3rd gen. wagon ps pump woes

Hey everyone, so my dads power steering pump started groaning about 2 months ago after a simple tune up in which they replaced the accessory belts. After doing research I found out that a common culprit for this issue is that bolt on the the belt cover ( far left of belt cover, if facing front of car).

 

So i went ahead and loosened it up. Didn't resolve my issue. I replaced the fluid in the reservoir with ATF, still no go. Bled the system untill no air bubbles were visible in the reservoir by raising front wheels in the air and turning steering wheel from lock to lock hundreds of times. She still

Groans when turning.

 

Now i wanna try the 'o-ring' trick. I have an assortment of metric size o-rings. I noticed that on this ps pump, unlike the wrx's, the high pressure line on top is secured with star patterned bolt. Not sure what size (e.g. T30, T40, T45, T47 etc). Anyone know the size off hand?

 

If this doesnt do the trick, is it just the ps pump thats shot..? If so, will a ps pump from lets say a wrx or another gen legacy fit this vehicle??

 

NOTE: i have replaced all oem clamps on any line from or to ps pump/ reservoir with worm clamps.

 

Cliff notes:

- 03 legacy L wagon

- ps pump makes noises

- drained and replaced fluids, bled to the point of no bubbles visible in reservoir.

- attempting to replace pump if o-ring doesn't fix issue.

any suggestion fellas..

I bought a Power steering pump for 100$ on-line and changed it in 20 mins.

I hear bad things about 're- furbished' ps pumps and alternators. Im looking for an oem unit maybe from a part out or something

Mine was brand new.

Care to post the link.

http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts/replacement_power_steering_pump_-_brand_new/REPPO38862/replacementreps510406-.aspx

Thanks rumblerumble.

I bought a Power steering pump for 100$ on-line and changed it in 20 mins.

 

Its just the pump. Only thing you need to donis swap over the top line/ fitting from old pump and swap over bracket..? Correct?

Update:

I removed that star patterned bolt on top of PS pump (high pressure line directly on top of pump). A little bit of atf leaked out but nothing a little rag couldn't wipe up. There were two o-rings on the line i popped off. They both looked very flat on the outter edges & didn't seem to be sealing anymore. I tried matching them with an o-ring kit i had at home.

 

I inserted the new o-rings, re-installled everything and the ps pump whine has gone away, although now i may have introduced air into the system & the steering gets a little stiff from time to time; nothing a little bleeding cant take care of.

 

I'll update this thread once im done with the bleeding procedure but for now the whine/groan is gone.

Its been two days since the fix. Frigid cold temps here in queens NY, and the power steering is back and better than ever with no noises from pump. Safe to say the issue has been fixed.

 

So for those of you with the same issue, inspect the o-rings on that line

Mentioned in this thread before going out and spending money on a new pump.

I got the same issue on 03, when it gets slightly warmer here I am going to do the o-ring and fluid swap

Dont forget, its two o-rings you need to change on that fitting.