Hot_Dog

About 2-years ago, one morning I went to start my 90 GXL to go to work and the power steering pump had seized up. Screeching belt, lots of smoke and no power assist. The PS pump was the original and had about 340k miles. Wasn't able to find a rebuilt PS pump so I bought a used one from Catalina Auto Recycling in Tucson.

Fast forward to last weekend. Last weekend, I had a flight out of BWI to Fort Lauderdale. BWI is almost a 50 mile drive from my house. As I'm creeping along in the parking garage looking for a parking spot and I pass a spot. So, I push in the clutch and attempt to backup several feet and the car's idle drops to 300-400 rpm and the car dies. I restart the car and it fires right up with a loud screeching noise. To quote the famous Yogi Berra: "It was déjà vu all over again." WTF? Was my PS pump going out again? The used PS pump was from a 91 RX7. I didn't know how many miles were on it when I bought it, but I put 22,850 miles on it over the last 2-years.

So, when I got to the boarding area I had some time before my flight so I checked the Rockauto website for PS pump availability. They had one last pump in stock (BBB / VISION-OE 9900377 {#5054} (Without Reservoir) Reman; Without Reservoir) so I immediately bought it. The pump cost me $78.79 + $25 core + $8.99 shipping. I received the PS pump last Friday.

So, when my flight arrived back home last Tuesday, I was concerned about the pump seizing up like it did a couple years ago. Got into the car, started it up and had no problems. So, today I transferred the reservoir and pressure sensor from my original PS pump to the BBB / VISION reman that I bought so that I could send the core back. I didn't put the reman pump in because I wasn't having any problems during the week while driving. Oddly enough, as I was driving the car this afternoon, the same thing happened again. So, I guess I'll put the reman pump in next weekend. It's kind of strange that I'm having this intermittent problem with my PS pump. I'm wondering what would cause this?

As I transferred the reservoir and pressure sensor from my original PS pump to the BBB / VISION reman that I bought, the wire snapped off right at the pressure sensor. I have an engine speed sensing pump. The pressure sensor, Mazda p/n FC01-32-230, is apparently NLA from Mazda. I'll use the pressure sensor from the pump that's currently in the car. It would be good to have a backup pressure sensor. I couldn't find one on Rockauto's website. Anyone know if the rpm pressure sensors can still be bought?

088

iTrader: (9)

I doubt any aftermarket sensors were made. The Mazda part is NLA in their catalog, as you noticed.
Incidentally, if you ever get into this situation again (with the pump), the Return & Rebuild service at Rockauto works. I sent my P/S pump to be rebuilt by A1-Cardone via RockAuto a few months back. Turn around time is 1-2 weeks.

Hot_Dog

Rockauto's Return & Rebuild service is always a viable option at a reasonable price. That's a pretty quick turn around time. Hope that the rebuild provides you with many years of service.

Pete_89T2

iTrader: (4)

I'm currently running an A1 Cardone PS remanufactured PS pump from RockAuto on my S5T2, so far its been about 4 years & about 27K miles since it went in. At that time, these were still in stock so no waiting involved (but I did have to return a core to get my credit back). My original pump started puking PS fluid from the shaft seal at about 140K miles. BTW, reman PS pumps can be a huge crap shoot - I went thru 5 of them from Advance Auto (FENCO branded remans, lifetime warranty), before they got sick of me returning broken pumps and they just gave me my money back and let me keep the last trashed pump so I can use it as a core return. Every one of those FENCO pumps leaked within < 10 miles drive time, the last one shrieked like a banshee and was apparently grinding its internal parts to bits.

Hot_Dog

You're absolutely right...it can be a huge crap shoot. I've read similar horror stories about rebuilt parts repeatedly failing after they were initially installed. Fortunately, I've been lucky with most of the rebuilt parts that I've bought. We'll see how well my BBB / VISION reman PS pump holds up after I install it next weekend.

On another note, the Mazda FSM calls for using either ATF Dextron-II or M-III (Mercon-III) for PS pump fluid. The last time I replaced my PS pump, I had a hard time finding an ATF that was compatible to either Dextron-II or M-III (Mercon-III). These are outdated ATF fluids that are over 30 years old. Dexron-II ATF used sperm whale oil as a friction modifier. Importing sperm whale oil has since banned which meant it had to be reformulated. So, I eventually found an ATF at Autozone that was supposedly compatible with Dextron II and III. I've read on the web that the current Dextron IV, which is backwards compatible with earlier type Dextron ATFs, is not suitable for PS pumps. So, I'm wondering if some of these newer ATFs may have long term detrimental effects on our Mazda PS pumps? I work with a guy who bought a PS pump fluid, that was recommended by the auto parts counter guy, whose PS pump (it was either a Toyota or Nissan car) later failed after using this fluid. I might try using a synthetic ATF like Mobile1 or Redline in my reman PS pump. Mobile1 is supposed compatible with PS pumps. Has anybody used synthetic ATFs in their PS pumps? Any ill effects from using a synthetic ATF?

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

If you still need a pressure sensor let me know. I have a spare S5 pump I could pull it from.

Hot_Dog

PM sent.

Hot_Dog

Just FYI. I called Red Line tech service yesterday. Asked if their power steering fluid was compatible with my PS pump. The tech service guy recommended that I use their ATF D4 instead of their power steering fluid. The guy said that since Mazda specifies ATF than I should stick with ATF.

I couldn't find any Red Line ATF D4 locally so I ordered a quart from Jeg's. Cost me $12.95 plus shipping.