Power steering bleed procedure 1995 Buick LeSabre
 

Unfortunately I did not do a good job of bleeding the power steering system on the 1995 Buick LeSabre. Now I have lots of air in the line.

The GM Service Manual says to cycle the steering wheel 20 to 40 times with the tires off the ground. I've done that and am still getting large air bubbles.

The engine Must Be Off when the procedure is done.

There does not appear to be any leakage on the ground or from any of the fittings. The level in the reservoir does not seem to be going up or down.

Any suggestions (including just keep cycling the steering wheel)? I need to hear from someone who has done this and successfully restored the system.

Thanks,

Neal Lewis

I have kept after the process of cycling the steering wheel (without the engine running) 40 times per attempt. I have about two to three hours worth of work so far (over a period of 3 days.

There does not seem to be any change. There are still large bubbles that come up. The level in the reservoir does not go up or down. There are no leaks on any of the hoses and not leaks on the ground.

The two times that I did try running the engine, the power steering pump ran fine for a few seconds and then proceeded to howl and generate a lot of foam.

The power steering pump had not given any problem prior to this.

Many times a period of just sitting still will allow the air trapped in the fluid to rise to the top of the reservoir. Each time this is done less air is present in the fluid and eventually most of it exits.

On Wednesday of last week, I started the car and cycled the steering back and forth 3 or 4 times and turned the engine off.

The steering pump howled a little. There was foam. The fluid level went down significantly.

I added fluid. Waited for the foam to go away. Added more fluid and tried it again.

Less howling and less foam. No drop in the fluid level.

I tried it a third time. No howling. No drop in the fluid level, just nice smooth turning.

Next I bled the cooling system.

After the air was out and the car was back on the ground I took it out for a spin. No noise. No problems.

I have been driving it every day since then to work and back.

Not bad for a twenty year old pump.

Thanks for the help and input.

Neal Lewis

You knew all the time what to do and did it ! Thanks for the update.