Power Steering Pump Install Help

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RDUBPhoto

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New to Raptor ownership. I've had/loved mine for just around 2 months now. I've taken her out a few places but 2 weekends ago we had some rain so I decided to hit the mud here in SoCal. Well I blew my PS pump pretty fast doing doughnuts and hard turns while in 4x4. What was I thinking turning the truck in the mud right? Anyways, has anyone replaced their own power steering pumps? I ordered one as well as some Royal Purple AT. I am also ordering the cooler/reservoir combo soon to try and prevent this from happening so easily again.

Any links or help would be awesome.

Thanks
 

MajorAR

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A cooler/reservoir wouldn't help you in this situation. The power steering is a weak link in the Raptor platform unfortunately, and mud, high revs and doughnuts will kill it every time.

Not too fun changing out the pump, just ensure you loosen the steering rack to help you access the back bolt in the pump. Good luck
 

Hockster

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While the PS system is weak you can do a few things to help you out.
1. NEVER EVER do full lock turns while doing doughnuts!!! That means holding the steering locked in it full turn position.
2. The biggest enemy is the heat build up on the system. Adding a cooler will help you tons. As soon as you get too much heat in the system it starts to cavtivate, when that happens it tears off pieces of metal and even if you have a magnet in the system you can catch it all.
 
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RDUBPhoto

RDUBPhoto

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While the PS system is weak you can do a few things to help you out.
1. NEVER EVER do full lock turns while doing doughnuts!!! That means holding the steering locked in it full turn position.
2. The biggest enemy is the heat build up on the system. Adding a cooler will help you tons. As soon as you get too much heat in the system it starts to cavtivate, when that happens it tears off pieces of metal and even if you have a magnet in the system you can catch it all.

I'm also thinking of adding an inline filter to possibly catch any metal bits. Do you think that will help as well or is it a waste of my time?
 

Hockster

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I'm also thinking of adding an inline filter to possibly catch any metal bits. Do you think that will help as well or is it a waste of my time?

I still have a few friends that work in PS development at Ford they say its a waste. Once it starts to tear off pieces of metal nothing can catch it all. Best thing to do is add more oil and a good cooler. I found this F250 reservoir that hold double the oil as the stock one and added a cooler to mine.
 
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RDUBPhoto

RDUBPhoto

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I still have a few friends that work in PS development at Ford they say its a waste. Once it starts to tear off pieces of metal nothing can catch it all. Best thing to do is add more oil and a good cooler. I found this F250 reservoir that hold double the oil as the stock one and added a cooler to mine.

Nice find! I am thinking of doing something custom as well. Which cooler did you go with?
 
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Awesome. I'm going to order one now. I have seen a few on Jegs for less than $50. I assume you just mount above the radiator and then the coolant line from reservoir goes in through cooler to pump and then from pump back to reservoir. I may add the filter in between the pump and reservoir. Seems like the best spot.
 
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