Power Steering trouble

[bovine]

I had a dead battery in my Ranger yesterday, so I pushed it to the barn to hook it up to the battery charger, steering it while we pushed. However, I ran into a problem after the battery was charged and I tried to leave. My truck was steering a little bit hard. I checked the power steering fluid and saw that fluid had spurted out of the reservoir. Some fluid was on the ground and some was on my engine. While driving it on the road yesterday and today, my truck continues to steer hard when taking corners. I put some power steering fluid in it, but that didn't really help.

I don't know why it is steering hard like this. Did I damage the power steering system by steering it when the truck was not running??

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[98frdrngr]

hey i have the same exact problem. when i go around turns though, the steering kinda bumbs or jitters through the turn. i also tried putting in fluid since i saw all the fluid on the engine and ground. if you find out please help me.

[knucklebuster2]

Happens often with the Fords that when you steer it without the vehicle running it spurts out power steering fluid. Happens all the time in the shop! Anyway, I bet there is air in the system that needs to be bled out. Turn the steering wheel from stop to stop with the vehicle running
and making sure there is enough fluid in the reservoir. This should help get some of the air out. Do this a couple of times. It may take a few days worth of driving to get all the air out. Good luck.

[dxrflyboy]

Rangers become airbound any time the wheels are turned with the engine off. There is an adaptor available that sits in the p/s pump filler neck for applying vacuum to the system to help purge the air. I haven't found it very helpful, though. Jacking the front wheels off the ground and steering the wheels from side to side has worked best for me.