Power Steering pump

My78truck said:

Okay, thanks for the input. Now, if it were YOUR beloved 45 year old, one owner, pampered and would like to be buried in it, truck, which one would you feel comfortable installing. Honestly, I only need it to last another 20-25 years because I will probably be ashes-to-ashes by then.

The other question is, do I order a 1 or two bolt attachment or just order both. Apparently both were used???? I cannot see the attachment due to the plate. So do I order both?

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Well Lares is a well known brand, and a very good product, so that might be the one. But I'm always on a budget so because of that I'd have to pick one of the lower cost options. If money were no object then yes I'd get the Lares. I guess you will have to make the final call if that's in the budget for you. I get it. I've only had my truck 5 or 6 years, but the former owner bought it in the mid-90's and I was friends with him, so my truck has that meaning to me. I intend to keep it forever.

SirRobyn0 said:

Well Lares is a well known brand, and a very good product, so that might be the one. But I'm always on a budget so because of that I'd have to pick one of the lower cost options. If money were no object then yes I'd get the Lares. I guess you will have to make the final call if that's in the budget for you. I get it. I've only had my truck 5 or 6 years, but the former owner bought it in the mid-90's and I was friends with him, so my truck has that meaning to me. I intend to keep it forever.

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So Rock Auto has the best price on Lares, so going to order a new one (1/2 of what O'Reilley charges . BUT!!! They offer a 1 or 2 bolt attachment. Other than ordering both what are the chances that it is a 2-bolt attachment?

Sorry I don't know about the one bolt vs two bolt attachment, but I have one more thing on power steering for you @My78truck. Assuming you're ordering a new high pressure line, pay attention to what style you're ordering if the look of originality matters to you.

The new high pressure lines have one end routed straight up out of the steering box. The original style high pressure lines had a bend at the end leaving the steering box. The new style fits well and keeps the hose farther away from the exhaust manifold, but it does not match the original routing.

I just figured this was noteworthy since you seem particular about what you're putting in your truck

I will assume it’s similar to my ‘75, so I have a few pointers.

- it may have a press-on pulley (mine does), so you will need to borrow a puller and press from Autozone or other store. On my original pump it was so tight that it broke the edge off the pulley, so I had to buy a new Dorman pulley. The other choice is a bolt on pulley.

- mine uses a cradle-shaped bracket, and at least one bolt is inaccessible until you remove the pulley. I believe there are two bolts holding the pump.

- newer pumps switched from SAE to metric on the pressure fitting, but I don’t know which year. You can adapt one to the other, but may need a new pressure hose.

- on my A/C truck I believe the hold down bolt for the tensioner PS is on the same bracket the A6 A/C compressor. Sometimes the PO has removed the factory compressor mounts and managed to screw up the threads and/or the tensioner for the PS.

- my truck had factory A/C with HD cooling. This means it has a longer PS belt that goes around both the crank pulley and the water pump pulley. Standard cooling uses a shorter belt that only goes around the crank and the PS pump. The advantage of the longer PS belt is that if your alternator belt breaks, the long PS belt will continue to drive the water pump and it won’t overheat.

- the GM procedure for getting air out of the system after you replace the pump is a little time consuming. You jack up the truck so both front wheels are off the ground, and then start the engine and turn the steering wheel full lock to lock 10 times. It sounds a little crazy, but definitely works.

My78truck said:

So Rock Auto has the best price on Lares, so going to order a new one (1/2 of what O'Reilley charges . BUT!!! They offer a 1 or 2 bolt attachment. Other than ordering both what are the chances that it is a 2-bolt attachment?

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I think that the only way you are going to know on the bolt thing is to look at the truck. Orielly's lists Part #: 13153 for the Lares unit.

Also. I'm not trying to tell you what to do and I know some folks are very happy with Rockauto, but I got messed up with them years ago and lost money on a return. Watch their shipping prices too. If I could I'd buy locally, if I needed to save the cash I'd try Amazon, but I have prime so that works to my advantage there. Whatever you decide to do good luck.

75gmck25 said:

- the GM procedure for getting air out of the system after you replace the pump is a little time consuming. You jack up the truck so both front wheels are off the ground, and then start the engine and turn the steering wheel full lock to lock 10 times. It sounds a little crazy, but definitely works.

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See my post above on bleeding. The GM procedure is to jack up the front and bleed it manually with the engine off and turning the wheel lock to lock many times until you stop getting bubbles or pink/airated fluid in the reservoir. Then you start the engine and finish it off with 5-10 turns to make sure it is good. If you start it with air in the system you will get big pressure fluctuations that can destroy the pump.