A few weeks ago I replaced the stereo in my 2500 and noticed a drip of power steering oil on the hydroboost inside the cab. I wiped off the drip and it reappeared the next time I drove it. So I bought a Cardone reman hydroboost and new pressure hoses for the power steering as they were starting to weep/leak at the crimps. Seemed like a pretty easy repair. I should have looked at those hoses better. They were wrapped around other items and harnesses. By the time I had both those hoses out there was power steering fluid every freaking place you could imagine including the walls and ceiling of my garage. If done again, I would put oil absorbent diapers throughout the engine compartment as there is just not a great place to drain all the oil.
And then the hydroboost unit itself. "They" must have installed it on the assembly line before the dash was installed and before the cab was mounted on the frame. Two of those four bolts were a challenge. Not sure if my knuckles will fully recover......
Power steering oil change: be forewarned, when adding large quantities of fluid to the power steering pump, the oil will get stuck in that long tube. I was following the purge procedure I had read about elsewhere; with the engine running cycle the steering back and forth and hit the brakes a couple times with the return oil hose from the hydroboost in a container, and then add oil and repeat until the return oil comes out clean. Simple enough. Other than when pouring new oil in the tube, the oil would get stuck on top of air. After a couple of cycles of this, the steering pump let out a loud whine, as it ran out of oil. I changed the procedure to cycle the steering, pump the brakes twice, then shut off the engine, pour oil in the tube, and then use the dipstick a couple of times trying to poke the oil down the tube. After a few seconds you could hear a glug, glug as it finally drained down into the steering pump reservoir.
After it was all said and done, now I have really good power brakes. In fact, I don't remember them ever being this powerful. The downside is now the power steering pump is whining from running it dry. I guess I'll have to change that now, ugh....
And then the hydroboost unit itself. "They" must have installed it on the assembly line before the dash was installed and before the cab was mounted on the frame. Two of those four bolts were a challenge. Not sure if my knuckles will fully recover......
Power steering oil change: be forewarned, when adding large quantities of fluid to the power steering pump, the oil will get stuck in that long tube. I was following the purge procedure I had read about elsewhere; with the engine running cycle the steering back and forth and hit the brakes a couple times with the return oil hose from the hydroboost in a container, and then add oil and repeat until the return oil comes out clean. Simple enough. Other than when pouring new oil in the tube, the oil would get stuck on top of air. After a couple of cycles of this, the steering pump let out a loud whine, as it ran out of oil. I changed the procedure to cycle the steering, pump the brakes twice, then shut off the engine, pour oil in the tube, and then use the dipstick a couple of times trying to poke the oil down the tube. After a few seconds you could hear a glug, glug as it finally drained down into the steering pump reservoir.
After it was all said and done, now I have really good power brakes. In fact, I don't remember them ever being this powerful. The downside is now the power steering pump is whining from running it dry. I guess I'll have to change that now, ugh....
