97 Caravan Power Steering Pump

On my 94 the crossmember has to be removed to get at it. I suppose that you could also do it by pulling exhaust lines but I think that is insane to mess with exhaust lines if you have another way to do it. And yes it is a bitchy job since it is easy for the lines to freeze onto the PS pump.

On my pump when I changed it, the high pressure size line had frozen. I didn't want to round off the nut with my flare wrench so I unbolted everything else, lowered the pump hanging from the line, then dragged a vise under the car, and cinched it down on the tubing nut, then took a bigger flare wrench to the housing fitting. I had to bang pretty hard with a big sledge on the bigger wrench to break it free.

If it is not leaking that bad I would just keep putting in PS fluid. How long do you intend on owning this van?

Ted

Hi Ted, thanks for the thoughts,

Sounds like a job I will not be attempting myself.

How long will I keep it? Good question. Everything else seems to be in good shape, runs fine and not a spot of rust on it. But I have to wonder tho if it's worth puting any great amount of money into a 10 year old van. And I have to wonder if this is just the start of all sorts of other problems.

My mechanic said he would make me an offer for it, and he's been fair with me in the past so I don't think he's trying to pull a fast one.

We have another car, so we won't be stuck that way, but I do like a van.

Thanks again,

Ed

In an issue of Popular Mechanics earlier this year, they changed out the P/S pump on a 1998 minivan. They described how labor intensive the procedure was. The P/S pump leaks a little in my 1993 Voyager. The shop quoted me $410 US to replace it. I don't know how the work compares on mine as opposed to the newer one.

They also mentioned that due to it's lower location, it is exposed to salt and other rust contributing factors.

-KM

Ok, thanks for that. I suppose I should take it to another shop and see what they figure it would cost. I know when I looked at it when it was up on the hoist it looked like a major job.

Thanks again.

Ed

How much does it leak, really? If you only have to top it off every month or so, your best to leave it alone and just keep topping it off. The rack itself is probably worn and even if you forget to top it and the pump runs low, all that will happen is you will start feeling it in the steering and that will remind you to put more oil in. It won't hurt the rack any more than it what's happening now. And if the rack does give out you will have plenty of warning - noises and the like. At that time there's a lot to be said for just replacing the rack and pump and lines all at the same time.

Hell, you put a rebuilt pump on it now, and the rack might give out a year from now - then you have to tear everything apart again

- in the same area. Unless the leak is pouring out - leave it alone.

If the leak is due to rust on the bottom of the tank then do a fix in-sutu. Have the mechanic drain the pump with a syringe, then clean the bottom off, and put JB Weld over the leak, let it dry and refill the pump. The repair will probably hold until the van is junked.

With mine, the leak was through the front shaft seal - and if I hadn't been replacing the transmission I wouldn't have touched it.

Probably not - but it is -very- common for these engines to go

200K miles without even noticing. The transmission is the weak point, but even the stock tranny on that year can do 100K if it's not pushed, and a rebuilt one will go at least that, probably longer. And there's still some people out there who have reported 200K on the stock tranny.

Look at it this way. With a 10 year old van, the value is almost fully depreciated - in other words, while the value will continue to drop the older it gets and the more mileage it has on it, we are talking no more than $500 to $1000 a year, if even that - and at 15 years, it will stop depreciating completely. If you wanted to get some of the undepreciated value out of it, you have waited too long. Financially, your best bet is to just drive it until the proverbial wheels drop off.

I have seen these vans go for $600 on the used market - NON running - if they are clean, no dents, and look good. Run the Kelly Blue Book on it now and look at what it is. Subtract $600 - what you have left is the amount of money you can stand to lose between now and when it stops running. And I will bet that this amount is -way lower- than car payments for the next 5-10 years or so of life that you most likely have on it. Sure, your gambling to hang on to it - but it's a gamble that is stacked in your favor.

The worst gambles in the used car market are the cars that have just come out from under warranty - for example 60K miles or 40K miles - since they still have significant undepreciated value that the buyer has to pay for - yet there's no guarentee they won't blow up a day after the buyer takes delivery. Your probably past that stage in your van - so at this point just keep changing the oil and run it into the ground.

Ted

Really good points Ted. Thanks.

JB Weld!. Good thought. Sounds like something I might even be able to do myself. Will give that one a lot of thought.

Cheers.

Ed