.

The next step for me now is to buy a second ready to go remanufactured pump, start over and see if it takes care of the problem. Before I spend $120 on a pump I want to be sure that the pump is actually what is at issue. The last thing I want to do is buy a pump, install it & find nothing changes because the issue is somewhere else.

Does anyone have any suggestions on this dilemma? Is there a procedure to bleed this power steering system I am missing? Is there a way to test the power steering pump itself?

Thanks for any info you may have.

 

[Theolderthebetter]

Had any luck with the repair?
I encountered the same problem last night in my 97tacoma. I read connecting a vacuum pump to the tank will help bleed the system and possibly solve the problem

 

[93CorollaWagonDX1.8]

I did have luck with this repair but not before buying a new pump, having the same problem and pulling a bunch of hair out in frustration. Here is the follow up on what I did and the solution I found:

When I could find no way to get the rebuilt pump to pressurize I decided (incorrectly) that the rebuilt pump was bad. I ordered a new pump, installed it, filled it with power steering fluid and dang if the new pump refused to build pressure too. I made sure fluid was in the system when I tried both pumps. By loosening steering lines I could see fluid was everywhere as it would flow out the loose lines. With the fluid there I just couldn't understand what the issue was. While standing around in the shop dumbfounded as to why the new pump wasn't working I happened to take a good look at the power steering reservoir cap. The cap in large white letters has "Power Steering Fluid" written across it. If looked at more closely though in small black letters the cap also read "Fill with Dexron type ATF." I smacked myself in the for head, drained the power steering fluid out and filled the system with Dexron type ATF and BOOM, the system built pressure and worked good. The system did not need any bleeding either. Dexron ATF was what was needed to make the system work. Once the system was working I took the car to a fluid shop and had them completely flush the system with Dexron ATF to eliminate all the residual power steering fluid. Now flushed of power steering fluid and filled with Dexron ATF the power steering works just phenomenal.

I have had no issues with the power steering since getting ATF into the system. This particular Toyota power steering pump must not be compatible with power steering fluid. So in the end switching to Dexron ATF was the solution. Looking back on it all because the car was new too me and came with a power steering leak and because the reservoir cap boldly reads "Power Steering Fluid" I had been topping off the power steering system every 3000 miles with power steering fluid. It is probable there was nothing wrong with the pump I rebuilt. The problem was power steering fluid being put into a system designed for Dexron ATF which causes the pump to loose pressure.

 

[Theolderthebetter]

Wow, I'm really glad you told me that. I did notice I had most likely filled it with the wrong fluid however for the sake of diagnosis I decided to keep trying other things first. I'll go give that a shot now. Thanks for the advice as I would have probably wound up doing the exact same thing as you.