'83 Bird needs power steering pump, I need my sanity!

[mikebulriss]

diesel gypsy,

I think David was just trying to give you other sources for immediate responses. It is the weekend, so many folks are offline. Almost all of us started in older Birds. In my case it was an 83PT40. When Sprenger at "MacAttack Racing" sees this thread, he will probably have great current info for you.

In general when posting questions, it is always better to include what model 83 is it. PT or FC, this would help some in getting responses that are more accurate. Also, indicating your general location will help refer you to possible sources of help close to you.

Meanwhile, if you perform a search (on the upper tool bar) on the WanderlodgeForum section of this site, those are the posts from the original WanderlodgeForum, which pre-dates all existing internet sites today, so there is tons of great info in there on the 'earlier' Birds. A quick search I did on "power steering pump" brought up 4 pages or more of threads related to this subject. The first thread I looked at (titled "power steering pump") had several sources of parts and/or rebuilders listed. I never had any problems with mine, so I can't comment further on that subject.

As regards the Perkins, they are quite reliable and heavily used in the boating community. If you are near a boating community, diesel shops in those areas should be very familiar with them. They are also heavily used on bobcats and small tractors, so it is not like they are uncommon at diesel shops. If it's getting fuel and air, it is usually happy. A common reason that they suddenly stop starting after having been running well is usually the "push-pull" relay switch that controls fuel flow. I can't remember the official name of that relay, but that's the reason mine didn't start when that switch stuck. I am having a hard time understanding why an experienced diesel shop can't figure out why it is not starting. That casts doubts on their experience to me.

OTOH, I just remembered that you said had serviced all the engines, including oils and filters. After changing all filters on the Perkins, getting them primed and re-running can sometimes be a challenge. There is a little push lever on the 'lift pump' (aka fuel pump) to use in priming the system. You may also (probably will) have to bleed all the injectors to get it running again also. This is quite common and can take a lot of engine turning until it finally bleeds out the air and starts. Perkins can be difficult to get running after changing filters. And if you never get good fuel flow while cranking the engine and bleeding the injectors, the lift pump or injector pump could be weak and on it's last legs. Again, a good diesel shop would/should know all this.

Since you just got it, did your Bird sit unused for quite a while before you got it?

Good luck to you and welcome to the Wanderlodge community!

FWIW,