Air in Steering Lines?

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Ruff Idol

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I have had no shortage of steering problems on my 92 C1500. Just put in a Bluetop gearbox a few weeks ago and new lines - bled the air out the best I could and was very happy with the result - good power assist even at idle.

Fast forward to now and I think there is air in the system. The wheel is very hard to turn at low speeds and as soon as you start turning either direction there is a lot of noise (like relief valve noise when you hit the steering stops). Could this be from loose fittings? I got them tight with an adjustable wrench when I replaced the lines but do they need to be super locked down? I don't see how I'm already having issues this soon.

Checked all connections and there does not appear to be a fluid leak, but I suppose there could be air getting in. Fluid level in the pump has remained pretty consistent this whole time.
 

someotherguy

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If anything was loose, you'd have leaks.

How did you bleed the system? I'd assume they provided you specific instructions, but lacking that, I'd follow the ones straight from the GM C/K service manual. If you just glance at it and it "seems like" the process you followed.. look closely and follow it to the letter.

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Richard
 

0xDEADBEEF

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How old is the pump? If it's been circulating debris for a while it could be shot.
 

Supercharged111

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If you've been driving and it's not leaking, air bubbles don't just happen. Sounds more like the pump is taking a ****, and if it sucked in a bunch of crap that wouldn't surprise me.
 

someotherguy

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May have already been going bad, may have gone bad from improper bleeding. Foamed up fluid doesn't lube properly but it may have "seemed" OK while operating at first.

I'd agree if the pump was working OK and now isn't, it's likely going bad. Proper bleeding is essential any time you open that system if you want it to live. I looked up the procedure for the first time ever when I was building the 3500HD because it had sat open for a long time (lines off the box with the hood off no less) and I flushed it thoroughly, mostly concerned about saving the steering box and hydroboost unit as I didn't want to have to buy new ones.

Richard
 
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