Sanity Check With Power Steering

[mmastera]

My brain hurts with all the research I've been doing to find the possible cause of my problem, hopefully you guys can shed some light...

 

1999 Silverado NBS 5.3L 135k miles

 

Power Steering pump died, as it has done twice before...decided to replace it myself. Got the old one out, installed the new one, topped off with fluid. followed the bleed procedure. Initially everything was ok. Now the problem is this:

 

From a cold start, no problems...even at parking manuever speeds I have power steering but once the truck is at temp I lose power steering at low speed (parking manuever speeds). Give it a little gas and things are good at normal speeds. I notice if I have the window down once the truck is warm and I'm trying to park I can hear a clicking noise from under the hood while I'm trying to turn the wheel (not stop to stop or anything, just normal steering motions). I've checked fluids, doesn't seem to be low. I replaced the serpentine belt, I don't think it's slipping...

 

Anyone have any ideas where it's only a problem once the truck is warm, only as parking lot speeds and I can hear clicking while turning?

 

Thanks in advance

 

marty

[mcreyaufmiller]

Marty,

 

Do you have the Variable Speed Steering? If so, have you checked the steering unit to see if it is causing the problem?

[mmastera]

Hey Mike,

 

Thanks for the reply...I honestly don't know what I have - how can I check?

[redvett]

If you have a 2 wire plug that goes on the P/S pump you have EVO.

[mmastera]

I'm pretty positive that I don't have EVO. I don't remember unplugging any wires from the old pump and don't remember and place to hook up wires on the new one...

 

How similar should the color of the fluid be to what comes out of the bottle? I look a peek in the p/s fluid tank (level was fine) and it was a murky brown color. Can dirty fluid alone cause issues like mine? If I need to flush the fluid, how best to do that?

 

Thanks for the replies

[mmastera]

So I've done a thorough check of the pump and can't see any wires connected to the pump nor do I see any place to connect any. Also, I thought that it got worse as the truck warms up, but what I should have sid is that immediately after starting, things work fine but sooner after (maybe sooner that the truck warming up) the problem starts. I'm assuming it has more to do with the temperature of the PS fluid that the warming up of the truck...Any more ideas? Thanks for the responses.