79 L82 Power Steering Issue

Power steering lines were beginning to leak, so I decided it was time to replace the lines, power steering valve, cylinder and power steering pump as well since it was an original.  I purchased a power steering renew kit and pump from Ecklers for this and my local mechanic performed the work.  Car ran great for about a week, then I lost power steering.  If I put the car in neutral and gave the car gas, the power steering would kick back in, but wouldn't work properly unless I was giving the car some gas.  My mechanic said he thought the exit valve inside of the new pump was bad, so I ordered a new pump from Ecklers and this fixed the issue.  Drove the car for about three months and then lost power steering again.  Same thing, if I gave the car gas in neutral, the power steering would work, no gas, no power steering.  I just recently ordered another power steering pump, but this time from another company.  Put that pump in and the power steering started to work great again.  Drove the car for four days and once again lost power steering in the car.  Any ideas, suggestions from anyone on our site would be welcomed and greatly appreciated.  

I am not an expert; but I have had power steering issues with my 78. I have replaced the power steering pump, power steering control valve (twice) and all the lines and all is good for now. Is your car a stick or auto? Is the idle set ok? Have you checked to see if the power steering pump belt is tight enough and not slipping? Just a few thoughts to maybe help.

Pappy's Toy, thanks for sharing.  

My thought is that you have a hose that is shedding on the inside, and getting some doo-doo(technical term)into the pump that is sticking the control valve open. That many pumps failing with the exact same symptoms points to the issue NOT being a pump, but something causing the pumps to fail. It's possible that the steering ram had some doo-doo in it, also, that is sticking the relief valve open. In any case, I would suspect some sort of trash in the system causing these failures. Since you really replaced everything that has fluid running thru it, I would seriously be taking a look at the hoses first. New don't mean squat....
Has there been any noise associated with any of the pump failures?

Adams Apple,

I would agree with Adams Apple. I replaced everything but my pump recently on my 75 Vette. However I decided to get a set of braided S/S P/S hose set from Corvette Central. They may cost more but well worth it. I guess I would be curious if the mechanic looked at the power steering fluid when he drained it in order to see if there was any visible debris in the oil.

|UPDATED|9/30/2017 3:53:47 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|