High miles '95 w/Power Steering Issue

[FORDMAN 200K]

Greetings, All . . I'm new to the forum; it's great to see all the Explorer owners exchanging ideas.

My '95 is just shy of 200K miles, looks and runs like brand new. But now and then, (mostly now, of late) the power steering is fighting back. I put in a new pump (AutoZone, $51 rebuilt) and it seemed fine for a week or so, then the problem came back. Air should have worked out by now, new serpentine belt, no slippage, no leaks- but lots of resistance in the wheel, and it goes away now and then. Basically, it's doing the same thing it did before the new pump. AAAARRRRRRRGH!

Anybody got some ideas or encouragement?

And one other thing- I've been through the dash and can help anyone who needs to replace instrument lights or get tach and speedo working again.

[punmaster7]

I had an '86 Celebrity that did that about a month after putting on a new (rebuilt) steering rack. Turns out that one of the rack seals was bad and fluid was leaking by, filling up the boot. Another possibility could be dirt in the valves on the pinion shaft. My target, considering 200K mi. of use, would be that something is bad in the rack unit, especially since you replaced the pump and it didn't fix the problem.
There is another place to look, although you should have gotten a new one with the pump, is the return line screen. That should be located in the return line at the pump. I don't recall having any installed in the factory racks I've replaced, but I've always had them in the replacement kits. Check to see if it is blocked. It may be difficult to remove, if it is even there. That's all I can suggest.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by FORDMAN 200K

Greetings, All . . I'm new to the forum; it's great to see all the Explorer owners exchanging ideas.

My '95 is just shy of 200K miles, looks and runs like brand new. But now and then, (mostly now, of late) the power steering is fighting back. I put in a new pump (AutoZone, $51 rebuilt) and it seemed fine for a week or so, then the problem came back. Air should have worked out by now, new serpentine belt, no slippage, no leaks- but lots of resistance in the wheel, and it goes away now and then. Basically, it's doing the same thing it did before the new pump. AAAARRRRRRRGH!

Anybody got some ideas or encouragement?

And one other thing- I've been through the dash and can help anyone who needs to replace instrument lights or get tach and speedo working again.