has anyone ever changed the power steering pump and hoses...

[vegaslumina]

on the 3.1? If so is it an easy job or a total PITA? My pump took a dive and would much rather do it myself than pay the high labor cost for a mechanic to do it.

[White93z34]

pumps a piece of cake to change, should take about 20 minutes tops.

[vegaslumina]

So the pump is easy to change, but what about the hoses? I just want to be sure before I tackle this one myself

[White93z34]

it all depends on what hose it is, some are easy others are a pita.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

The hoses that connect to the PS pump? There are like 2 I think.. when I did it on my 2.8 it was an easy job except the one hose was REALLY tight.. my dad finally got it off with a pipe wrench..

[GnatGoSplat]

The 3.1 hose looks similar to the 3.4 hose, and it was sort of a PITA.

I had to disconnect the exhaust, steering shaft, and lower the rear of the subframe because the pressure line goes from rack to pump.

 

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be though. I had pictured in my head it being a multi-day project of great suffering when I read the write-up on the 60v6 site. I was pleasantly surprised when it went real smoothly and only took a couple hours.

[skiiirt]

My mechanic said he went in through the front passenger wheel well.

Says that was easier than the alternative

[Smoke1991]

I just changed my high pressure line not to long ago

 

Both lines are a pita for first timers, and yes it helps if you take your passanger tire off to see what your doing n such, most people say to drop the "subframe" (i think thats what they told me to do) but i was ignorant and actually put the new line in w/o removing anything except for some stuff on top so i can reach down and tighten the HP line going to the rack. the actuall pump is a snap. If you have time and the tools, go for it.

[Guest TurboSedan]

i just swapped in a new pump and high pressure line into my 3.1 Cutlass about 2 months ago. i thought the job was pretty easy, and i didn't have to remove the exhaust or mess with the subframe at all. altho, i do have a manual transmission and that probably made the job a little easier. the lines that go into the steering rack are a little tough to get to, so a stubby wrench might help if you have one. my flare nut wrenches wouldn't work so i just used regular wrenches and it worked fine. the lines on the pump are really easy, and removing the pump from the engine is really easy too. if you're getting a new pump than more than likely you'll need to swap the pulley. i didn't have to because i got my pump from a junkyard car complete with reservoir and pulley. i think the new high pressure line was around $30 from Checker.