Power steering?

[Bobbyboy]

So I was driving to work everything was fine then after work start up power steering seemed fine but once it got going it got hard to steer while stop but while going it was better but still tuff not sure what happened, I checked fluid level is was a little low but I add some and still have the problem any help would be appreciated thanks

 

[07 Boss]

Punctuation goes a long way. Had to read this s few times to understand that you need a new pump.

 

[Dino Dino Bambino]

So I was driving to work everything was fine then after work start up power steering seemed fine but once it got going it got hard to steer while stop but while going it was better but still tuff not sure what happened, I checked fluid level is was a little low but I add some and still have the problem any help would be appreciated thanks

You might need a new PS pump but I suggest you check the serpentine belt in case it's slack, since this would negatively affect the pump's function.
Other signs of the pump failing are a loud whining and the steering feeling notchy when turning the wheels from side to side, as well as feeling abnormally heavy when at a standstill.

 

[86GT351]

Most likely the pump

 

[Autokyrios]

The pumps are a POS unit and they're are a pain in the rear.
If you're not mechanically inclined with the right tools, take it to a shop. It'll be a quick thing for them.
After 4 of the blighters I'm going electric.

 

[VGMStudios]

Swap to the EPAS mod. So much better.

 

[lwarrior1016]

Second vote for EPAS swap. Best thing I ever did to my 07.

 

[Autokyrios]

I have a remanufactured EPAS originally from an 2011-2014, shorter belt, and I decided to grab the MMR EPAS controller kit.
Right now it's all safely tucked into a box for when I get to the front of the rebuild (right now cleaning up the rear axle area.
I'm thinking of taking the old pump and melting it down.

 

[GlassTop09]

Swap to the EPAS mod. So much better.

Second vote for EPAS swap. Best thing I ever did to my 07.

Thanks to y'all & others, this EPAS swap is gaining my interest & is moving up on my rapidly shortening list (have completed most of them to date) of must do projects on my Stang...............this makes too much sense in the long run IMHO vs repairing the existing power steering system........also frees up some parasitic HP\TQ loss--however small or large the amount is--which IMHO is a good thing as well.

Gonna start gathering parts as I run across them to do this swap...........

 

[VGMStudios]

Thanks to y'all & others, this EPAS swap is gaining my interest & is moving up on my rapidly shortening list (have completed most of them to date) of must do projects on my Stang...............this makes too much sense in the long run IMHO vs repairing the existing power steering system........also frees up some parasitic HP\TQ loss--however small or large the amount is--which IMHO is a good thing as well.

Gonna start gathering parts as I run across them to do this swap...........

Good for you! I did this swap last year on my 06 GT. One of the best mods I did. A little bit of info. Stick with the 2012 to 14 epas as the 2011s have issues. I bought mine from a junkyard. Will save you some $. I bought the harness off ebay and followed this guide to install.

good luck.

 

[GlassTop09]

Good for you! I did this swap last year on my 06 GT. One of the best mods I did. A little bit of info. Stick with the 2012 to 14 epas as the 2011s have issues. I bought mine from a junkyard. Will save you some $. I bought the harness off ebay and followed this guide to install.

good luck.

Thanks for the info!
Will definitely get used!

The junkyard\EBay are always my 1st move when sourcing these types of parts for these S197's................

 

[lwarrior1016]

I also got mine from eBay. I did not use a controller though, I got a wiring harness and tapped in to the communication wires on the stock computer. The rack works like normal, very light when going slow and resistance increases as speed goes up.

 

[Autokyrios]

Stick with the 2012 to 14 epas as the 2011s have issues.

Just to add to that, from the research I did before picking up my unit, the firmware for the 2011's had a fault. There was a fix that Ford put out, but if you get a junkyard or takeoff 2011 EPAS, you may not have any way of finding out if the update was pushed to the unit or not. The only way to flash the EPAS is supposedly with the unit in the (proper) car and hooked up to Ford, so basically I guess that means you can't update it if it turns out to be running the old stuff.
However some remanufactured units get flashed (I'm not sure how they do this, but apparently it's a thing).

Two reasons I went with a remanufactured unit were 1) because I didn't have the time or desire to go crawl junk yards, and 2) because I didn't want to clean it up.

I don't know if the steering aspect will be better or worse, but mainly I'm highly interested in ripping out the hydraulic pump, lines, reservoir and cooler, getting all that cr*p out of here.

Will see how it goes. Won't know for a while, though, as I won't get to working on the front end for some time.

 

[Autokyrios]

I also got mine from eBay. I did not use a controller though, I got a wiring harness and tapped in to the communication wires on the stock computer. The rack works like normal, very light when going slow and resistance increases as speed goes up.

I was looking at that route (mainly following this: https://wireeverything.com/s197-epas-conversion ) but then I ran across the offering from MMR. Not sure which is better (or if there's a difference other than wiring effort). Supposedly with the MMR unit you can communicate with it for diagnostics and adjustments. Not sure how much of that is true since I haven't installed it yet.

 

[Autokyrios]

In case anyone's wondering, this is what the MMR "kit" looks like. It really is just a switched 12v source and then the connection to the rack itself, no other wires. Apparently the only thing that comes from the CAN bus is the rights of activation from the machine b*tch living in the ECU. From my understanding this device simply does the same thing without having to splice the CAN harness at the ODB port. The MMR box has a wifi receiver so you can connect to it and do things.

 

[GriffX]

What are the costs for the swap?

 

[Autokyrios]

Depends how you want to go about it. I went the expensive way for reasons stated above, so around 800 to 1k, but if you scrounge your own EPAS and make your own wires I think it can be done for much less. I've seen part yards selling much-used assemblies for as little as 150 bucks but I feel that's risky. The reman I bought was about 500, but it's fully rebuilt, sealed and painted to boot.

 

[GriffX]

Depends how you want to go about it. I went the expensive way for reasons stated above, so around 800 to 1k, but if you scrounge your own EPAS and make your own wires I think it can be done for much less. I've seen part yards selling much-used assemblies for as little as 150 bucks but I feel that's risky. The reman I bought was about 500, but it's fully rebuilt, sealed and painted to boot.

Thanks! I'm out with such amount of money. I rebuild the steering rack of my old Mercedes for 40$ (ridicules price for a handful of o-rings) which was no fun but doable. I sometimes drive an Audi with EPAS and don't see any benefit, so....
I know Volvos and some Japanese used electric power steering pumps as some in-between solution.

 

[Autokyrios]

Well, for us there probably isn't any benefit from the steering feel/responsiveness from EPAS as we can't really change drive modes. So from a performance standpoint it supposedly steers the same as the hydraulic unit.
For me, the winning notion was the idea of getting rid of the hydraulic aspect. I can now drop the pump, reservoir, lines and cooler, saving the weight, heat, belt drag and mess. So basically it's giving me the same steering with better implementation. I certainly don't have the experience/know-how to build a steering strategy, but I suppose it's possible that someone could make a tuning selection box (kinda like a pedal assist or boost dial) to talk to the EPAS, but this swap has been around for at least a couple years now and I haven't seen anything. That probably says it.

As for o-rings, years ago I decided to bite the bullet and get a few "master" sets of various types of o-rings. Cost me about that much for each set, but in the last 8-9 years I think I've had to buy maybe one o-ring, between the cars, bike, mowers, HVAC, etc. O-rings are kinda like plastic push pins and shrink wrap...5 for $9.99 or you can get 100 for $5 at a supplier. I always get a kick out of seeing shrink-tubing at the store. Those little bags of a couple pieces for stupid prices. I have 100ft reels of the stuff from 1/8th to 1.5in I think I paid maybe $12 each for.

 

[MrBhp]

And usually the shrink tubing at the local stores is garbage. At least from what I've found. I keep a roll each of two sizes, and a container of precut pieces.