Looking for any advice. I have a 1991 f150 with a 4.9. My issue currently is im going to be replacing my power steering pump again for the 3rd time in the last 5 years. Last time was almost 3 years ago now. Im wondering if there is something else going bad thats causing the pump to fail later? This issue came after i replaced my thermostat because i didn't have any heat in the cab of my truck. I replaced the thermostat and i still dont have any heat. Im wondering if maybe the water pump is going and thats why i dont have any heat. The truck doesn't over heat, in-fact it stays under temperature, i never moves past the N in normal. Im at a loss of what to do and i really dont want to throw another pump on it of im gonna be in the same boat again in a few months, no to mention being stumped on the heating issue. Any help is appreciated.

 

Hopefully you flushed the all old P.S. fluid out with the new pump replacement as it could have debris circulating through the system..My 87 still has the original pump but I have flushed out the old fluid a couple times now since new..

The P.S. pump has nothing to do with the engine temperature. Make sure you use a Motorcraft 190 degree thermostat and the upper hose should be very warm to the touch.Verify both heater hoses are also very warm. If they are, you could have a blend door problem.Being very old, a reverse flush of the heater core will likely also improve heater performance. It is very doubtful there is an issue with the water pump.

 

the power steering pump was last replaced 3 years ago. Im aware that my power steering has nothing to do with my coolant or temp issues, im just wondering if theres something else i should be looking for before i replace this pump again as im not sure as to whats killing it. My thought was water pump given my heating issues but like i said im not overheating or leaking coolant anywhere.

as for the temperature issue, i replaced it with a 190 degree thermostat, both heatercore hoses get warm. Both rad hoses get warm. Where is the blend door located? I can feel air blowing thru the vents its just not very hot.

 

Since it's easy to do, I would first disconnect the heater hoses and reverse flush the heater core. It helped my truck's heater performance a lot.If that doesn't resolve your issue, the blend door is contained within the dash. The blend door controls the temperature of the air. Make sure the linkage isn't broken which activates the blend door.It happened to me long ago..It's a lot easier to work on if you have no A/C.

 

I'm wondering what you mean by "what's killing the pump"
What is a killed pump to you?
Pump whine or lack of assist?
I still have new 300 dollar Ford pumps kicking around
That is how to really fix one
You put a brand new Ford pump on it, out of a Ford box
Remans sometimes whine right out of the box and sometimes have low pressure output
I used to have to put vane and rotors in them under warranty
Some are junk from the factory too, mis aligned pins inside, etc

 

like i said, the current pump has lasted me 3 years. The reason i think the power steering pump is bad again is cause there is a ton of play in the pulley, you can wiggle it forward and backwards on the shaft. Which it isnt supposed to be like that from what i remember. It also sqeaks and sqeels pretty loud once you get going down the road.

 

How is the belt aligned, offering if the PS pulley is off a bit, could be some inward push or outward pull on the shaft contributing to these early failures. Relating to experiences changing the pump on my '89, getting the pulley pushed on just right with the double-secret tool took a couple nudges to line the belt up to my liking.

 

There is at least 1/8 inch of fore and aft play in the shaft of a C2 pump
The pulleys do go in and out a bunch and that's normal

 

Did the Saginaw swap on mine, and despite the issues I had getting it done, I'm glad I went that way! No whine at all and the truck is super easy to steer now, especially in low speed conditions.