I replaced the power steering pump on my Dakota a few weeks ago because it was leaking. I had a very hard time bleeding the air from the system but I did eventually get it bled so I had power steering again. Last week I started having trouble with my PS again. I had nearly no assist when driving slow or doing parking lot type maneuvers. It got progressively worse until this past Thursday when I lost all power steering assist. The ps pump was also very loud and squalled like a banshee at the slightest turn of the steering wheel.
I read up on it and reasoned the pump had to be the problem. I had no problems with the rack or intermediate shafts/steering u-joints prior to replacing the pump. The replacement pump I bought was an Atsco reman pump from Auto Zone. A new OEM pump is $351.00 plus a $15.00 core at the dealer, or I could have bought OEM from online Mopar sites for around $250.00. Those prices were out of my budget so I went with AZ.
The first AZ pump came in a plain white box that said "Atsco Remanufactured PS Pump" and "Remanufactured in the USA" on it. It also has some of the black paint flaked off of it around the filler neck. I installed it and that was the pump that failed on me this past week. Last night I bought another ps pump at AZ and also paid the core charge. I did it that way to save myself a trip to AZ and back. Otherwise I would have had to go to AZ, rent the ps pump pulley puller tool, come home, remove the pump and pulley, drive back to AZ and exchange the pump. I returned the first pump in the second pump's box today and just got a refund on my credit card. It made things easier and I did not have to interrupt the job driving back to AZ to exchange the original defective pump.
The reason for this long-winded post is to point out that the first pump came in a plain white box with black writing on it. I think that pump was either not rebuilt correctly from the start or possibly was a defective pump that never got rebuilt to begin with and was erroneously shipped out for sale when it should not have been. The pump that I bought last night works great. I installed it today, bled the system with the front wheels off the ground, key on, engine off, had very few air bubbles in the ps reservoir, then started the truck and bled it again by turning the wheels lock to lock about 20 times. All air bubbles in the reservoir disappeared and the truck drives perfectly and the power steering is back to normal specs again. I can once again turn the wheel easily with one hand.
I am not trying to start a "this brand part is better than that brand" or "OEM is better than aftermarket" war here. I just wanted to point out that the second ps pump that I bought yesterday and installed today had the AZ Duralast blue and red label on the box. The Duralast label also said "Remanufactured in USA" and "Exported to Mexico" on it. The defective pump did not have AZ's label anywhere on its box. So I am just trying to point out, if any of us here buys a reman ps pump at AZ, make sure it has the AZ Duralast label on the box. It might save you the headache and hassle of doing the job twice.
I read up on it and reasoned the pump had to be the problem. I had no problems with the rack or intermediate shafts/steering u-joints prior to replacing the pump. The replacement pump I bought was an Atsco reman pump from Auto Zone. A new OEM pump is $351.00 plus a $15.00 core at the dealer, or I could have bought OEM from online Mopar sites for around $250.00. Those prices were out of my budget so I went with AZ.
The first AZ pump came in a plain white box that said "Atsco Remanufactured PS Pump" and "Remanufactured in the USA" on it. It also has some of the black paint flaked off of it around the filler neck. I installed it and that was the pump that failed on me this past week. Last night I bought another ps pump at AZ and also paid the core charge. I did it that way to save myself a trip to AZ and back. Otherwise I would have had to go to AZ, rent the ps pump pulley puller tool, come home, remove the pump and pulley, drive back to AZ and exchange the pump. I returned the first pump in the second pump's box today and just got a refund on my credit card. It made things easier and I did not have to interrupt the job driving back to AZ to exchange the original defective pump.
The reason for this long-winded post is to point out that the first pump came in a plain white box with black writing on it. I think that pump was either not rebuilt correctly from the start or possibly was a defective pump that never got rebuilt to begin with and was erroneously shipped out for sale when it should not have been. The pump that I bought last night works great. I installed it today, bled the system with the front wheels off the ground, key on, engine off, had very few air bubbles in the ps reservoir, then started the truck and bled it again by turning the wheels lock to lock about 20 times. All air bubbles in the reservoir disappeared and the truck drives perfectly and the power steering is back to normal specs again. I can once again turn the wheel easily with one hand.
I am not trying to start a "this brand part is better than that brand" or "OEM is better than aftermarket" war here. I just wanted to point out that the second ps pump that I bought yesterday and installed today had the AZ Duralast blue and red label on the box. The Duralast label also said "Remanufactured in USA" and "Exported to Mexico" on it. The defective pump did not have AZ's label anywhere on its box. So I am just trying to point out, if any of us here buys a reman ps pump at AZ, make sure it has the AZ Duralast label on the box. It might save you the headache and hassle of doing the job twice.