Power Steering when truck is not moving or no fuel

[doncaruana]

I don't really want to mess with taking stuff apart more than necessary on this thing so I took a turkey baster and sucked all the fluid I could out of the reservoir and put fresh fluid in it. The pic is what I took out and you can see it's pretty black. And it made a world of difference! Took it for a quick drive and it was still a little tight on just a couple of stops/turns, but nothing like it was before at all! Not sure if I want to go through the process myself (using same methodology) or take it back and tell them they owe me a flush since they gave it back to me like crap. For that matter, I don't understand why they wouldn't have looked at the fluid that came out and at least called me and recommended a flush, if not do one as part of the repair. They charged me 2.5 hours of labor, which seems excessive as it is to just replace the pressure and return lines and I don't have a cooler.

 

[OR VietVet]

They charged you what you ok'd. I do assume that they said what the fees were before they did the work, right?

 

[doncaruana]

They did not say before the work. They were asked to replace the pressure and return hoses (which I supplied). I've been using this guy a while so I trusted him. But the helper seems to be complicating things. So, no, I did not agree to a price. And the hours aren't detailed on the invoice-it just says "labor", but I know what they charge per hour so I know how much labor they charged me for.

 

[Brandon2489]

So you told them to replace the lines. They did just that. You did not ask them to flush the system. That costs more for parts and labor to do a flush. I agree a flush should have been done after the lines were replaced but shops don't just do stuff for free and especially if the vehicle owner never asked for it. Unfortunately it sounds like you will have to do a flush on it since you don't trust the shop helper. A flush is very easy to do and you will probably have better results than the turkey baster method. Although I have done that a time or two in a pinch. Also if the pump was making noise by the time you got to your destination it is probably damaged. No different than any other pump. Would you expect the oil pump or engine for that matter to keep working perfectly after oil starvation? Power steering pump can use that same theory.

 

[doncaruana]

I expected them to call me when they saw the fluid was black and at least suggest it needed to be flushed and changed. Any responsible mechanic should have done that regardless of what I asked.

The pump simply making noise from low fluid doesn't mean it got damaged. It wasn't run long or hot at all. And I just posted that changing the fluid made a huge difference.

I have a path forward. No need for further dialog here.

 

[OR VietVet]

If the pump was making noise at all, it is getting damaged.

 

[doncaruana]

Yes, you're right. The pump is damaged. No need for further dialog here.