Power steering pump copper gasket

[somick]

1992 Subaru Loyale with 173000 miles.

I tried to reseal my leaking power steering pump. Since I could not find the replacement for the copper gasket, I reused it. I covered it with anaerobic sealant.

Needless to say that it still leaks.

Will it hold if I use a regular gasket material?

What other options do I have?

Thanks for help,

Sam

Topic

[college man]

Do you have a Subaru dealer near you?
the washers are like 2.00 bucks. Have you
tried the local auto store? Take the old washer
with you.If its a banjo bolt.There should be two
washers.

[somick]

Thanks for replying college man.

This is not a washer. The pump spits apart and is sealed with copper gasket. The dealer may have a reseal kit. It used to cost $35.00 Now it might be even more expensive it they still have them. This is 20 year old vehicle.

The sad thing is that the seal did not leak, but I had to take the pump apart in order to replace a leaking oil seal that cost me only 6 dollars.

Regards,

Sam

[Roy French]

Hey Somick, I think I might have something for you. If you heat a copper gasket and let it cool slowly it will soften, allowing you to reuse it. After you crush a gasket, it is work hardened. The harder material doesn’t get pushed into the imperfections in the machined surfaces. When you heat it it will soften right back up and reseal. Hang it by a wire and heat with a propane torch until it starts to change color to a dull red. Let cool slowly, do not quench. This also works with copper washers around banjo bolts. My friend and mentor used to have reusable copper head gaskets on his boss 302 drag car engine that were good for many reuses. It’s an old timer trick most people don’t know.

[somick]

Wow! What a trick!

I will definitely try it.

The only problem of mine is “dull red”. I am colorblind. I know, my wife will not be happy with me but she will have to help with this…

Thank you roywrench22!

I will report back with the results when it is done.

Sam

[Mike Sawyer]

[quote=”roywrench22″ post=54134]If you heat a copper gasket and let it cool slowly it will soften, allowing you to reuse it. It’s an old timer trick most people don’t know.[/quote]

I’m gonna remember this. Never heard of this. This is a neat trick; thanks for sharing this info with all of us!

Doc

[somick]

[quote=”somick” post=54137]Wow! What a trick!

I will definitely try it.

The only problem of mine is “dull red”. I am colorblind. I know, my wife will not be happy with me but she will have to help with this…

Thank you roywrench22!

I will report back with the results when it is done.

Sam[/quote]
Well, the trick did not work!

At least for me. That could be my eyes that could not correctly see “dull red”, but the pump leaked even after I heated up the copper and after it cooled, coated the gasket with Permatex “Copper Spray”.

After that I cut out a gasket out of Synthetic Rubber Gasket Material and coated it with Permatex “Copper Spray”

It still holds after few trips of about 150 miles total.

[EricTheCarGuy]

That’s one way to fix it. Results count. I have a similar issue on my Subaru. If I run into the same problem when I do the fix I’ll see if I can come up with a better solution. Thanks for keeping us up to date.

[Author]

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