Power Steering Not Working but no visible leaks

[whalenlg]

It's been 2 months of frustration since my last post...

Since then, I resealed the rack, checked the hoses and tried a known good power steering pump (thanks Tom!).
No luck. Some power assist, but inconsistent.

Then I bought a rebuilt rack from 944online and put my pump back in (that had been resealed). Some power assist and a lot of groaning that I couldn't "bleed out."
Thinking I had an air leak, replaced the pressure and return hose that connect to rack.
No luck
Bypassed the cooling coil and it's hoses. Again, no luck. Still groaning.

Resealed the pump again since there was some fluid coming out the front when I put 50psi of air in the system.
No luck. Still groaning.

Only thing left was to replace the ps pump - I did get the $81 one on eBay (Travis of rennbay did think they are ok but you can't use his reseal kit on them as the internals are different).

Finally working!

Conclusion:
I had a bad rack and a bad pump that reseal kits were never going to fix.
Recall that something popped just before I lost power assist. I never really found any debris, but there were NO leaks whatsoever.
So my advice - if you loose all power assist and there are no leaks, just proceed to replacing the rack and pump and clean out the lines.

[rheidtman]

Sage advice!
Over the course of the last month, I have cobbled together a PS rack/pump test rig and now able to duplicate an on-car situation. I mention this as this as there are, indeed, pumps and racks that simply cannot be fixed - as noted herein.

Once I get a few other projects wrapped up, will highlight this service and have tested racks and pumps available for purchase.

Rick
Oak Creek, Wisconsin