When replacing power steering pump what else to change?

This is for my 2009 Legacy sedan 2.5i Limited. I will be getting my power steering pump replaced at a dealership in NJ. What else would be a good idea to have replaced?

 

Few months when I had the coolant flushed and replaced (first time ever for this car) I had the thermostat changed too. They charged me only for the part.

 

I have around 60,000 miles on this car. Timing belt never replaced so far.

Why are you replacing the power steering pump at only 60k? I'd imagine that's going to be close to $500, since the pump alone is a little over $300.

 

It's common to have issues with the oem o-ring at the top of the pump, it's possible that a $2 o-ring could fix any issues you may be having.

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5091736&postcount=115

1) Steering has become hard.

2) Pump makes whining noise during winter here in NJ during startup. Replacing steering drive belts did not make whining noise go away.

3) A year ago, dealership saw sweat on it. Suggested replacement may be needed in future. $677 will be the charge

4) Car makes grinding noise somewhere in front when slowly starting from stop. It used to make similar few months ago during hard turn and slow driving. Could be due to steering pump.

 

For all these reasons changing power steering pump.

It's your car and your money... But the $2 o-ring could fix the whine and hard steering.

 

The oem o-ring shrinks down with age and can allow air to enter the PS system. Air can cause whine and hard steering.

 

Sweat on the PS pump? Not sure what to say about that one.. That's, different..

 

Grinding noise does not sound like a PS issue to me.

 

*To address your original question, the ps pump is pretty easy to replace. There's not much else to do "while you're in there", because it sits right on top of the engine. The power steering/alternator belt is the only thing that you need to remove to replace it, so maybe that belt too. But that could also be done with the timing belt, which should probably be done as well due to age.

Check what ^ he says.

 

Any local repair shop can replace the PS for a lot less money.

 

I paid $120 for my pump from NAPA.

Thank you guys. Appreciate your responses especially considering my earlier post seemed to be kind of dismissive about your questions. Did not mean that.

 

I will try the O-ring thing. $677 is pretty high for me. I still have to remove the pump for this O-ring, right?

 

Also could you please let me know whether the following instructions on AutoZone website look okay for my 2009 2.5 Legacy sedan 4cyl?

 

https://www.autozone.com/repairguides/Subaru-Forester-1998-05/Power-Steering-Pump/Removal-Installation/_/P-0996b43f8037f387

No, you don't need to remove the pump to replace the o-ring, only the feed hose. It's a 10min job. Search the forums for "power steering pump o-ring"

Thank you guys. Appreciate your responses especially considering my earlier post seemed to be kind of dismissive about your questions. Did not mean that.

 

I will try the O-ring thing. $677 is pretty high for me. I still have to remove the pump for this O-ring, right?

 

 

No worries.

 

The other thing I was thinking is that if you have the dealer replace your power steering pump and timing belt, that bill could easily get close to $2000, or possibly more even depending on what you have them replace.

 

I had a dealership replace my timing belt the first time it needed to be done, and I did it myself the second time, it's less daunting when your car has 200k on it. I paid the dealer around $1100 for the timing belt, water pump, and timing belt tensioner to be replaced. I thought they'd change the idlers too, as the bearings can wear out.. but they didn't. So if the dealer had replaced my idlers too, that probably would have put my bill closer to $1500.

 

I'm not sure where you are located in NJ, but if you're not comfortable working on your car, the owner of a shop there posts here from time to time.

http://azpinstalls.com/web/

Their web site was a little slow to load for me, so here's their facebook page too.

https://www.facebook.com/Azpinstalls/

 

Also, if you do replace the power steering pump o-ring, just know that the problem might not instantly be fixed. There could still be air in your power steering system, and it will take a little time for it to bleed out, doing figure 8's in an empty parking lot is supposed to help speed up that process I hear.

 

Also, here's a picture of our timing belt setup

https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/attachments/gen-3-2005-2009/384746d1510100027-timing-sprocket-idler-teeth-throwing-grease-20171107_121602.jpg

 

You have one idler with teeth in the bottom right, with the orange colored bearing, another one to the left with an orange bearing, and then one with a black bearing above that. The water pump sits to the right of the toothed idler with the orange bearing. The part with the blue bearing is the timing belt tensioner. I just wanted to add that info because I have no idea how much you know about this kind of stuff, and I wasn't sure if you'd know what I meant by "idlers".

No, you don't need to remove the pump to replace the o-ring, only the feed hose. It's a 10min job. Search the forums for "power steering pump o-ring"

 

10 min job ! That's great. Let me order the O ring and also buy some DEXRON 3 ATF and a turkey baster in the meantime while

No worries.

 

I had a dealership replace my timing belt the first time it needed to be done, and I did it myself the second time, it's less daunting when your car has 200k on it. I paid the dealer around $1100 for the timing belt, water pump, and timing belt tensioner to be replaced. I thought they'd change the idlers too, as the bearings can wear out.. but they didn't. So if the dealer had replaced my idlers too, that probably would have put my bill closer to $1500.

 

I'm not sure where you are located in NJ, but if you're not comfortable working on your car, the owner of a shop there posts here from time to time.

http://azpinstalls.com/web/

Their web site was a little slow to load for me, so here's their facebook page too.

https://www.facebook.com/Azpinstalls/

 

Also, if you do replace the power steering pump o-ring, just know that the problem might not instantly be fixed. There could still be air in your power steering system, and it will take a little time for it to bleed out, doing figure 8's in an empty parking lot is supposed to help speed up that process I hear.

 

I wasn't sure if you'd know what I meant by "idlers".

 

Thanks for all the info. I am 25 miles north of this shop. Not that far for big dollar jobs like timing belt change. It sure is expensive. On Camry which I believe is a non-interference type I had paid around $400. But that was 10 years ago.

 

First time I heard the word "idlers" :-)