Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Power steering rack rebuild-pressure relief valve?!


Recommended Posts

LONG story short..i got a sweet 1989 GL 4x4 wagon that had torn boots and leaked like crazy...so i decided to pull it and rebuild it with a seal kit from napa..no too bad a job..took my time..no real issues..or so i thought..as soon as i fired it up..bled the system and was working great..took a litle drive..steering began to get heavy..pulled back in driveway crawled underneath and saw the new boots blown up like balloons! crazy looking but held the fluid in! turned car off and watched the bellows slowly go back down to normal....soooo heres my question...is there a pressure relief valve hiding somewhere??!! i'm hoping so..possibly its not working? dirty? car was filthy when i got it...i just cant see how the new seals would BOTH be leaking! i'm no pro..BUT installing them i was VERY thorough..or maybe not haha thanks in advance guys!!

1989 with the ticking lil tired EA82...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll check the pump out today..the seals i put in lip side facing power pistons..same as came out..? uh ohhh..now im triple guessing my abilities/skills..or possibly prior owner put in backwards and i followed it...yikes..? lip side had tiny spring..other side was solid..did i install backwards? ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

pulled the pump..i dont see anything on body of pump..tore it down to last four bolts on body of pump which looks like once i unbutton those the body of pump splits apart..i stopped before this step tho..I'll keep researching/googling til my eyes bleed!;) thanks guys! hoping i didnt install seals backwards or something dumb..BUT im willing to take the tongue lashings and laughing at me IF i can somehow solve it! haha thanks all!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pressure redulator / relief is in the pump body.

 

I haven't had to take apart a rack. I've rebuilt several hydraulic cylinders. Pull the boots see if you can see what happens when it's running. I can't think of any reason or way for the fluid to get into the boots except by getting around the rod seals, or end caps? ? Not sure of how they are constructed since I never took one apart.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... I can't think of any reason or way for the fluid to get into the boots except by getting around the rod seals, or end caps? ...

 

Yes.

 

May I ask, if the Colour of the Seals that you obtained in the Rebuild Kit, matched the ones that came originally inside the Steering Rack?

 

I learnt on the Hard way, during year 1999, that Subaru made three different bore sized, hydraulic steering Racks for the EA82, being the one that uses the Blue seals, the one with smaller diameter; the Red seals are for the Racks with thicker diameter, and there also are Green seals, for intermediate bore sized, hydraulic steering Racks.

 

There's a small chance that you used the Wrong seals, like placing the Blue ones on the Place of the Green ones, and despite that they'll fit, their fitment will be loose enough to let the Fluid to pass thru them, directly to the Boots...

 

Kind Regards.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

oh wow! i had NO idea there were different sizes! ugh..well..i used the seal kit that O'Reilly auto sells...i can look up part number..it was SAME kit AutoZone and napa sold..i think..i didn't see any other options..i guess i should have went oem..dam. thank you ALL for the help and ideas! i guess I'll pull pump apart..clean and inspect it..then check what happens..then most likely im pulling the rack AGAIN ugh..i was just trying to avoid getting a rebuilt complete steering rack and pinion from Napa..not knowing its condition plus the cost..but we shall see..thx guys..live and learn i am!;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

was a Masterpro seal kit..#8673 the original seals i think were ALL black..the kits came with a slight tint of an orange or red stripe on them if i recall correctly...ugh..everywhere i searched (besides OEM obviously) seemed to show only the one kit for my application.. they all also only show one complete rebuilt steering rack unit for about $250.. i figured I'd attempt the $75 try first. woopsy!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

... came with a slight tint of an orange or red stripe on them if i recall correctly...

 

That's the seal Colour that I was writing about.

 

I don't know about the USDM specs, but the Local Subaru Dealer, in my li'l country, used to have available the three seal kits for the EA82 hydraulic steering Racks, a blue stripe one, a green stripe one and the Orange ~ Red stripe one, being this, the thickest one from them. 

 

That being said, I believe that the Black ones are aftermarket.

 

I kindly suggest you to remove the Rack to do a proper inspection from the inner parts, in order to know what could have caused the Fail, and by the way, you can take Measurements of the New Seals that you Obtained, and compare 'em to the Old seals that the Rack originally had; in order to try to see if they gave you the wrong seals.

 

Good Luck! ... Kind Regards.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Measuring the seals and rods with vernier calipers might tell you what is going on. 

 

Would it be possible to get generic seals from a bearing supplier to fit?  Or are these hydraulic seals something special, because they see high pressure?

If standard oil seals won't do it perhaps there are standard hydraulic cylinder seals that would?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

update. problem solved. i highly recommend using oem seals..the aftermarket set O'Reilly sells measures pretty dam tight..compared to oem...now no one quote or flame me..because possibility of my improper installation the first time using the aftermarket seals i might have torn them..BUT a second attempt at this using oem seals proved to be the remedy! NO leaks now..works perfectly. ..i thank you ALL for your help and hints!

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...