New power steering pump, tight steering at low RPMs

BLITTLE850

MEMBER
2001 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
4.8L
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Noticed whining in power steering pump when turning but no stiffness, just whining at lock left and right. Was mild but slowly getting worse. I replaced power steering pump with remanufactured pump added new fluid and bled lines. After bleeding the lines with no more air coming out, turned on and ran truck. At a stand still and low rpms, it felt like there was no power steering at all. At higher rpms or going down road it seems easy to turn. I've bled lines a few times with no new air coming out. Why is it so stiff? I cannot afford a garage to look at it and cannot miss work being a single mother of 4, what should I check or what could it be? Did I get air stuck, bad pump, steering box? This is a new truck so I haven't learned much about it. PLEASE HELP!

1 Reply

HMAC300

MECHANIC
48,601 POSTS

So it sounds like you have the wrong pump installed, the one you took out has an electrical connector that will go to an internal valve which varies the pressure at different speeds. Here is an image of what I am talking about. If you do have this valve then the pump is defective and you need another one. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

Image (Click to make bigger)