So I installed a new gearbox and PS pump and can't seem to bleed the air out I've tried many times and It still groans and moans and also leaks out fluid out of the ps pump cap. Help, I'm tired of leaking ps fluid.

 

Jack the front end up enough to take the weight off the wheels.
Keep running the steering wheel back and forth lock to lock.
The entire process should take less than 10 minutes, unless something is wrong.
Maybe someone else has a better way.

 

Oh okay. I have tried bleeding the air on steep driveway but never jacking the car up and taking the load off the wheels. Maybe that's it. I'll try that and get back.

 

It helps to turn it acoupla times, shut the engine off, wait for the foam in the fluid to dissipate, repeat.

Every time you put pressure on the fluid while there's air in it, it turns to foam, which is almost impossible to bleed the air out while it's like that.

 

Turn the wheel slowly too. I do it with the cap off while my son watches just to make sure I'm not making a mess.

 

Not to beat a dead horse; the attachment is from the FSM.

Note Step 6: "15000 RPM" is a typo. It's supposed to read, "1500 RPM".

 

When I attempted to bleed it I got a lot of foam. So let it sit you say and repeat. Got it.

 

Right. And make sure you don't put alot of pressure on it; which is what happens if you turn the wheels when the car is sitting still. The system has to do ALOT of work, and the pressure goes VERY high. That's the point of raising the front wheels off the ground while doing this. The point of doing it slowly is, to avoid sending the air that comes bubbling up the return line, back into the system under pressure, which is what makes the foam.

 

When I did mine a couple of months ago, I had the sitting on jack stands and without the engine running, grabbed the tire and rotated the front wheel back and forth a couple of times and then would add fluid to keep pump filled, and kept doing that until fluid level stopped dropping. I then put the cap on pump and started car and while still in the air worked steering back and forth slowly to make sure all was good and it was, no issues, runs, or drips from any fittings.

 

Speaking from personal experience here.

As far as my thirdgen goes, I've had the system completely apart before. Rebuilt the gearbox, changed the pump and all the lines myself. I've bled the steering system in it multiple times by simply starting the engine and gently turning the wheel lock to lock 10-20 times at idle with the car on a level surface. I've done it this way at least 3x and it's always been STUPID easy to bleed. Be sure to check the fluid level over the next day or so as you drive the car and any small amounts of air remaining work their way out of the system.

Also speaking from experience, my girl's car is a 2010 Camaro SS with an LS3/TR6060. After tearing the engine down to the short block, doing longtubes, replacing the oil pump, putting in a cam and full valvetrain, I couldn't get the damn power steering to bleed to save my life. It was BAAAD and even throughout my best efforts, every time I bled the system it seemed to get WORSE as I drove it and the fluid foamed very badly. It killed the stock pump with 66k on it in one day from all the air.

I replaced the pump and guess what? SAME THING. I resorted to the factory method of jacking the wheels off the ground and going lock to lock with the engine off and then on. SAME THING! It wasn't until I fabricated a vacuum adapter from a rubber plug and a fuel barb (Goes into the reservoir where the cap is and allows you to pull a vacuum on the entire system) that I discovered the problem...

I hooked a hand pump brake bleeder and pulled 25hG of vacuum on the steering system and waited to see if it went down. At times it did and times it didn't. I went around the whole system and started wiggling things and watched the vacuum needle plummet once I hit the return hose. THE STUPID FACTORY SPRING CLAMP WASN'T HOLDING THE RETURN HOSE TIGHT ON THE RESERVOIR NIPPLE. And it never leaked!!!

If you have a loose connection on the return side, it will actually PULL air INTO the system as the pump's operation creates a vacuum on the return side. It may or may NOT leak depending on how bad it is. This will foam the ever living be-jesus out of your fluid and have you tearing your hair out as it will defy all attempts at being bled.

Definitely something I'd check over and verify at this point.

 

^^^ This ^^^

Very very true. For that matter, a bad O-ring between the pump and reservoir will do the same thing: it'll leak a bit with the motor off, which doesn't seem maybe like such a big deal; but with the pump running it will suck in air, turning the fluid into a foam NO MATTER WHAT ELSE you do.

Bottom line to me is, ALWAYS make sure the entire system is ENTIRELY leak-free at all times, after all repairs, at all joints / seals / lines / whatever, before putting a drop of fluid back into it. If it leaks anything anywhere for any reason at any time, fix THAT before trying to troubleshoot / repair / replace ANYTHING else.

 

It costs around $5 to make a vacuum adapter an you can rent the vacuum bleeder from your parts store.