Power steering pump electrical connector

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jollyjerry

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My pump was leaking so I got a replacement. When I took out the old one, I noticed a 2 pin connector on top of the high pressure line outlet. The new one doesn't have this, so I put the old one on the new pump. Does it check for low fluid or something? It was a pain to get the pulley off and on, so wanted to get a sanity check to avoid doing the job again.

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Ironhead

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Probably for the EVO (Electronically Variable Orifice) which gives you variable power steering assist. There's a control device on the steering column in the cab, and I guess it gets a signal from the Vehicle Speed Sensor.

More stuff to go wrong, in my stone age opinion.
 

88GMCtruck

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That is the EVO sensor for the power steering. It adjusts line pressure based on speed. Many people dislike the feel the trucks have with it, but it's all preference.

I removed it in my 98 K3500. If you want to remove it all you need is the high pressure line for a 96 truck, as they were the last year prior to it's implementation.
 

jollyjerry

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That is the EVO sensor for the power steering. It adjusts line pressure based on speed. Many people dislike the feel the trucks have with it, but it's all preference.

I removed it in my 98 K3500. If you want to remove it all you need is the high pressure line for a 96 truck, as they were the last year prior to it's implementation.


Is the actual high pressure line different? At work right now, so I can't check, but the pump came with an hard line that does a 180 degree bend.

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sewlow

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That extra hard line is for eliminating the EVO. They are prone to failure. GM realized that so they came up with that fix.
When the EVO dies, you will get a weird handling prob where when you go into a corner, for a split second, the truck will feel like it just hit a small patch of ice. Very disconcerting!
The pre-EVO lines have that extra 180* bend built into them. Other than that, it's a bolt on.
When you swap it out, there is a puck & a spring in the pump behind the EVO.
Make sure you take note of which way that puck faces before it falls out. And it will!
Got pix of all this, if you want.
Don't just leave that electrical connection unplugged with the EVO still in place. That will keep the pump in constant boost, leading to failure of the EVO unit all that much sooner.
 

ChopTop

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So not dure if I have the same problem or something different, but my truck has little to no power steering at idle, it's a 99 k3500 dually with the 7.4. I haven't noticed anything unusual with the fluid level or anything like that. And I don't have any leaks. But I'm wondering if a new pump will fix my low engine speed turning issues.

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L31MaxExpress

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That extra hard line is for eliminating the EVO. They are prone to failure. GM realized that so they came up with that fix.
When the EVO dies, you will get a weird handling prob where when you go into a corner, for a split second, the truck will feel like it just hit a small patch of ice. Very disconcerting!
The pre-EVO lines have that extra 180* bend built into them. Other than that, it's a bolt on.
When you swap it out, there is a puck & a spring in the pump behind the EVO.
Make sure you take note of which way that puck faces before it falls out. And it will!
Got pix of all this, if you want.
Don't just leave that electrical connection unplugged with the EVO still in place. That will keep the pump in constant boost, leading to failure of the EVO unit all that much sooner.

The only issue I noticed in the two that I have had go out was little to no assist at parking lot speeds and a chattering pump/shaking steering wheel. I put a pump and high pressure hose from a later model 6.0L Express van on my 1997 Express to eliminate it.
 

ChopTop

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I did figure out my problem, I reinstalled the factory pump nothing was wrong with the Evo on it. The problem for those of you who are interested is the steering wheel sensor on the bottom of the steering column inside the cab. What it does is it sends a signal to the pump to run it in boost at lower speeds. Took me about 2 days to figure it out. Mostly not looking at the right forums or looking asking the right questions. But if you are having a low engine speed turning speed chances are the problem is a $45 sensor that tells the pump to boost the pressure.

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