explorer power steering pump pressure

777mechanic · Aug 4, 2011

i have installed a explorer pump and serp setup , and have a really stiff steering it takes excessive pull to get the wheel to turn . so i installed a pressure gauge , teed in on pressure side and am reading 50psi at idle and in a turn goes to about 700psi . if i rev the motor it goes to 1500psi and steers normal one handed , reving it around 2000rpm . question is has anyone got figures of a good system and what it should be at idle at loaded (or in a turn at idle ). viperwolf said someone posted it a few years ago but i can't find it any where .

scrapman1971 · Aug 4, 2011

the 700 psi at idle in the turn is right and the 1500 psi at 2000 is correct. i don't know what is going on with the 50psi. i assume that is not touching the wheel? unless your idle is so low that it isn't slinging the vanes out to pump or the spring in the valve is sticking.

scrapman1971 · Aug 4, 2011

is it a cII or cIII pump? is it an aluminum pump or a steel pump?

Viperwolf1 · Aug 4, 2011

Post # 16 http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131835

It's a steel body C3 pump.

scrapman1971 · Aug 4, 2011

ok i have to ask viperwolf. how do you know it is a c3 and not a c2. c2's came on explorers up until 2000 and had serp pulleys. my guess is that you know him since you are both from co.

Viperwolf1 · Aug 4, 2011

scrapman1971 said:
ok i have to ask viperwolf. how do you know it is a c3 and not a c2. c2's came on explorers up until 2000 and had serp pulleys. my guess is that you know him since you are both from co.

It's an explorer serp pump and Lars called it a C3 so I assume it is.

76 bronco J · Aug 4, 2011

scrapman1971 said:
ok i have to ask viperwolf. how do you know it is a c3 and not a c2. c2's came on explorers up until 2000 and had serp pulleys. my guess is that you know him since you are both from co.

>>>easiest way to tell immediately, is all C2 pumps had attached reservoirs, while the C3's are remote setups..I believe the V6 explorer did continue to use the C2 pumps when the V8's came out in 96ish ...seen some info that claims the C2 pumps are a adaptation of TRW pumps & the C3's are saginaws...not sure how true that is.....while searching for a few minutes for some old pump diagrams I've seen to post up a pic of the differences I found the following video ..start at about 2:47....also noticed some info on the Ford website & video about the CIII pumps >http://www.fordparts.com/Products/Steering-GenuinePartsCIIIPowerSteeringPump.aspx .... says>•Belt-driven, vane-type pump with low-displacement cam inserts for smaller, lighter vehicles and high-displacement cam inserts for heavier vehicles

[youtube]_HBmc5ecAB0[/youtube]

777mechanic · Aug 5, 2011

yes 50psi is at idle without touching the wheel , not sure of idle because i don't have a tach yet . and yes viperwolf and i are best buds and live 10 minutes apart from each other . from the video it sounds like the diesel c3 pumps more volume than the explorer so may start looking for one rebuilt or bone yard .

scrapman1971 · Aug 5, 2011

the diesel c3 mounts completely different than the explorer. it does flow 3 gmp versus 1 for the explorer. not all c3 have remote reservoir and some c2 are remote
http://www.cardone.com/English/club/members/customer/ecat_brands/imageinfo.asp?PARTNUM=20-70269
http://www.cardone.com/English/club/members/customer/ecat_brands/imageinfo.asp?PARTNUM=20-7251

chadomatic · Aug 5, 2011

Which adapter did you use on the pressure side? If you used the russel fitting from the tech article thats a problem. I had the same issue but I never tested pressure.

Viperwolf1 · Aug 5, 2011

chadomatic said:
Which adapter did you use on the pressure side? If you used the russel fitting from the tech article thats a problem. I had the same issue but I never tested pressure.

He has the Lee adapter.

777mechanic · Aug 5, 2011

had the russel leaked like a sieve , so i read the artical again and order the lee no more leaks .

76 bronco J · Aug 5, 2011

scrapman1971 said:
not all c3 have remote reservoir and some c2 are remote
http://www.cardone.com/English/club/members/customer/ecat_brands/imageinfo.asp?PARTNUM=20-70269
http://www.cardone.com/English/club/members/customer/ecat_brands/imageinfo.asp?PARTNUM=20-7251

>>>> some ford CII pumps may have a secondary remote reservoir with a fill hose going to the main pump reservoir that surrounds the pump mechanism,but they are still considered attached reservoir pumps.. I've seen some attached reservoir saginaw pumps in chevy trucks setup this way .....the second link provided clearly shows it is a attached reservoir type pump..... that 1st link looks like a remote reservoir style pump that just so happens to have the reservoir bolted/attached directly to it, but it is still not techinally considered a attached reservoir style pump............

mattt · Aug 5, 2011

777mechanic said:
yes 50psi is at idle without touching the wheel , not sure of idle because i don't have a tach yet . and yes viperwolf and i are best buds and live 10 minutes apart from each other . from the video it sounds like the diesel c3 pumps more volume than the explorer so may start looking for one rebuilt or bone yard .

I believe the internal parts between the diesel truck version and Explorer version can be swapped.

777mechanic · Aug 5, 2011

yes the one i have is from the explorer with the remote reservior. but would like the extra volume of the diesel pump .

fungus · Aug 5, 2011

I run the smaller diameter pulley from Driven Auto Parts. Increases the pump speed at lower RPMs and seems to work great especially when breaking and turning with hydroboost. Cheap and easy way to speed the pump up at lower rpms and get more flow.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EARL...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cb52d6649

lars · Aug 5, 2011

mattt said:
I believe the internal parts between the diesel truck version and Explorer version can be swapped.

That's exactly what I did in the thread Viperwolf linked above. All the diesel CIII parts were a direct swap into the Explorer housing.

And, to clear things up, the V8 Explorers from 1996 to 2001 all had a unique CIII pump, totally different than the CII found on the V6 models, and different than CIII pumps found on other Fords. If you have the diesel CIII and the Explorer CIII side by side (and especially if you have them apart side by side) you can see the similarities- it's obvious that the Explorer pump is a CIII even though it's an oddball variant.

On a tangent, does anyone know the maximum safe operating pressure for our power steering systems? These days I've got a 4x4x2 steering box and the ubiquitous Bendix hydroboost unit. I'd like to re-install that hot-rodded pump that's been sitting in my shed for two years, but I don't want to blow anything up. Is 1800 psi too much?

lars · Aug 5, 2011

fungus said:
I run the smaller diameter pulley from Driven Auto Parts. Increases the pump speed at lower RPMs and seems to work great especially when breaking and turning with hydroboost. Cheap and easy way to speed the pump up at lower rpms and get more flow.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EARL...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cb52d6649

That seems like a good idea. Ever since I swapped on the Explorer front dress I've noticed that the Explorer pump struggles a bit at idle compared the the Saginaws I ran before. Above 1000 engine rpm though, the Explorer pump is fine, guess I need to try one of those pulleys.

777mechanic · Aug 5, 2011

coming from aircraft hoses are built 3x operating pressure so i'm thinking in auto 3000 psi hoses could take the extra pressure .

lars · Aug 5, 2011

777mechanic said:
coming from aircraft hoses are built 3x operating pressure so i'm thinking in auto 3000 psi hoses could take the extra pressure .

I have a pile o' (very expensive) aircraft hoses from another project

I'm more concerned about the h-boost unit and the steering box. I've heard of steering boxes grenading from overpressure but I don't know the details.

explorer power steering pump pressure

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