I thought I'd add this to hopefully save some time. After completing my p/s pump rebuild I put may car back together and had some problems. Where I started it I heard a grinding/poppy noise coming from it and I had trouble bleeding it. Was worried that I had bad bearings or there was dirt in the system. I was hoping it was just air so I continue trying to bleeding it for hours. I waited a half hour between tries. IT SHOULD NOT TAKE THIS LONG! It turns out the sound I was hearing was air coming in making a cherry colored milkshake in my reservoir. If you see any fluid collect on you engine even just a small amount, there's a good change it's leaking out while the cars off and air is being in air while it's running. My problem turned out to be the back plate seal alignment.
In addition to the seal kit I ordered new bearings, a new spring for the spool value, a new hose and clips for the return into the tank, and a new gasket for the banjo bolt.
*** IMPORTANT REBUILD NOTES
- I put the front of the car on jackstands in order to raise the wheels of the ground and had to take my radiator fans and the air intake duct filter cover to get at things.
- Crack the intake spool valve before removing the pump from the car. Mine was really on there and I didn't feel comfortable tightening it down so much on my vise to crack it. I had to bolt it back on the car and use a breaker bar.
***** Make sure you have all the parts exactly the same as when you took it apart. It's a good idea to take pictures. I was mislead by an illustration for the back-plate metal seal in the manual. Make sure the this seal is lined up properly and in the same direction as the old one before torquing it down! I torqued mine to 13ft/lbs which is a bit more then the spec but still in the grace listed in the factory manual. (11.6ft/lbs)*****
- Order a new hose and clips for the return. If your seals are shot the hose is probably hard too. Just another place for air to come in.
- Order a new gasket for the banjo bolt. It fits on both side of the high pressure line coming in through the bolt. It's much easier then trying to get a good clean surface on the old one. I also tightened this bolt a bit tighter (28ft/lbs) then factory spec(25.3ft/lbs) but still in it's allowance.
- Prime the pump before putting the tank on. This will save you time bleeding the system. I left the reservoir tank off and installed the pump on the car and connected the lines. I poured fluid in until the pump will not take anymore while turning the pulley wheel to release any air. While installing the tank I had some problems getting to the bolt on the back with my 3/8 socket so I used small 1/4" drive socket/socket wrench.
- Make sure you change all the seals including the one on the tank. I couldn't see this at first because if was so flat and hardened to a tank which was the same color.
- It may be a good idea to order a new spring for the spool value. They compress over time.
I hope this helps and save someone some time. It done correctly I think this job can be done in 3-4 hours including car dis-assembly and reassembly. I took me much longer.
