# power steering pump from ebay or amazon



## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

Has anyone purchased or used the cheap amazon or ebay power steering pumps on any type of vehicle and did they work good? im trying to replace mine but a new autozone power steering pump is 115$ a new duralast pump and ebay/amazon has them for 50$-60$. I was told not to purchase that cheap stuff but as i see that they are sold so has anyone had experience with the cheap amazon or ebay power steering pump?


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

Have you tried Rock Auto? Most of the stuff I buy for my truck comes from Rockauto.

Rockauto will give you the OEM part and usually a couple of alternates for different prices.


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## Thom Paine (Nov 24, 2021)

Justwayne said:


> Has anyone purchased or used the cheap amazon or ebay power steering pumps on any type of vehicle and did they work good? im trying to replace mine but a new autozone power steering pump is 115$ a new duralast pump and ebay/amazon has them for 50$-60$. I was told not to purchase that cheap stuff but as i see that they are sold so has anyone had experience with the cheap amazon or ebay power steering pump?



Duralast has a lifetime guarantee... something goes wrong.. just put it on their counter .. get a new one now! No shipping return challenges.
. 
I've used Duralast brand products from AZ for 30 years and find them dependable and cannot recall a premature failure. 

Warranty convenience. Just Something to think about....


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## pumpkin11 (Oct 31, 2020)

what kind of vehicle?


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

I'm on a budget but am not sure if it is the power steering pump that's bad. I hate to throw money away on parts if that isn't the issue. Since I've owned the car for 7 months it's always had this hard steering problem. I was repairing other maintenance items but finally got to the power steering. It always felt like the pump either has less then half the power steering it should have. With the car off the steering is same as the car running. The power steering pump is the original 99 pump and doesn't make a whining sound but the rack and pinion was manufactured in 2009 with a date sticker on it. I checked the reservoir is clean and return line pumps fluid when you turn the car on so I don't think it's clogged. I think maybe the bypass valve is stuck open or veins wore out not pumping fluid. I just replaced the balancer and had to remove the rack and pinion both pressure and return lines at the rack and the car had hard steering for about 50 miles. One evening I pulled the pump reservoir cap off and started the vehicle I noticed it had great power steering and that the hard steering wasn't normal. An hour later I took it to AutoZone the car had power steering for about 5 minutes until I got it out if the drive away and 3 miles up the road when I got to AutoZone the steering was hard again. With those issues the car having hard steering for 7 months that I've owned it but the power steering is fully functional or operated for a bit I'm suspecting a pump issue or bypass valve as some other person said if the rack was bad it wouldn't function at all. Another person told me it may have an air pocket when he had replaced his whole rack and pinion he had to use a mityvac to bleed the air out. Others tell me just turning the wheel back and forth a few times would cycle all the air out and never had this problem. Just thought I'd ask here as it is a diy forum maybe more random car experts and not vehicle specific so no ones used the 50$ ebay pumps that are new and not reman? It is twice as much for the AutoZone pump and I'm not so sure thats the problem as I did see it was working great one time since I've owned the car and that was after removing the pressure/return lines? Possible there's air in the system? I'll have to remove it and see if maybe the bypass valve spring is broke or clogged.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

So no one's used the ebay power steering pump or similar new products?


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

Whenever you break open the power steering system, you need to jack the car's front end up crank the car and go lock to lock several times with the steering wheel to equally disperse the fluid and push out the air. If you haven't done that, yet, you'll have hard steering til the cows come home.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

Yes I tried that that 4-5 times both ways with the car on the ground and on jack stands wheels off the ground. Ive driven it to see if it would fix the issue as well. The reservoir cap does have a vent hole in the very top of it but I do find it suspicious that one evening to see if it resolved I took the reservoir cap off started the car and was excited to see the power steering fully functioning first time since I've had the car. This was after replacing the balancer which you have to remove rack and pinion both pressure return lines. Directly after it went into hard steering once I got the car on the road. There aren't any strange noises from the pump worst case is old worn out bearing noise.


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## pumpkin11 (Oct 31, 2020)

Justwayne said:


> I'm on a budget


that's just a different way of saying you can't afford the car

repairs should be expected on a 20+ year old vehicle,

back to the topic.....

I would suggest going to scrap yard and getting a used OEM one if you can't afford a new OEM one

I would take a used OEM part over new cheap chinese junk


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## Thom Paine (Nov 24, 2021)

Here''s a couple places for ideas and info. You tube has several items on your topic.


Kilmer.. power steering


A-1 hard steering


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## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

I’ve had good luck with Rock Auto. I go Amazon if a none critical part.


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## sestivers (Aug 10, 2007)

pumpkin11 said:


> I would suggest going to scrap yard and getting a used OEM one if you can't afford a new OEM one
> 
> I would take a used OEM part over new cheap chinese junk


I like this idea too, particularly because you can "practice" the replacement on the salvage yard vehicle, I just don't know how many Corvettes are in the salvage yards. Luckily most let you look up the inventory.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

I've had good luck with local auto parts store parts not sure about ebays new items.


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## FM3 (Aug 12, 2019)

Justwayne said:


> Has anyone purchased or used the cheap amazon or ebay power steering pumps on any type of vehicle and did they work good?


Plenty of the stuff you might think is a great brand name is also actually just cheap stuff. Even something like ACDelco has 3 different parts lines. Advantage is cheapie stuff, Professional is better than the cheap stuff, OE meets OE quality specs. 

The problem with buying something like a Duralast part is you usually don't know who actually makes it. That's not to say Autozone doesn't require a certain level of quality in its Duralast parts regardless of what company actually makes the part, but, then again, how do you know that either.

That's globalism.

And of course RockAuto has all sorts of different brands. You just need to figure out which brands are good. Remember to use a 5% off code.

Another place to consider is 1A Auto for parts. DIY'ers might recognize the name from all the how-to repair videos they put on youtube. They sell lots of China parts, but it seems like it's not the junk stuff. May not necessarily be the best stuff, but is a good combination of price and quality. YMMV. 

It's also another data point when comparing parts from different sellers. Sometimes you can match up the pictures from different sellers and figure out they are selling the same part just in a different box, and then if reviews are good for that part on multiple sites/forums, it's probably a good part.

lol, I just scrolled up to skim the thread again and see Thom Paine's video link is for 1A Auto.


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## pumpkin11 (Oct 31, 2020)

sestivers said:


> I just don't know how many Corvettes are in the salvage yards. Luckily most let you look up the inventory.


It probably wouldn't need to be from a Corvette,

That pump is probably a generic part for a lot of other GM cars of the same year or year range


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## huesmann (Aug 18, 2011)

Unfortunately (at least according to RA) the only other application for a C5 pump is the C6.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

This. Brands just don't mean what they used to. They are all sourcing their stuff from who knows where. For a really critical part the only way to be sure is to go OEM. These at least should have had some mfg QA and certification.




FM3 said:


> Plenty of the stuff you might think is a great brand name is also actually just cheap stuff. Even something like ACDelco has 3 different parts lines. Advantage is cheapie stuff, Professional is better than the cheap stuff, OE meets OE quality specs.


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## guyakaguy (Aug 10, 2021)

pumpkin11 said:


> I would suggest going to scrap yard and getting a used OEM one if you can't afford a new OEM one
> 
> I would take a used OEM part over new cheap chinese junk


I'll second the used OEM over new or reman, 24/7-365. I've had about a 50% success rate with new non-OEM and a dismal 20% success rate with remanufactured. The warranties on these things will get you about as far as you can throw the pump - most don't come with pulleys installed so the old pulley has to be pulled when, not if, the pump fails, the seals are typically sub-par, and remans, in my experience, are just cores that get bead-blasted and painted black. Go OEM and you, more likely than not, won't regret it. Go used and your wallet will thank you.

Figure out whether the pump is unique to your model, or if it's a generic GM V-8 pump used for those model years. When you figure that out, go and get a used one, or even buy a used one from eBay and look for salvages or wrecks. I've had good luck (knock on wood) buying used OEM pumps from eBay and online salvage. The last one I got was from a vehicle that got rear-ended with only 14k miles on it and was only about $60. 50k miles later, it's still going.

The biggest thing, and I can't stress this enough, is to get as much of the old fluid out of the system as possible! There's a reason the old pump failed, and you don't want the first fluid your new pump sucks up to be filled with the guts of your old pump. The second most important thing is to replace any seals or gaskets on hoses that bolt to the pump, if they aren't compression fittings. The third most important thing is to fill the system with new fluid and purge any of the air out of the system before you drive it by jacking up the front end and turning the wheel to the stops over and over, while keeping an eye on the fluid, which can take up to 15 minutes or more. You'll feel (the wheel will not jerk at ALL), and more importantly HEAR (no growling or grunting) when the air is fully purged. My last piece of advice is, before you start this, is to buy a few quarts of power steering or trans fluid (synthetic preferred). Once you have the air out of the system, turn the engine off and suck the reservoir as dry as you can, refill it, turn the wheel back and forth to the stops over and over, shut the engine off, and repeat until you have (mostly) perfectly clean fluid.

Any other questions, I'd be happy to answer. I have over a decade of experience as a former dealer mechanic, pre-recession.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

LOL. So true. And even if the warranty works you just get another POS. Last reman AC compressor I got the pulley walked off the shaft while I was driving. I beat on it with a crescent wrench to get it back on... had to stop and repeat about 10 times to get home. Got a new OEM the next day.



guyakaguy said:


> The warranties on these things will get you about as far as you can throw the pump.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

pumpkin11 said:


> that's just a different way of saying you can't afford the car
> 
> repairs should be expected on a 20+ year old vehicle,
> 
> ...


obviously i can afford the car as i have purchased it what i was asking was if anyone has used these new ebay pumps they sell on amazon as well? The power steering pump may be trash as is the ebay fuel pump unless certified aem wahlboro distributor.

I flooded more **** then a 70 year old back to topic.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

Wayne, Wayne Wayne... think about your question. EBay and Amazon are just the sales platforms but the parts there are sold by and shipped from all sorts of vendors. You need to look at the specific listing to see who that is and if they seem like a credible and trustworthy source. Just saying Ebay and Amazon means absolutely nothing.




Justwayne said:


> obviously i can afford the car as i have purchased it what i was asking was if anyone has used these new ebay pumps they sell on amazon as well? The power steering pump may be trash as is the ebay fuel pump unless certified aem wahlboro distributor.
> 
> I flooded more **** then a 70 year old back to topic.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

guyakaguy said:


> I'll second the used OEM over new or reman, 24/7-365. I've had about a 50% success rate with new non-OEM and a dismal 20% success rate with remanufactured. The warranties on these things will get you about as far as you can throw the pump - most don't come with pulleys installed so the old pulley has to be pulled when, not if, the pump fails, the seals are typically sub-par, and remans, in my experience, are just cores that get bead-blasted and painted black. Go OEM and you, more likely than not, won't regret it. Go used and your wallet will thank you.
> 
> Figure out whether the pump is unique to your model, or if it's a generic GM V-8 pump used for those model years. When you figure that out, go and get a used one, or even buy a used one from eBay and look for salvages or wrecks. I've had good luck (knock on wood) buying used OEM pumps from eBay and online salvage. The last one I got was from a vehicle that got rear-ended with only 14k miles on it and was only about $60. 50k miles later, it's still going.
> 
> ...


The part you caught me at is the car has always had semi hard steering. Its always had a slight wheel jerk as if the pump was halfway working or pumping fluid pressure. What exactly does this mean? That was since purchasing the car. I had removed the power steering lines to the rack a few weeks ago to replace the balancer and reinstalled the rack and pinion and the car still had hard steering even harder then this half wheel jerk its always had. Steers the same with the car on and off. It did in the last 80 miles work for about an hour to its fully ability before going back to hard steering. From what i can see the car was wrecked in 2009-2011 from the carfax rebuilt title and the rack has a 2009 manufucturer sticker/ refurbished whichever the pump looks to be the original 99 with 92k miles unless it had got damaged in collision and was replaced but i doubt it.


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## guyakaguy (Aug 10, 2021)

Justwayne said:


> The part you caught me at is the car has always had semi hard steering. Its always had a slight wheel jerk as if the pump was halfway working or pumping fluid pressure. What exactly does this mean?


It means that when you bought it the pump was already marginal. Put a different pump on, and don't worry about how the steering felt when you bought it or after doing unrelated repairs.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

Justwayne said:


> The part you caught me at is the car has always had semi hard steering. Its always had a slight wheel jerk as if the pump was halfway working or pumping fluid pressure.


The last time I had a vehicle with similar symptoms, I assumed it was the PS pump. It wasn't; I ended up replacing the rack & pinion unit also. I'm not suggesting you go there first, and I hope you don't have to, but be prepared for the possibility that replacing the pump may not fix the problem.


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## guyakaguy (Aug 10, 2021)

raylo32 said:


> LOL. So true. And even if the warranty works you just get another POS. Last reman AC compressor I got the pulley walked off the shaft while I was driving. I beat on it with a crescent wrench to get it back on... had to stop and repeat about 10 times to get home. Got a new OEM the next day.


I've also had great luck with used compressors. As long as you can vac the system afterward to suck out the old oil, change out the accumulator and orifice, if it still has one, and add new oil, I've had zero used compressors fail over hundreds of thousands of miles.


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## guyakaguy (Aug 10, 2021)

HotRodx10 said:


> The last time I had a vehicle with similar symptoms, I assumed it was the PS pump. It wasn't; I ended up replacing the rack & pinion unit also. I'm not suggesting you go there first, and I hope you don't have to, but be prepared for the possibility that replacing the pump may not fix the problem.


I won't say I've never seen it, but typically when I've dealt with intermittent assist issues I start with the pump. $300 job vs $2,500 job is usually easier to sell and easier to digest. Also, if you have a stuck or leaking rack, the pump is usually not too far behind, IME.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

How much do you (OP) know about Magnasteer? It’s the variable assist power steering on the C5.

It is not a typical simple hydraulic system. It is interfaced with the rack. The early years had a separate control module. After a couple years, the control was combined as part of the Electronic Brake Control Module.

Bottom line is, are you positive the pump is your problem ?


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

guyakaguy said:


> I won't say I've never seen it, but typically when I've dealt with intermittent assist issues I start with the pump.


I agree. I just wanted give the OP a heads-up.


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## guyakaguy (Aug 10, 2021)

Oso954 said:


> How much do you (OP) know about Magnasteer? It’s the variable assist power steering on the C5.
> 
> It is not a typical simple hydraulic system. It is interfaced with the rack. The early years had a separate control module. After a couple years, the control was combined as part of the Electronic Brake Control Module.
> 
> Bottom line is, are you positive the pump is your problem ?


I'm familiar with the vehicles of the unwashed masses, which is why I wouldn't have immediately have assumed it was some Vette specific problem. Figures...


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

guyakaguy said:


> ….I wouldn't have immediately have assumed it was some Vette specific problem.


It’s not a Vette specific problem. GM added it to various other models across their various brands. Introduction years varied.

But that doesn’t mean that you can take the parts off a Buick LeSabre and put them on a Vette.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

Ok well the car had a flat tire so i havent started it in a week but patched it and started it today had full power steering. i think once a rack and pinion goes bad the rack is fully dead and wont function even at times if the power steering has a bypass valve problem that is intermittent im not too familiar with those. If you were wondering the cars never had full power steering since ive owned it i was busy doing other maintenance repairs, torque tube, pulleys, air dam and such to the car. Ive finally got to the power steering issue i had replaced the balancer and removed the rack pressure return line. The power steerings worked one time before since the balancer swap and today and thats the only times its worked. Not sure if the rack has air in it or if the pump bypass valve sometimes goes bad but heres how it operates when it does work before reverting back to hard power steering same with car running and off.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

Magnasteer is that a later model vette? The pump and rack only have the pressure and return lines from them similar to a regualr power steering vehicle. Mine is a 99 so may not have magnasteer it doesnt have the rear abs block on the rear the later c5 corvettes have. Just has the EBCM block similar to abs infront of the power steering pump which makes the pump hard to remove i posted video of it working today after sitting for a week. It may revert back to hard steering so not sure what the issue is. It does sometimes do the hard steering jerk feel but this is a fully functional power steering compared to other vehicles.

No leak at rack but fully functions sometimes i was told when they go bad seals they are dead completely and dont work part time. Rack and pinion has a 2009 upc or manufactured sticker and pump looks to be the original 99 pump 92k miles. It worked this afternoon but may revert back to hard steering. There is one plug from the rack and pinion but not sure what its for.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

HotRodx10 said:


> The last time I had a vehicle with similar symptoms, I assumed it was the PS pump. It wasn't; I ended up replacing the rack & pinion unit also. I'm not suggesting you go there first, and I hope you don't have to, but be prepared for the possibility that replacing the pump may not fix the problem.


Do you know what the problem would be if the rack and pinion or power steering functions sometimes? Maybe a bad bypass valve someone told me that once the rack was dead it would be completely dead and not function at all.


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

Justwayne said:


> Do you know what the problem would be if the rack and pinion or power steering functions sometimes? Maybe a bad bypass valve someone told me that once the rack was dead it would be completely dead and not function at all.


Not sure. All I know is when mine got to where it be kinda hard to turn and then suddenly feel like it 'broke loose', I replaced the pump and it didn't help. I ended up replacing the rack & pinion unit, too. Mine was under $200, plus getting the alignment done.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

broke loose? So you mean it functioned and wasnt hard to steer or just plane broke? Racks for these refurbished run around 400$ and they may want the core.


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## Nut'n'Done (Nov 28, 2021)

When the front wheels were off the ground with the car running. How many lock to lock turns did you go through trying to purge the air locks out after you reinstalled the lines and rack?
Do you recall approximately how much P/S fluid you used to get it to this point?
This procedure will take 2 people to perform best results if done ^^^^^ this way.
At anytime.....did you see any foam building up in the P/S reservoir while you where trying to bleed the system?


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## HotRodx10 (Aug 24, 2017)

Justwayne said:


> broke loose? So you mean it functioned and wasnt hard to steer or just plane broke?


Sorry for the wording; I mean it suddenly functioned normally, sometimes for a while, but sometimes just until the next time I turned the wheel.


Justwayne said:


> Racks for these refurbished run around 400$ and they may want the core.


I wasn't suggesting that you replace the R&P unit first. I recommend you try replacing the pump first, since that could very well be the cause of the problem; I just wanted to warn you that it may not be.


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## JustinRaney (Jun 1, 2018)

Nut'n'Done said:


> When the front wheels were off the ground with the car running. How many lock to lock turns did you go through trying to purge the air locks out after you reinstalled the lines and rack?
> Do you recall approximately how much P/S fluid you used to get it to this point?
> This procedure will take 2 people to perform best results if done ^^^^^ this way.
> At anytime.....did you see any foam building up in the P/S reservoir while you where trying to bleed the system?


I had removed the rack pressure and return line to remove it for a balancer swap. When i put it back together the reservoir was empty i dont recall if i started it first but took maybe half a quart of power steering fluid. Turned the wheel both ways 5 times. Completely dead power steering vs the 1/4 hard steering its always had since i've owned the car with a slight ease jerk when turning into a parking lot or whichever. 3/4 and 1:1 being fully functional power steering which has worked twice since i've owned the car and that was only after removing the rack lines a few weeks ago after a balancer swap and putting power steering fluid. I've always assumed the pump may have been bad but maybe not since as in video shown the cars sats for weeks even months not started and still had that steering issue other then yesterday. Most of the times since removing the rack lines its functioned just those 2 times when i pulled the reservoir cap after starting and turning the wheel. I've had it up on jackstands turned the wheel both sides and still had same problem and took it 50 miles driving to see if it would function. The only times like i said its worked were yesterday and 2 weeks ago when leaving it worked out of the driveway 3 miles up the road to autozone it went back into hard steering as shown with the car off.

There isnt any foam buildup but i did see maybe 7 1mm bubbles at one time when looking through the reservoir with fluid. Really small bubbles.


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## Nut'n'Done (Nov 28, 2021)

If your pump and rack have no leaks, see P/S fluid in reservoir circulating while turning the wheel, then I think your P/S pump is fine.

At this point,
I would lift the vehicle until the front tires are off the ground 1-2 inches only. While it is running, you will need someone in the car to continually turn the wheel lock to lock until you get the air locks out.

Don't worry if you begin to see foam in the reservoir, that is normal and will dissipate once the P/S fluid has run its course and pushed all the air locks out. Just keep adding the P/S fluid as needed to push the foam out.

If you overfill the reservoir due to the foam, no worries, just extract a little until you reached the hot line on the stick once you feel you have dispersed all the air locks.

Good luck, I hope this helps.


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

Justwayne said:


> Magnasteer is that a later model vette?


Appeared on Corvette 1996 model year. So, yes you should have it. 
(Some owners have converted back to normal rack&pinion, but by the time you change tie rod ends, etc, it costs as much as the Magnasteer rack.)

GM didn’t necessarily use that name a lot, because the system was developed by someone else. It is also confusing to the general population. So GM used the more understandable term of variable assist power steering in talking about in public.

Easiest way to identify magnasteer is to look on the rack near the point where the steering column enters. If there is an electrical connector there, it’s magnasteer.


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