Manually moving steering knuckle by hand = damage?

[nthach]

when I was moving the steering knuckles by hand to position the rack gear to remove a tie rod, I noticed power steering fluid gushed out of the pump. Did I blow a seal or damage the rack? The steering was a bit notchy after I got the truck back on the ground.

I’m sure this truck just needs an alignment to set toe/camber/caster, the steering does feel a little weird but better since taking it around the block.

 

[Astro14]

You got air in the system, but you didn't do any damage. Drive it and it will self-bleed. Keep an eye on the fluid level.

 

[mattd]

You just pushed fluid back into the reservoir and it overflowed. Might be some air in it but should take care of itself. Just top it off when needed

 

[PF52]

Like the others said, air in the system. When I do that, I get the howling noise for a few/several seconds once I start the engine, but it goes away quick.

 

[nthach]

You just pushed fluid back into the reservoir and it overflowed. Might be some air in it but should take care of itself. Just top it off when needed

Yea, I’ve never had this issue happen with Toyotas or Subarus but then again the reservoirs had a little space. I plan on driving the truck around a bit more this week before handing it off to the owner.

 

[mk378]

Check that the reservoir is full, then with the engine running turn the wheel back and forth all the way to each side several times. That should work any air out.

 

[D60]

Extremely common.

 

[MSCH]

when I was moving the steering knuckles by hand to position the rack gear to remove a tie rod, I noticed power steering fluid gushed out of the pump. Did I blow a seal or damage the rack? The steering was a bit notchy after I got the truck back on the ground.

I’m sure this truck just needs an alignment to set toe/camber/caster, the steering does feel a little weird but better since taking it around the block.

NO

 

[D60]

Check that the reservoir is full, then with the engine running turn the wheel back and forth all the way to each side several times. That should work any air out.

And not to be deliberately pedantic, but with front unweighted so much less load on pump.

That said, OP likely lost so little he can just fire it up to pull the fluid back into system, then shut it down and top off the reservoir per the dipstick or sight line.

I puke fluid out of pumps all the time on trucks while shoving the wheels around for access to wb bolts, caliper bolts, TREs etc etc

 

[clinebarger]

Fords are especially notorious for puking out of the PS reservoir when manually turning the steering box/rack.

And some Fords need to be put under vacuum to remove air from the system.