derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

I tore down my leaky 3 port power steering pump to rebuild it with a new bearing, O rings, etc. and unfortunately parts got mixed up despite my best efforts. I am not sure which spring and plunger goes where, how they are oriented, and which spring is used with which plunger.

If anyone has a spare/parts pump laying around and can open up one of these and tell me which spring and plunger is in it, it would be a huge help!

Black Knight RX7 FC3S

iTrader: (7)

this one? i think

Black Knight RX7 FC3S

iTrader: (7)

heres another view from the manual

derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

Thanks, that's the pump but unfortunately I can't tell from these pictures which plunger (flow control valve?) and spring go where. The top pictures makes it look like maybe the shorter spring goes in the main pump flow control valve, but the plungers look the same. As you can see in my picture one plunger has a long piece sticking out the back, and the other doesn't.

WondrousBread

Was there any resolution to this? Currently troubleshooting some power steering issues, and I'm wondering if maybe I swapped the springs or something.

DummyFixer

Have you downloaded the workshop manual? It is here
https://www.foxed.ca/rx7manual/manua...hop_manual.pdf

WondrousBread

Unfortunately, the only instructions the service manual has are to replace the pump.

The training manual linked earlier has lots of useful info, but doesn't tell you exactly where each piece goes. The trouble is that in the illustration the pieces look identical. Meanwhile as photographed above they are slightly different.

derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

I wound up buying a second pump that works as-is. I rebuilt mine and am 90% confident the springs are in the right place, but it still made a ton of noise and leaked because the rebuild kit didn't include all the O rings. If I were 100% confident the springs were right I'd tell you, but unfortunately I am not sure I can help much. I did figure out that one combination went together pretty smoothly, and the other just didn't feel right (too much spring tension) so I went with what felt right

WondrousBread

Okay, I'll probably leave the springs as-is and then check as a last resort.

The training manual indicates one spring is for the main pump and the other for the sub-pump. My issue is that at a standstill / very low speed the steering is heavy. So I'm thinking I may have swapped the springs and main pump pressure is too low.

I have some other things to try before messing with the springs, but if I end up doing so I'll make sure to update here.

derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

If you are having a low speed issue, it could be a problem with the motor that changes the pressure or the input it's getting from the power steering control unit. Depending on the exact model and steering system, the power steering control unit takes speed, rpm, and steering angle into account before changing the motor position on the power steering pump which changes the fluid pressure. If one or more of these inputs is incorrect it could cause an incorrect amount of pressure in the power steering system. There are 4 screws holding that little motor onto the back of the power steering pump itself, and for mine I just manually set the gear to the middle of its range because I don't have the control unit yet. The service manual does outline more about how this system works, so check it out!

WondrousBread

I've actually tried that, I manually set it all the way to the assist side and the problem is still present. I appreciate the suggestion though

WondrousBread

I have some more questions that may help with my issue. I took out the pressure spring (main pump), which correspond to the red circled parts in your image:



I at first thought I had the valve backwards, but I didn't. So just in case someone finds this thread in the future, I can confirm the following: The spring goes in first as shown in the image, then the valve (wide flat side facing out), then the bolt of course.

This implies that the bottom parts in yellow are the sub-pump parts, and based on the image it looks like the order there is valve (wide flat side down), spring, bolt. I would be able to confirm this except for the following:

I that I can't find any of the yellow circled components on my pump. At all. I found a photo online of the earlier style pump (with the round reservoir and the black round cap):



On the top left is the main pump pressure spring, and the one for the sub-pump is presumably on top of that aluminum piece going downward into the long cast iron section.

My pump is the later style (tall reservoir, white cap with handle):



You can see some differences in this photo. The casting that I believe to be for the sub-pump control spring is non-existent, and the large gold hex bolt on the aluminum piece is missing, instead having a fitting there.

To add to the confusion, here's the parts fiche page (the only other illustration of the pump I can find, other than the ones shown above in this thread):




So this adds to the confusion further, since Mazda only shows one type of pump in the image (earlier pump), and does not separate the aluminum piece in the exploded diagram. They do acknowledge the later reservoir style above, but don't actually show the later pump itself.

So here are my questions, if anyone happens to have the answers:

- Is there a sub-pump control spring on the later style pump?
- If so, where is it? I can see no obvious places on the pump, and really don't want to disassemble since I'll need another gasket set.

This makes me wish I kept the pump that came with the car 5 years ago. It was the early style and leaked like a sieve, but at least I'd have one to compare to.

EDIT: Oh, and I'm assuming that I have the correct spring with correct plunger. I won't know for sure until I find out whether I have a sub-pump spring, and where it is.