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Power steering upgrade?

20K views 19 replies 5 participants last post by  krs1r/t 
#1 ·
My pump is the original with 296k on it and has been turning 35s for the last 50k, its starting to whine a bit (pansy) lol. My question is, has anyone swapped in an old school Saginaw pump? I saw where it was a direct bolt on swap for fullsize broncos, but haven't seen anything on our trucks.

I've gotten tired of fighting the steering to park and my wife can't drive the truck (fine by me :p ) so thinking time for an upgrade. May even consider a hydro assist setup too. All opinions welcome. Thanks
 
#2 ·
I've read where people have replaced them with remans and had great success - others, not so much.

I don't believe I have ever heard a Ford power steering pump that didn't squeel after any length of time. Something about the bastards just does it, on every single used truck. Hell, I replaced one in an '86 we had with the 300 inline 6. Fresh reman, squeeled out of the damn box.

That being said, have you tried flushing the fluid in it yet? It seemed to help some with turning the wheel in my '01. Both my trucks if you throttle up a little bit, they dont have a problem turning - not as easy to do in an Auto all the time, but my '01 being a 6spd its not problem.

I think replacement pumps run about $60 or so, but I could be wrong.
 
#3 ·
Yeah i've been in a few trucks and heard the whine. I can handle it, but I can also tell that it's getting weaker too.

I did a flush and replaced with synthetic a/t fluid which helped a bit when I replaced my steering box.

Im just looking for that little extra 'oomph' to help with the steering. I know the old Saginaw boxes run a slightly higher pressure and are much quieter. Plus im planning on going to 37s before too long so need a little more power. (Why im considering hydro assist also) which will work even better with the higher pressure of the Saginaw box.

And revving to squeeze our bigs trucks sucks and gets kinda scary when trying to squeeze into a spot made for a prius..
 
#4 ·
I have a thread about this topic too! I hope to get some answers as well
 
#5 ·
well found some info on it.. You can bolt one in with a modified bracket.. (I THINK.. it was done on a obs) you can get it at oreillys or autozone for about $50, so i'll probably grab one this weekend and see what all its going to take to put in our trucks.. If I figure it out, I'll do a write up with lots of pics and part numbers!
 
#6 ·
I went down this road and bought a new pump, lines and steering gear only to find my steering still sucked. After much research I figured out that these trucks have way too much scrub radius. As a comparison 99-04 Super Duty's have 2-3 times more scrub radius than Dodge or Chevy of the same years. Add aftermarket, wide rims and the scrub radius increases another 1.5-2 inches.

So I got rid of my 18x9.5 rims and went back to stock 16x7 rims with 33" tires. Problem solved, I can turn my steering with one finger now and have very little whine from the power steering pump. There is a reason why Ford made the axles wider on 05+ trucks and that was to decrease the scrub radius along with decreasing the turning radius.
 
#7 ·
If I do get this bolted up and working, I'd be at the same cost of a new pump (which I need).. so if it doesn't "fix" my problem im not out much. Im actually getting a JY pump and bracket to mock up, then just use it for a core later.

I had an old 80s chevy with locked d60s and 37" military tires and could turn it with brakes pressed and in 4wd with one hand in some pretty crappy situations (had the old Saginaw pump and gearbox) and it's the choice for a lot of avid offroaders.. I can't even do that 75% of the time in my truck now in a parking lot..

Plus the big expensive upgrade from AGR performance is just a "super" Saginaw pump.
 
#8 ·
If I do get this bolted up and working, I'd be at the same cost of a new pump (which I need).. so if it doesn't "fix" my problem im not out much. Im actually getting a JY pump and bracket to mock up, then just use it for a core later.

I had an old 80s chevy with locked d60s and 37" military tires and could turn it with brakes pressed and in 4wd with one hand in some pretty crappy situations (had the old Saginaw pump and gearbox) and it's the choice for a lot of avid offroaders.. I can't even do that 75% of the time in my truck now in a parking lot..

Plus the big expensive upgrade from AGR performance is just a "super" Saginaw pump.
The NHSTA actually tried to get Ford to recall these trucks due to the excessive scrub radius but Ford refused to do so since no deaths had been caused by the design. I am not positive, but the 99-04 super duty trucks may have more scrub radius than any truck I have ever driven. My 05 Dodge could be buried 18" in mud and still turn the tires with my foot on the brake. Even with switching back to the stock rims if I stand on the brake really hard I can't turn the tires.....it's just a bad design. Makes me want to do an 05 axle swap really bad.
 
#9 ·
Oh, a 05+ axle is definitely in the plans for the near future. Im just trying to get the best drivability out of my truck I can, and since im due for a new pump, I thought I'd search into this a little more.

Thanks for the info though. Idk what scrub and stuff is but I'll read into it some more tomorrow :thumb:
 
#18 ·
Basically, scrub radius is the measurement between theoretical center line of the ball joints and tire center line when they meet the ground. The larger the positive scrub radius, the more leverage it takes to turn the tires. Kind of think of it as holding a pole vertically and then attaching a small lever at 90 degrees. Now turn the pole in your hands and use the lever to move an object. The longer you make the lever, the harder it is to move the object. That isn't exactly the science we have with our trucks but its pretty close; which is why larger wheels/tires make turning so much more difficult. The 05+ axles, if the pump and associated tie rods etc are all in good condition, will absolutely fix the harder turning problem as they reduced the scrub radius by 1.75".
 
#11 ·
Not sure what you mean by hydro assist. I assume that you know that the power stearing and power brakes are a common hydroboost system. If you are pressing hard on the brakes it will rob power from the stearing, especially if everything is not up to snuff. Not sure if the pump you are talking about is compatible with this system or not but apparently you have researched it
 
#12 ·
05 front axle is a cure????
 
#14 ·
Not necessarily a cure, but i've only read about a few instances where the 05+ guys have had problems. And most of the time, its been a result of overly huge tires or other steering components not being up to par.
 
#13 ·
The pump im talking about is one found in all the old gm vehicles the gave you the "one finger" steering. A lot of people have swapped em into the fullsize broncos with excellent results. Its basically a higher flow/pressure to pick up where the factory pump lacks.

Now hydro-assist is basically a hydraulic cylinder mounted on your front axle with lines tapped in your steering box to give an extra shove in the steering.
 
#15 ·
I had fabBED UP A CHEVY pump on mine for a while! Not much different+and only lasted a couple of years and took a ****!!! Not fun losing power steering and brakes
 
#16 ·
Do you have any pics of the setup? I've heard of a lot of similar problems with our factory pumps.

Like I said earlier, if I get it in, and there's no major improvement (as long as it works) im out the same as if I had put a new factory pump on. Now if it does improve it, then well, its a cheap fairly easy upgrade.
 
#17 ·
No pics sorry , and it has been quite some time since I installed! I think I fabBED a couple brackets and had to rebend a couple of hydrolic lines to fit there new locations! But like I said it didn't last long! If I remember right, the Chevy pump is made for v belts and you pull off the pulley supplyed and press on the serpentine pulley! I think the reason why the pump failed was from excessive pressure from our belt tensioner! The shaft started to wobble and the pump crapped out!
 
#19 ·
Not trying to knock any of your work or anything, but could it possibly have been something out of line, causing the problems? Sounds like something that usually happens with a bent pulley. Not saying this is what happened, just find it kinda odd.
 
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