454SS steering box swap. NEED HELP! P/S pump

[FL0WL0W]

Im having trouble doing the 454ss steering box upgrade. i put it in yesterday and drove it around and after about 5 minutes of driving the power steering pump started whining and after 15 minutes it lost power steering. i checked the fluid and it was boiling and foaming and was a nasty milky brown color so i parked and waited for it to cool down before i took it back home. when i started it back up the power steering was a little bit better but at higher rpm it developed a massive leak in the front seal. i figured i might have ruined the pump running it dry or with air in the lines so today i replaced the pump and after driving it for 5 minutes it started whining again. so my question is, is my box maybe bad? or does the 454ss steering box really take that much more power steering to control it? do i need a biggere power steering cooler? is the high pressure power steering line too skinny and i need a thicker line? im really baffled by this as the stock 2500 5.7 power steering pump is the same pump used in the 454ss model and the power steering was working fine before the steering box swap. also to note i have a 6.0 swap. is there any pump for the 6.0 that maybe outputs a higher flow or higher pressure? i really really really dont want to go back to the stock steering box. the swap made the steering in this truck a DREAM. it steers as good as my 2009 altima. great road feedback and sensitivity.

 

[someotherguy]

If you didn't properly bleed the system after replacing the box, you likely burnt up the pump running it with air in the system. What exact steps did you take to fill & bleed the system after install?

Richard

 

[98_k1500]

If you didn't properly bleed the system after replacing the box, you likely burnt up the pump running it with air in the system. What exact steps did you take to fill & bleed the system after install?

Richard

This^^^

 

[FL0WL0W]

ok so i believe i might have did that the first time. the first time to bleed it i turned the steering wheel back and forth about 20 with the truck on and it on the ground and that's where i figured i messed up. the second time around i jacked it up with the truck off and turned the steering wheel back and forth about 20 times and then got on the ground and pushed the wheels back and forth about 10 times and then turned on the truck and turned the steering wheel about 20 times and then i figured i was good so i went for a ride and about 5 minutes later it started whining. so i pulled in a parking lot parked for a while felt the lines and they were HOT. so i waited in the parking lot for it to cool down and then took it back home. you think there could still be air in the lines? also another thing is when i turn the steering wheel the high pressure line flexes.

 

[FL0WL0W]

im about to take out the pump and perform these modifications bumping the pressure up to 1100-1200 because i heard that is what steering boxes like but i can find anywhere to tell me the right pressure for the box or what pressure my pump is outputing.

 

[someotherguy]

Before making any other changes you should get all that burnt fluid out of the system, then refill, bleed properly, and top off as necessary. I do believe though that it's very likely you have already damaged the pump, hopefully not also the gear.

This is the FACTORY bleed procedure from GM, it's from the 1994 C/K truck service manual. Follow it to the letter - particularly steps 1 through 4, which I would be willing to bet almost nobody does - they do the rest, but skip the initial steps that attempt to get the most air out as possible before the system is loaded in any fashion. Once you start turning the wheels you're loading the system and while some small air pockets to work out aren't disastrous, if you didn't do the initial steps then you've got a chance of more air and potential damage.

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Richard

 

[FL0WL0W]

Ok so I followed those steps and its still is giving me trouble. Only thing I haven't tried is removing all of the burnt fluid from the steering gear. I think the gear is fine it just keeps breaking pumps

 

[FL0WL0W]

I'm going to try the modification to the ps pump because it is for a 2002 Silverado and not a 1993 454ss so I think that could be the main problem

 

[someotherguy]

No offense meant by this but it looks like your problem is too many shortcuts and not being willing to do the job right in the first place.

My guess will be you end up needing to replace the pump, all fluid, and bleed it correctly afterwards...and hope your 454SS box is still good.

Richard

 

[FL0WL0W]

ok so i decided to replace the pump (3rd time) blead all the lines followed the procedure to the letter. after driving for 5 minutes the power steering lines get really really hot. can't keep my hand on them longer than a second. do i need a special cooler to run the 454ss box?

edit: the power steering starts to degrade as the fluid gets hotter.