I have a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Truck. The other day, I lost all power steering, and traced it to a loose hose connection, which let all of the fluid out. I tightened the connection, refilled the reservoir, and then bled by turning lock to lock several times. when I am sitting still, or low speed parking, it feels like there is no power steering. If I am rolling, even a little bit, it is as normal, and engine speed does not seem to affect the problem, as I have raced the engine at low ground speed, and it is still really stiff. When driving, turns are easy in both directions. The way the effort required does not change with engine speed confuses me. Any suggestions?
That line that blew may have blown a chunk into the steering box blocking flow. The pump would go full bypass and just dump the high pressure oil back to the reservoir. You may be flowing a small amount of oil through the steering box giving the small bit of boost you need to steer the truck when moving. You might try flushing the system and blow high pressure air from the return side back through the pump feed side of the steering box. Cover the outlet with a loose towel unless you want an oil spray in the face!
@Mustangman is probably correct. But before doing that, what I’d do if it happened to me is put my truck’s front end on jack-stands and with the engine turned off and the cap off the power steering pump to allow trapped air to escape slowly turn the wheels from stop to stop 10 or 20 times. Another question to ask, does the manufacturer recommend a particular method for bleeding the system after repairs are made?
Hopefully the pump wasn’t damaged when it ran without fluid.
When the line leaked, it may have gotten fluid on the serpentine belt and at an idle the pump cant spin fast enough to give you the power steering assist. At a higher RPM the pump can keep up.
I’d replace the serpentine belt. You will never get the oil out of it no matter how good you clean it.
If replacing the belt does not cure the problem, I’d replace the pump. When it was run dry damage could have resulted in that short time.
Yosemite
:trollface: