I have sent for a power steering seal kit, and it appears I can
> probably replace the seals myself--- and may the gods take pitty
> on me: I have never done the job before.
>
> Does anyone have advice on the subject they would be kind enough
> to share? Or should I pay someone to do the job? Or should I buy a
> new pump, as the easier alternative to trying to replace the seals > myself?
>
> Fortunately I have a document that shows, sort of, how to replace > the seals.
>
> If the job is successful perhaps I will make a YouTube video on
> the subject. If the job is a miserable failure, I'll just slit my > wrists.
> For the past year I have been adding power steering fluid to my 1992
> > Pickup due to a leak. Since I only drive 6 or 7 days out of the year,
> > this has not been a major problem for me.... but it seems like I ought
> > to fix the problem. I am hoping the problem is "merely" a hose that is > > bad.
> >
> > Are there any known problems I ought to know about concerning
> > replacing hoses? I see that the repair manual calls for SST
> > 09631-22020 which at the moment I have not researched---- is that tool
> > actually necessary?
> >
> > Looking over the repair manual it appears that I ought to be able to
> > fix the leak, but the hoses cost a hell of a lot of money--- around
> > $98 for the set (if I'm going to change one, I may as well change > > both).
> >
> > I also see that the drive shaft's center support bearing is shot.....
> > well, actually, it's worn right off (and now missing) and the drive
> > shaft rattles around in the mounting bracket. I assume this is a bad > > thing.
The snow melted, the ice melted, and my pickup's icy coffin sloughed away, leaving it open for me to work on it. The power steering pump was easy to rebuild: the hardest part was removing it--- that also took the most time. A pulley puller would have been a help, but I "made do" with a very large screw driver, being careful to not bend anything out of shape.
The rebuilt power steering pump is much quieter. I have not checked to see if the leak is fixed: I don't want to know.