97 Caravan Power Steering Pump

I have a 97 Dodge Caravan with a leaking power steering pump.

I understand from the mechanic that I always take it to that it is a bit of
a job to replace it. I have the shop manual and it indicates that some of
the exhaust has to be removed to get at it. He figures the cost would be
close to $900.

Anyone have any ideas whether this sounds reasonable? I'm near Toronto.

Thanks.

Ed

 

On my 94 the crossmember has to be removed to get at it. I suppose that
you could also do it by pulling exhaust lines but I think that is insane to
mess with
exhaust lines if you have another way to do it. And yes it is
a bitchy job since it is easy for the lines to freeze onto the PS pump.

On my pump when I changed it, the high pressure size line had frozen. I
didn't want to round off the nut with my flare wrench so I unbolted
everything
else, lowered the pump hanging from the line, then dragged a vise under the
car, and cinched it down on the tubing nut, then took a bigger flare wrench
to the housing fitting. I had to bang pretty hard with a big sledge on the
bigger
wrench to break it free.

If it is not leaking that bad I would just keep putting in PS fluid. How
long do
you intend on owning this van?

Ted

 

Hi Ted, thanks for the thoughts,

Sounds like a job I will not be attempting myself.

How long will I keep it? Good question. Everything else seems to be in
good shape, runs fine and not a spot of rust on it. But I have to wonder
tho if it's worth puting any great amount of money into a 10 year old van.
And I have to wonder if this is just the start of all sorts of other
problems.

My mechanic said he would make me an offer for it, and he's been fair with
me in the past so I don't think he's trying to pull a fast one.

We have another car, so we won't be stuck that way, but I do like a van.

Thanks again,

Ed

 

In an issue of Popular Mechanics earlier this year, they changed out
the P/S pump on a 1998 minivan. They described how labor intensive the
procedure was. The P/S pump leaks a little in my 1993 Voyager. The
shop quoted me $410 US to replace it. I don't know how the work
compares on mine as opposed to the newer one.

They also mentioned that due to it's lower location, it is exposed to
salt and other rust contributing factors.

-KM

 

Ok, thanks for that. I suppose I should take it to another shop and see
what they figure it would cost. I know when I looked at it when it was up
on the hoist it looked like a major job.

Thanks again.

Ed

 

How much does it leak, really? If you only have to top it off every
month or so, your best to leave it alone and just keep topping it off.
The rack itself is probably worn and even if you forget to top it and
the pump runs low, all that will happen is you will start feeling it in
the steering and that will remind you to put more oil in. It won't
hurt the rack any more than it what's happening now. And if the
rack does give out you will have plenty of warning - noises and
the like. At that time there's a lot to be said for just replacing the
rack and pump and lines all at the same time.

Hell, you put a rebuilt pump on it now, and the rack might give
out a year from now - then you have to tear everything apart again
- in the same area. Unless the leak is pouring out - leave it alone.

If the leak is due to rust on the bottom of the tank then do a
fix in-sutu. Have the mechanic drain the pump with a syringe,
then clean the bottom off, and put JB Weld over the leak, let
it dry and refill the pump. The repair will probably hold until
the van is junked.

With mine, the leak was through the front shaft seal - and if
I hadn't been replacing the transmission I wouldn't have touched
it.

Probably not - but it is -very- common for these engines to go
200K miles without even noticing. The transmission is the weak point,
but even the stock tranny on that year can do 100K if it's not pushed, and
a rebuilt one will go at least that, probably longer. And there's still
some people out there who have reported 200K on the stock
tranny.

Look at it this way. With a 10 year old van, the value is almost fully
depreciated - in other words, while the value will continue to drop the
older it gets
and the more mileage it has on it, we are talking no more than $500 to
$1000 a year, if even that - and at 15 years, it will stop depreciating
completely. If you wanted to get some of the undepreciated value out of
it, you have waited too long. Financially, your best bet is to just drive
it until the proverbial wheels drop off.

I have seen these vans go for $600 on the used market - NON running -
if they are clean, no dents, and look good. Run the Kelly Blue Book
on it now and look at what it is. Subtract $600 - what you have left
is the amount of money you can stand to lose between now and when
it stops running. And I will bet that this amount is -way lower- than
car payments for the next 5-10 years or so of life that you most likely
have on it. Sure, your gambling to hang on to it - but it's a gamble that
is stacked in your favor.

The worst gambles in the used car market are the cars that have just
come out from under warranty - for example 60K miles or 40K miles -
since they still have significant undepreciated value that the buyer has
to pay for - yet there's no guarentee they won't blow up a day after the
buyer takes delivery. Your probably past that stage in your van - so
at this point just keep changing the oil and run it into the ground.

Ted

 

Really good points Ted. Thanks.

JB Weld!. Good thought. Sounds like something I might even be able to do
myself. Will give that one a lot of thought.

Cheers.

Ed

 

outrageous! it pays about 2.8 hours and at most the right axle comes out