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Good afternoon gentlemen I hope the new year finds you all well.
It's winter here in New England and my Olds Is garaged and covered till spring. 🥺
I'm getting ready to replace an old leaky power steering pump.. Like mostly everything else on this car this will be my first time lol. I have the usual onslaught of questions for your collective brains and as always appreciate any input you could give. I have found what looks to be a pretty nice reproduction unit at OPGI along with a power steering pump installation bolt kit that comes with bolts washers nuts spacers properly marked heads etc. (As I'm going along making repairs and upgrades to this car I am making some attempt to find / use stuff to bring it back to looking original if I do not have the original) I guess my first question would be does anyone have any experience with either of these OPGI products?
2) In the picture from the catalog from OPGI there appears to be some type of lock nut on the end of the shaft of the pump. However on my car on the end of the shaft outside of the pulley there is some type of other "fastener" . It's round on its outer circumference and in the center of it it appears to be hex shaped as if it takes an allen wrench. Is this fastener on mine somehow going to fit over the lock nut in the OPGI picture? Or are these two items located in different locations during the reassembly? (I'll attempt to include pictures of both).3) What is this fastener called mine is rather chewed up as if someone has had a vice grip on it in the past. I'd like to try to replace it. I've got the chassis manual for this car but none of the power steering info gets specific about this fastener. And lastly, should I replace the high pressure power steering hoses while I'm in here taking this thing apart? Since I just bought this car last summer I have no idea how old they are or whether or not they are factory, aftermarket etc. I'll include a picture of one of these as well. Thanks in advance for any input. OPGI unit My apparently chewed up \"fastener" The hex center or core of my fastener Power Steering hose. Anyone know if these are factory hose markings?
That's not a "fastener" on the end of your pump shaft; it's part of the pulley. The pulley is pressed onto the shaft; to remove it, a puller tool locks into the groove and presses against the end of the shaft to separate the two. When I worked at auto parts stores in the 80s, we would remove pulleys for customers. Maybe you can find a shop that will do that for you.
It appears that someone was trying to hold the pulley from turning with pliers or similar, or maybe they were trying to unscrew the pulley from the shaft?
Below are images of a couple different style pullers:
Last edited by Fun71; January 10th, 2022 at 02:22 PM.
Oh man am I glad I asked before trying to remove that thing lol. Damn I feel foolish.
WIth that knowledge I'm thinking maybe it's chewed up like that from someone wrestling it with a puller tool?
Anyway...yes I have a local parts store that I believe will do that.
OK, so replacing that chewed up piece basically means replacing the entire pulley. Maybe I'll try to sand/ lightly grind it and paint it instead. I'm looking to repaint the pulley, brackets etc while I'm in there anyway .
the 1970 and earlier style resevoir is shown in the OPGI pic. IIRC that style used a nut to hold the pulley on
the later 71+ style resevoir is shown in the OPs pic
I got a rebuilt unit from rockauto. It cam w chevy ? resevoir that sat a weird angle, i just swapped my OE resevoir to the rebult pump
if its leaky theres is a big oring that seals the res to the pump
So I've got a 71 pump, resovoir and pulley set up on my 70? How should I proceed? I'd rather have the correct 70 part(s) unless there's a good reason to just go with whats on there? Are the parts of the two different designs interchangeable ? Or can I replace the o-ring? Sooooooo many questions. Lol
Last edited by FINISHLINE; January 10th, 2022 at 07:09 PM.
I think the pump part is the same ish the reservoir shape is different.
Im sure you could get a good used unit, reseal your current set up (it works) or get the OPGI part but I think you will need an early style pulley for that.
Im in mass i do have a 70 pulley i could sell, i might have a resevoir too. i dont think i have a pump tho
I'm being educated as we go along here. At first I didn't realize that the pump and resovoir we're independent pieces. I guess I have options here in terms of replacing everything or just the pump portion and reusing the resovoir and pulley.
When I worked in auto parts stores, we usually sold the pump only and folks reused their reservoir and pulley.
Originally Posted by RetroRanger
if its leaky theres is a big oring that seals the res to the pump
Note that this is an option if your issue is just leaking. Parts stores sell the seal kit, and it’s fairly easy to install. I’ve done it a few times on my car.
Last edited by Fun71; January 10th, 2022 at 09:52 PM.
When I worked in auto parts stores, we usually sold the pump only and folks reused their reservoir and pulley.
Note that this is an option if your issue is just leaking. Parts stores sell the seal kit, and it’s fairly easy to install. I’ve done it a few times on my car.
Ty. The steering appears to be working fine. Just the leak. My mindset is often " if I'm going to take it all apart, I might as well put it back together with all new".
After talking to OPGI it turns out they do not have either the 70 nor the 71 style of the complete unit which includes the pump and reservoir in stock.
So I guess I'm looking for some advice and/or opinions on how I should proceed here. On the one hand I like the idea of putting an original 70 style pump and reservoir (assuming I could even find one) on the car simply for the aesthetics of having it look original. On the other hand I'm seriously lacking The technical knowledge as to whether or not switching this pump, reservoir, and pulley from the 71 style to the 70 with throw anything else off. For example Are the lengths of the shafts and size of the pulleys different and would that throw off things like the alignment of the belts to the alternator and AC units?
Perhaps a better option would just be to disassemble this thing clean it all up repaint the reservoir brackets etc etc and have the leaking pump portion rebuilt or perhaps just try to replace the o-ring that was mentioned earlier in this thread. And just settle for the fact that the car has the 71 style pump. Most likely I'm overthinking the hell out of this .That's how I roll lol . Opinions?
After talking to OPGI it turns out they do not have either the 70 nor the 71 style of the complete unit which includes the pump and reservoir in stock.
So I guess I'm looking for some advice and/or opinions on how I should proceed here. On the one hand I like the idea of putting an original 70 style pump and reservoir (assuming I could even find one) on the car simply for the aesthetics of having it look original. On the other hand I'm seriously lacking The technical knowledge as to whether or not switching this pump, reservoir, and pulley from the 71 style to the 70 with throw anything else off. For example Are the lengths of the shafts and size of the pulleys different and would that throw off things like the alignment of the belts to the alternator and AC units?
Perhaps a better option would just be to disassemble this thing clean it all up repaint the reservoir brackets etc etc and have the leaking pump portion rebuilt or perhaps just try to replace the o-ring that was mentioned earlier in this thread. And just settle for the fact that the car has the 71 style pump. Most likely I'm overthinking the hell out of this .That's how I roll lol . Opinions?
Last edited by FINISHLINE; January 11th, 2022 at 08:53 AM.
if it were me i would clean up what you have and identify where it leaks then proceed from there. Unless your doing a concors resto the early late resevoir thing doesnt metter much.
what many of us have discovered is that many times an original GM part is better then any same reproduction part
Last edited by RetroRanger; January 11th, 2022 at 08:50 AM.
if it were me i would clean up what you have and identify where it leaks then proceed from there. Unless your doing a concors resto the early late resevoir thing doesnt metter much.
what many of us have discovered is that many times an original GM part is better then any same reproduction part
I think that's the direction I'm leaning toward. You're right it is not a concourse restoration. Although the car is nice it is a bit frankensteined together so worrying about something as trivial as the shape of a reservoir is probably unnecessary. It's 12° here right now otherwise I'd be in my garage disassembling this thing. 😳
Rockauto has a rebuild option. I used them for one recently, turned out nicely. I bought a filter to go in the return line also. So I shipped my pump to Cardone rebuilding facility in Texas. Rockauto will sell you a discounted shipping FedEx label and it cost me less than $5 to ship it there. A couple weeks later they sent it directly to me. I installed it and followed the bleeding instructions and all is good. I was well satisfied. The complete cost which included buying the rebuild from Rockauto, buying the filter from them, which was shipped by itself to me, so additional shipping there, shipping to and from Texas rebuilding facility was between $90 and $99, I don't remember the exact figure. It came back painted black and I installed it without adding my own paint job on top of theirs, I wish I had repainted it myself.
I didn't bother finding your year and model of your Oldsmobile as the charge would be the same for the rebuild service.
Just another alternative.
No auto parts company in my area could sell me a rebuilt pump with reservoir, and Rockauto couldn't get one either, so I used Rockauto's rebuild option.
UGH...Still struggling with this power steering project. I was able to get a 70 style (non ham can) pump from a friend, brackets and all. However, when I tried to install it 4 of the 5 holes/bolts/ etc places that need to line up did so nicely. One did not, that being the lower alternator bracket to main pwr steering bracket point..
I then switched the main bracket from the ham can style to the 70 unit. The same 4 lined up and with a spacer I was able to get 5th, the alternator bracket to line up and secure.
Now....new problem. The power steering pulley dosent line up with the water pump pulley. The belt is literally at an angle. Did some measuring and it looks like the pulley shafts on the 2 pwr steering pumps are different. 😡.
Yes....I know, I'm putting a lot of effort into this just to change the style of the reservoir from the ham can to the 70 look. I'm stubborn lol.
Here's my next question. Will the pump on the ham can style fit onto the older style reservoir? I'll include a picture. With a quick tape measure they appear to be the same size but are they interchangeable? If they are I can have that pump rebuilt possibly through the RockAuto setup previously mentioned in this thread, and then I'll basically just be exchanging reservoirs. I'll include a pic, anyone know if these are interchangeable?
Last edited by FINISHLINE; March 20th, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
The sheet metal reservoirs interchange on the cast iron pump bodies. It can be difficult to get the reservoir off due to hardening of the o-ring seal. Pay close attention to the square cross section O-rings that are on the backside of the pump body where the bolts go through the reservoir. These can stick to the old reservoir and can also move out of place when reassembling the pump.
Oh Christ. I don't have a clue how to get those two pieces separated I thought it was going to be the two bolts on the back of the reservoir but I just took those out and they weren't really attached to anything having to do with the pump. How do I begin to separate these two?
Oh Christ. I don't have a clue how to get those two pieces separated I thought it was going to be the two bolts on the back of the reservoir but I just took those out and they weren't really attached to anything having to do with the pump. How do I begin to separate these two?
You have to remove the two bolts and the high pressure fitting on the back of the reservoir. At that point I've had to clamp the nose of the pump in a bench vise and use a block of wood and hammer around the outer rim of the reservoir to get it off. Plan on PS fluid oozing out. Just as soon as you clear the main o-ring seal the next tap will send the reservoir flying across the garage. Yes, you will bend the lip of the reservoir doing this. I've had to straighten it after it's off.
interesting, inside the newer model ham can shape reservoir I found this circular magnet stuck to the inside of the pump. I can only assume this was put in here to help catch metal shavings? There are some stuck to it. Should I leave this in here? The pump I took out of the older style reservoir did not have this magnet
interesting, inside the newer model ham can shape reservoir I found this circular magnet stuck to the inside of the pump. I can only assume this was put in here to help catch metal shavings? There are some stuck to it. Should I leave this in here? The pump I took out of the older style reservoir did not have this magnet
Yeah, the magnet is a good idea. Clean off the filings as best you can before putting it back together.
Gentlemen once again I must thank everyone on this site that offers/shares their knowledge with those of us in the novice category. An amazing resource. The pump, brackets and period correct resovoir (which was my goal) are all in and lined up nicely.
Here's an oddball question. With that older style reservoir that sits in there slanted once the belt is properly adjusted how do you get an accurate fluid level reading on the cap dipstick without loosening everything and standing it up straight?
Here's an oddball question. With that older style reservoir that sits in there slanted once the belt is properly adjusted how do you get an accurate fluid level reading on the cap dipstick without loosening everything and standing it up straight?
I need to replace the pwr steering pump shown below. The #'s casted on it are 5698119 with DA41 below that . My local parts store has pumps with the first # on them, but the lower #'s are DA 86, 87, and 82. Anyone have any knowledge on what either of these #'s indicates? Model # cast #?
would any of these other "DA's work?
Thank you
Question on power steering high pressure side, hose port. In the below pic the upper is from my old pump, the lower the new pump.
In the upper you can see the brass colored "fitting" inside that receives the flared end of the PS line. The lower does not have this. The two are interchangeable size wise and I guess using the old one is an option?
But what knowledge am I missing about the new pump not having that piece?
The new line I bought appears to have the same size, thread , flare etc as the old.
Ty
Question on power steering high pressure side, hose port. In the below pic the upper is from my old pump, the lower the new pump.
In the upper you can see the brass colored "fitting" inside that receives the flared end of the PS line. The lower does not have this. The two are interchangeable size wise and I guess using the old one is an option?
But what knowledge am I missing about the new pump not having that piece?
The new line I bought appears to have the same size, thread , flare etc as the old.
Ty
The lower fitting is for the newer o-ring style PS hose. The threads on the flare nut are the same, but obviously the fitting is different. It is possible to press a flare adapter into that o-ring fitting, but you should be able to just swap the entire fitting.
The lower fitting is for the newer o-ring style PS hose. The threads on the flare nut are the same, but obviously the fitting is different. It is possible to press a flare adapter into that o-ring fitting, but you should be able to just swap the entire fitting.
Excellent. That'll be my move. Thanks Joe.
I don't see an o-ring around that brass fitting. Should there be one?
I don't see an o-ring around that brass fitting. Should there be one?
The o-ring I'm talking about is on the hose end, not the pump fitting. There are no o-rings used with the brass flare fitting. There IS a different o-ring on the outside of that pump fitting where it screws into the pump.
The o-ring I'm talking about is on the hose end, not the pump fitting. There are no o-rings used with the brass flare fitting. There IS a different o-ring on the outside of that pump fitting where it screws into the pump.
Yes,I understood what you meant my the ring on the new style line. Just wasn't sure on the brass piece. Thank you once again !!
Also yes on the "outside" o-ring. All of that is in place nicely.
In case you decide to get picky about the canting or “attitude” of the top of the reservoir flat on top and the neck being vertical (not canted), be aware you can (within limits) get a slightly shorter or longer belt to allow you to get the positioning very close to vertical.
As noted above, this is not critical for function, but if you decide you want it vertical, it’s usually possible.
January 10th, 2022, 01:10 PM
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