91 SE Power Steering Hose

rayroyw · Sep 13th, 2005, 01:12 PM

well, first post here guys. as usual i'm in mid-repair and
faced with a problem.

replacing high pressure power steering hose, and as per other posts, removed the four inch pipe on the bottom of
the pump. lo and behold, out popped a spring and what
the haynes manual refers to a spool. as you might guess,
it came out so fast, i'm not sure of the order to rebuild.

spring seems to seat well on the top of the union bolt, but
don't know which way the spool goes on -- one end is flat,
other has a machined tip. does the tip go into the sping
to seat into the end of the union bolt?

any quick help would be most appreciated. don't see any
blow-ups of steering pump around for guidance. got any
links?

rayroyw · Sep 13th, 2005, 04:21 PM

i see in another thread a reference to a flow control valve.
is that the correct name for the "spool"?

anyway, i may have answered my own question: i put the
spool in with the flat side down on the spring, pointed end
up into the pump (looked like there's a recessed area up
in the pump that the needle end would fit into, so what
the heck?). anyway, bled the system (i thought sufficiently) test drove and slowly but surely, the steering became stiffer and stiffer. so now i'm guessing i have to reverse the spool before i burn up the pump and the rack.

another question: with engine on, the p/s fluid in the reservoir should be flowing around visibly, right?
thanks for any and all responses.

**Matt93SE** · Sep 13th, 2005, 05:27 PM

I think you put the valve in backwards.
here's a shot from the FSM. hope that helps.

as for the fluid in the reservoir, yes it is supposed to flow through there. the hoses at the bottom are the return line from the rack, and the inlet line for the pump. it works as an accumulator/cooler/reservoir to have it like that.

rayroyw · Sep 14th, 2005, 05:38 AM

thanks, matt93se! that's exactly what i was looking for,
and yeah, i put it in backwards. i'll post an update when
i've reworked it.

rayroyw · Sep 15th, 2005, 12:36 PM

turns out i had the spring out of order too.

anyway, it's all straight. basically an easy fix, although working with tranny fluid is always kind of nasty, but i
know the system is thoroughly flushed with the two
drains.

easiest approach was to take the union bolt out with
the pipe. otherwise, there's no way to get a socket wrench
in there. just be sure to change all copper washers (you'll
probably only get four with the pressure hose and there's
two more for the union bolt into the pump on the pipe.

many thanks to Matt93SE for the help!