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Power steering woes and tech information. Come inside!

13K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  Ascaris 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey guys! I just wanted to post some good power steering pump/hose info for future reference since there isnt any store in the archives.
I will start at the beginning here....
Recently the original ps pressure hose on my 89 LX started leaking badly. After calling my friend over in parts at the local Ford dealer, I was informed that the ps hoses are now discontinued.
I checked the local auto parts stores (Advance, Autozone, Pep Boys, ABC and NAPA). They all carry the same crappy after market lines that either have the wrong fittings, incorrect fittings or just plain dont fit. I ended up installing a good used on I got from a friend to tie my over for now.
While looking for a line, a friend of mine gave me an NOS 90-93 (F0ZZ part#) style line. I compared it to the original 89 line and the fitting was radically different. The threads were the same, but the 90-93 hose looked more like a brake line type compression fitting than the strange looking machined fitting on my 89.
This awoke a previous memory of a Ford TSB I read about 8 years ago about the differences between 89 and earlier and 90 and up pumps. I will explain that later in this post.
Jump forward now to last weekend. A friend of mine decides he wants to reinstall the power steering on his 90. Problem is he threw out the lines with the old rack. All he had was a ps pump that had the yellowish/white reservoir coloring. My other friend gave him the NOS 90-93 style hose.
He didnt trust the pump and wanted to get another. So he stops at Auto Zone and picks up a Fenco replacement for a 1990 (or it was what they listed for a 1990).
He brings it home and the night I stop by to swap the pulley and bracket for him is where it gets interesting.
I was looking inside the outlet fitting that the pressure hose screws into and noticed that his original pump had a ledge inside that appears to be where the fitting fits up against. The replacement did not have this.
He goes back to Autozone (as well as 2 other stores) looking for a pump with the correct fitting. They start looking up other Mustang applications and they have the same part number and the same earlier style outlet fitting.
This morning I called my friend over at Ford and ran some numbers.
There is a definite difference between pumps and hoses depending on the years. But the problem is Ford only has 1 replacement pump specified for a 5.0 Mustang! That part number is F1ZZ-B which is the correct number for the 90-95's. The original number for the 89 and earlier cars is now replaced with the number! Now when we checked the outlet fittings, that is where there is a difference and it is still noted in the Ford parts system.
79-89 uses one style outlet fitting and 90-95 uses another style.
Now this is where the differences make sense and where I will explain the TSB. Ford had notorious ps leakage problems and to rectify it, they redesigned the outlet fitting and the hose to help eliminate this. They specified that the early style pumps will continue to have the black reservoir. Those with the newer style outlet fitting would have the white/yellowish reservoir. They also specified that although the pressure hoses would screw into either style pump, leakage problems could occur if the installer doesnt pay attention to the style pump/hose fitting.
Problem is when the aftermarket rebuilders remanufacture them, they dont pay attention to the outlet fittings and reservoir colors. All the remans we have seen recently have the 89 and earlier outlet fittings.
It should also be noted that the power steering pumps also vary depending on what vehicle they were installed on. Trucks and Crown Vics with steering boxes use a similar pump, but they are a much lower pressure higher volume pump. Cars like the fox bodies with their rack and pinion steering use a high pressure lower volume pump. You should never swap them between vehicles.
Also note that 4cylinder Mustangs and 5.0 Mustangs have different pumps as well since the Mustang has a more performance steering feel (more effort). The 5.0 cars have the highest pressure Ford pump you can get.
 
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#2 ·
Excellent & interesting information. Thank you for posting. Out of curiosity, couldn't we avoid issues with the pressure hose replacement by taking it to a hose repair facility that will literally rebuild the origional hose? If I understand the pump situation correctly, we would want to buy the rebuild kit if at all possible to keep our origional units, right? Did you check into rebuild kit availability?
 
#3 ·
So it seems to me if you get the new pump from Ford, and the new outlet hose, they'll match up and work just fine?
 
#4 · (Edited)
AnthonyDalrymple said:
Excellent & interesting information. Thank you for posting. Out of curiosity, couldn't we avoid issues with the pressure hose replacement by taking it to a hose repair facility that will literally rebuild the origional hose? If I understand the pump situation correctly, we would want to buy the rebuild kit if at all possible to keep our origional units, right? Did you check into rebuild kit availability?
The thought about rebuilding the existing hoses has crossed my mind. The only issue I can see concerns the piece that the clamp goes around in the middle of the hose. I am not sure if the local places would be able to replicate that. It also wouldnt be possible if the fitting at the pump is damaged. I have seen both the 89 and earlier ones and the 90-up fittings blow out of the pump on several fox body cars.
You can get seals and some other replacement pump parts from Ford to repair an existing pump.

Originally posted by qaz703
So it seems to me if you get the new pump from Ford, and the new outlet hose, they'll match up and work just fine?
Well, the problem is that all of the hoses for the fox body 5.0 Mustangs are discontinued from Ford. The replacement pumps that they sell dont specify whether they have the early style or late style outlet fitting in them. I havent seen one myself so it is hard to say.
All the reman units currently available from Autozone, Advance and Pep Boys have the 89 and earlier style outlet fitting.
So it is finding a pump with the 90-95 fitting that is difficult.
 
#5 · (Edited)
FORD TSB # 89104 - MAY 1989 - Power Steering Pump - New Design Fitting At Pump Outlet

NOW - if someone has the access to OASIS or can PRINT the entire TSB as noted above, PLEASE DO....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let me just add - that I am converting my 90 back to power steering and was looking for the correct PS pump... any correlation to gnvair's post? Yes.



Now - I went to:

Auto Zone
Advanced Auto
Pep Boys
ABC Discount Auto Parts
NAPA

every single one of these parts store establishments list the following pumps in their systems:

6383
6199
7105
7252
6247
6248
6382

and some others I cannot remember....

EVERY SINGLE PS PUMP LISTED ABOVE ALL HAVE THE SAME EXACT FITTING, even though the part numbers are different, they ALL have the same damn fitting installed into them. They are also ALL PAINTED BLACK.

The fitting installed into all of the noted pumps above is NOT the fitting with the "step" inside of it, meaning, these pumps ALL carry the fitting for the 1989 and PRIOR Mustang 5.0's. If you have a 1990-1995 Mustang 5.0, you're going to run into problems, because the fitting is NOT correct for those years...

Don't waste your %$#@! time like I did running to all of these stores, only to find out that every single %$#@! pump on their shelves, taking in the fact they ALL have different part numbers, ALL have the same %$#@! fitting installed into them from the %$#@! rebuilders!

This is a real concern and problem, especially to those that have a 1990-1995 Mustang 5.0!

A rebuild "kit" is an option, but how well the pump will hold up and how good the rebuild was done by an amatuer is anyone's guess.

Buying the correct high pressure line hose that will match those aftermarket pumps is an option too - but who the hell wants to spend the additional money to buy a new hose, if only the damn pump is bad?

If anyone else has run into this problem - post up... or if anyone knows of a GOOD solution, post up... because I find it totally absurd that the rebuilders who are selling these pumps back to the retail establishments are NOT taking responsibility for making sure that the CORRECT FITTINGS are being installed into newly rebuilt PS pumps, especially the 90-95 variety! I mean, jesus, what is the point in having pumps specifying different part numbers, IF the rebuilders are installing the SAME FITTING INTO ALL OF THEM?????

Oh, and I tried to match up the original 1990 Ford high pressure hose I have to a store hose to VERIFY ANY DIFFERENCES, but guess what, NONE of those stores carry the high perssure hose IN STOCK... WTF is up with that horse****? Pardon the pun, but damn, why do these stores not carry common wear items as such?

BUYER BEWARE if you are in need of a new/rebuilt power steering pump - as Lee (gnvair) stated, you NEED TO MAKE SURE AND VERIFY YOU HAVE THE CORRECT PS PUMP BEFORE LEAVING YOUR OLD ONE AS A CORE!!!!!!!!! MAKE SURE THE PUMP (FITTING) AND THE HIGH PRESSURE HOSE DO GO TOGETHER PROPERLY, otherwise you're going to have leaks and will be royally pissed off.....

anyone, please post up the actual & complete Ford TSB that is noted above - it has ALL of the details with regards to this change in PS pump design.
 
#6 · (Edited)
WOW, even more great info. cobrajet! So lets start adding up the problems and\or weaknesses with our fox-bodies..shall we?

1)10 pin connection\harness extension
2)weak\ ineffective brakes
3)steering pump\line replacement parts availability
4)chassis flex(convertables & t-tops)
5)weak torque boxes
6)weak uca's & lca's
7)weak "limited slip"
8) anything else that comes to mind guy's & gal's?
 
#7 ·
um, uh-oh, i think i may have screwed up, again. sold my brother my old engine and gave him all the accesories with it(4 to 8 conversion) because i had a complete parts car for my efi conversion. anyone know if a 89 mark vii lsc would have the same p/s pump as the mustang 5.0. please tell me i didn't just find another difference between these two cars. lesson learned, a simple swap is never simple. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
:hammer: :hammer: :hammer:
 
#8 ·
I just checked on http://www.signaturelm.com/frameset1.asp?LINK=Parts&MAIN=parts_wildcard1 and it appears to list two different pumps for the V8 model, a 1990 pump (F0ZZ prefix) and a 1989 pump (E9ZZ prefix).

I've no idea what the difference is, but this database was updated this month. Oh, the second price is the discount price, first price is the list price if anyone is wondering..

Add Man Trans 8 Cyl Pum ... FOZZ-3A674-C $192.53 $144.40 Image

Add Auto Trans 8 Cyl Pu ... FOZZ-3A674-C $192.53 $144.40 Image

Add Man Trans 8 Cyl Pump ... E9ZZ 3A674 C $255.53 $191.65 Image

Add Auto Trans 8 Cyl Pum ... E9ZZ 3A674 B $255.53 $191.65 Image
 
#9 ·
You know what I just realized--the part numbers for the 1989 part are different between manual and auto, and they are not in the 1990 part.
 
#11 ·
Yeah, good stuff,
I'm about to jump into the middle of this on this week end.

I have an 89 with a leaky pump.

I went to the wrecking yard and got a good looking PS pump out of an 86 V8.

I went to Pep Boy's and bought a pressure side PS hose (for $19.00), and a puller.

So, I'm thinking I should be good to go as far as fittings, right?
 
#12 ·
i know its an old thread - but i came across it and this one:

http://forums.corral.net/forums/gen...steering-cant-find-correct-pressure-hose.html

i was trying to figure out why my newly installed rebuilt pump was leaking where the high pressure line connects. both threads helped me to understand what was wrong. i'm posting to let you know i found the ever-elusive TSB 89104 which clears up some confusion. i also put a document together listing all the high pressure hoses that ford used on the 87-93 5.0s with ford part numbers, as well as with edelmann replacement part numbers and specifications. it also details the two different high pressure fittings that ford used.

but this forum says that i "may not post attachments". so i then tried to add it add it as a "tag", but the site i used to host the documents had over 25 characters, and that was a problem for this forum..... i never had so many issues trying to post a simple attachment. now i remember why i haven't posted to this sight in over 3 years......

but i wanted to return the favor and try to help out those who posted the information that helped me. so if anyone can help with posting documents, let me know and i'll email you what i have and hopefully you are successful at posting them here. anyone replacing a power steering pump and/or high pressure line will definetly find the information to be useful.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the memories w/ this thread... I've actually tried hunting down my prior 90 notch from which this thread is based upon. I know where the car is possibly located, just have not been able to get ahold of the Enthusiast who bought it from me (yet).




The info you have will definitely be beneficial resources to others for sure - thanks for offering your findings as well. I would try and contact Moderator MFE via a PM, he may be able to help post your attachments.

~~

I'd also like to say, "gnvair" was monumental in helping me with many aspects of my (sometimes) crazy Mustang mods, builds, transformations, incessant buying/selling of vehicles and lots of parts hunting/research. He's an excellent resource of Mustang AND Ford information and one hell of a friend. I've lost touch w/ him through the years, but, don't hesitate to contact him on this site - very knowledgable and he knows the Fox's (and many other vehicles) inside & out.
 
#14 · (Edited)
It's not that hard to reseal these pumps if they are leaking. I just bought a new reservoir, matching o-ring and a new front shaft seal to fix my old pump. Most if not all the reman pumps I looked at were not rebuilt very well - they just throw some sloppy black paint job on them and call it good.

FWIW, The last time I bought a reman pump from Cardone, it had a little piece of paper with it saying to pay attention to the version of pressure regulator valve asy on your old pump. It said to re-use your old pressure regulator/fitting if the one of the rebuilt pump looked different.
 
#15 ·
I bought a reman pump from the Ford dealer for my 1990 and it looked just like the one that came out (both had the tan reservoir). The new one does not leak with the old hose and there have been no problems. It's also quiet for a Ford pump... not totally silent when turning the wheel, but it is barely audible with the hood closed. The old one let loose a graaaaaarrrr that probably could be heard 20 feet away.

It was within the last year or so I bought that pump. It was about $100 from the dealer.
 
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