Need help with PS pump!

[mclasser]

So I tried replacing the leaky PS pump cover gasket on my Accord today. I did it with the pump on the car out of laziness (main mistake). The little vanes behind the cover also came out with the cover despite my carefulness. I put them back into their slots and put the cover back on with the new gasket. Problem is that with the tires back on the ground, the steering wheel is VERY hard to turn. It feels like there isn't any power steering at all. But with the tires off the ground, PS works nice and smooth. Fluid level is good and there are no leaks. Pump has a slight groan even after I turned the wheel lock-to-lock like 20 times to bleed out the air. I noticed the pump cover didn't fully sit flush with the pump before I tightened it down. Once I finger tightened the bolts it sealed fine without any binding. What could've gone wrong here? Pic of the cover below:

 

[Colt45ws]

Based on how its positioned, it may not be pulling fluid up the hose above the reservoir.
Couple of ideas:
Unbolt the reservoir and pull it high enough to gravity feed it into the pump. (You might run into hose limits and it might not work)
Unbolt the top line off the pump and pour fluid into the pump directly (this may not work because it might drain back into the res)
If you have a air supply, put it at like 10-20psi and use a rag to seal an air gun into the reservoir. Basically you are trying to pressurize the reservoir and force fluid into the pump. This is while the engine is running of course. If it works, youll hear the pump get really noisy for a second as it swallows all the air and once that is through it will begin working normally.

 

[Superflop]

Another thing get the front wheels in the air and turn th steering wheel left lock to right lock and back 10-20 times to push the air out. If the level lowers significantly when you start the car you most likely have air in the system.

 

[asand1]

The vanes have a rounded side and a flat side. Did you place the rounded sides against the the bore/body of the pump?

 

[mclasser]

So I took the pump off the car today and removed the cover to take a look. The vanes were all in place and properly oriented -- rounded edge facing out and squared edge in. Also primed the pump by adding some PSF all to no avail. I noticed the fluid in the reservoir isn't sloshing around at all when moving the steering wheel in the air meaning the pump isn't circulating anything. I bought a new pump and will be installing it tomorrow. Hopefully everything works again.

 

[mk378]

It looks like the pressure relief ball would be in the front end of the pump, but is there a chance that it or something like it fell out when you took the back cover off?

In normal operation, the fluid free-flows around and around the loop when the engine is running but no one is turning the wheel. So you should see it sloshing in the reservoir all the time. When the wheel is turned, the control valve in the rack re-directs fluid into the hydraulic cylinders and pressure builds up from the pump to move the steering.