Oem power steering pump #modmonday!! Pump it real good!
Hey!... Welcome to #Modmonday! Today given the cooler temps and constant questions about power steering issues I will give you my own take on power steering pumps. I went through three re manufactured pumps before finally rebuilding my own. Finally replacing it last year with a factory Oem pump. Which has been problem free.
Awhile back I posted about o-ring replacement to get rid of the winter whines that often pop up when temps drop. I had similar issues with my stock STI pump and a slight loss of power steering while turning. Thus I spent a good amount of time replacing reman pumps. Which never seemed to fix the issue. I spent more time trouble shooting and bleeding air that in the end wasn't worth it. I ended up rebuilding the factory unit with new internal seals.
The self rebuilt pump was great for a few years until I started auto-x'ing regularly. I ended up with a pump that would drop out under back to back sharp turns. Which was quite scary.. I wouldn't even be able to turn the wheel when it dropped out and after a few attempts at repair I purchased a brand new pump from Subaru.
These are not cheap and it wasn't easy to drop the money on it but I couldn't take the lost time on the auto-x course and the idea of being unable to turn and losing control was a close second. After putting it on the car and turning the car over I immediately noticed the lack of noise.. Which is weird given I had spent almost a week bleeding them for a week. The pump worked 100% right out of the box like it was meant to.
After it's instant start without any concerns it has been perfect on the auto-x course without the drop out issues. Knowing this now I wish I had never dealt with the reman units. Having it work right out of the box and being trouble free through the rigors of auto-x'ing is well worth it.
Questions, comments, thoughts? Leave them below!