Sigh.
For those of you who remember back to the time when I was banned, you'll know I earned Cheap Bastard of the Year award three years running for a reason.
After having spent more time than I'd like working in dealerships (Rover and others) I have about been completely cured of Cheap Bastard-itis. The first symptom that goes away when one is cured is that one no longer carries a trailer full of spare parts when wheeling and the inventory of used parts dwindles significantly.
It takes exactly the same amount of time to R&R the pump whether one is replacing seals or merely replacing the entire pump. The time spent replacing the seals is (IMO) better spent earning the $261 price difference between the pump and the seals. If you were to buy the pump from me and it should fail within the first 12 months after I shipped it to you, the worst you'd experience would be my "no questions asked, but please be patient while I wait for another one to be shipped in to me" parts warranty. And, for the record, this policy existed long before I started slinging Chrome with Snap-On.
W/R/T the front shaft bearing: I am more than a little hesitant to suggest one do this and really don't want to share how the tool was built because I have seen the shafts shear and I am still amazed that the carnage was not far more severe than what I've observed.
W/R/T ATF versus PS fluid: Early DII and P38s both had owners manuals that indicated that unless one was regularly in an environment where ambient temps fell well below what we'd typically experience in the US, ATF was an acceptable substitute for both PAS and SLABS. I have observed more problems with leaking and pump failures where folks used "Power Steering Fluid" intended for other marques where they really did have more specific needs-my wife's old Acura comes to mind where they specified some exotic PAS fluid and woe be unto you if you strayed.
Also, if you have a reman PAS box, be aware that if you have a warranty claim, make sure you only indicate that you have a stock pump and use ATF as your fluid, otherwise you run a risk of having your warranty claim denied. It only happened once, but I had a steering box warranty declined for a client who had done the GM pump swap. When the box warranty was declined, I installed an aftermarket OE style pump and a new gearbox and that vehicle is in my forecourt right now where we have just done yet another periodic maintenance/service and this client has been a returning client for going on 12 years now. A beautiful '95 Classic that I'm proud to be keeping on the road still.
