Installing a seal kit on the power steering pump - references

[dakota]

I couldn't find a prior post that specifically covered installing a seal kit on a power steering pump, so I thought it would be worth creating one.   There are pictures below for the Federal pump from my 340 out of 70 Challenger.

A really good starting point for the seal kit is this YouTube video that 73440 recently posted on a thread involving a power steering box rebuilt.  These MasterTech "slideshows" are very useful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj6xtiEMLuE

Chrysler new power steering pump and gears

These two short YouTube videos are a good reference for how to open up and reassemble a power steering pump.  These videos are for a Honda pump which uses a rotary vane instead of a roller pump and the flow valves are different, but it's a good overall look at the process.

tear down:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5RaNn-fkQo
reassembly:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj2Zw2vV7ZU

There are some pictures below of the pump internals and the seal parts.   This is from a 70 Challenger.   

I didn't take enough pictures before taking the pump apart.   Fortunately, the stains and wear patterns on the parts gave a good indication of how it went back together.   The YouTube video that 73440 posted (which I didn't see until after I was finished) has some very specific information about how things go together.

As far as I know, the pump was working OK.   While it's freezing cold outside and the existing seals could be over 40 years old, I thought it would be worth taking the time to put new seals in.   

Once the pump was apart, there was a bit of rust around the lip of the reservoir that I wanted to remove.  Soaking it overnight in a pan with a shallow layer of Evaporust followed by a quick once over with the wire wheel on a Dremel did the trick.  Although not shown in the picture, the reservoir had a dent in the side of it.  I traced the outline of the reservoir on a scrap block of wood and cut the profile.  With one piece on the inside and one piece on the outside squeezed with a C-clamp, about 90% of the dent was removed.

[dakota]

Here's the seal kit (purchased from RockAuto) and the internal parts.   There was a small piece of rubber shaped like a cone sitting in the bottom of the reservoir.   It was beat up a bit so I couldn't tell where it came from - maybe a bumper.  I did not attempt to put it back in and there was no replacement for it in the seal kit.

[dakota]

Once the snap ring on the back of the flow and pressure valve was removed, I had a little trouble pulling the assembly out of the pump body.   I ended up using a pair of needle nose vise grips.   The rest of the assembly came up using a collapsible magnet.

[dakota]

Pics of the pump internals from several different views.

[dakota]

A couple of miscellaneous details:

1.  During reassembly, it's best to stack the parts in one piece at a time.   There's a pin that will help line everything up but it can tip towards and away from the cam plate.  If you sit the face of the pump on a solid spacer (like a block of wood with a hole in it), the pump will be tipped a little to one side so gravity will mess with the pin position.

2.  The alignment of all of the pieces is pretty critical.   If the thrust plate is rotated just a little out of position, it will add just enough height to the assembly to make it difficult to close everything up.  Make sure there are no gaps between the thrust plate and the cam ring.

3.  Since I was working alone, I had to come up with a way to hold everything in place so that I could get the ring-spring seated properly. I used a  small arbor press from Harbor Freight to squeeze the backing plate (correct name?) against the spring.   I tried to use a C clamp but there didn't seem enough room for my paws to get at the spring.  The backing plate has to be nearly perfectly square to the pump housing or it will get stuck before it's fully seated.

Full disclosure:  I'm not an expert on this stuff and haven't run my pump yet, so if anything above is a little or a lot wrong, I would be grateful for corrections or additions.   The intent is to create this thread for others to follow if there's interest.