My power steering pump has started leaking, I'm finding a small puddle of fluid on the engine every day. I tried a whole bottle of stop leak and replaced the pesky o-ring with no results so I guess I'm going to have to replace the pump.

I've read a bunch of posts about power steering pump removal and replacement and there have been varying opinions on what is best and how to go about it. Some say that a rebuilt pump is OK; others have had a lot of trouble with them. Others have rebuilt the (supposedly) un-rebuildable pump a few have insisted on picking up a genuine Subaru replacement. Some tutorials talk about bleeding the pump, most don't mention it at all, I don't know if this is an issue.

Has anyone replaced their pump? Is a rebuilt one OK? I haven't been able to find a factory pump online. Also, are there torque specs available? I know the pump is not supposed to be serviceable but there still should be some torque specs for other repairs that might require the removal of the pump, at least for the bracket. Also, rebuilt pumps don't come with a pulley so I have to salvage the factory one but I can't find torque specs for installation of the pulley.

Any input or advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Rebuild!

Wagooonian has had success with the rebuild, and it seemed simple enough to do.

 

Yes, Wagooonian rebuilt his. He did it himself so I wasn't around to help with it. He said the hardest part was taking the p/s pump itself out.

I think he followed this thread.
DIY: Power Steering Pump Rebuild - NASIOC

 

hardest part was probably removing the bearing from the shaft...
though since your only chasing a leak...just replacing the o rings is an easy task..

 

Thanks for the pics... do you have any torque specs for the various bolts (the pump itself, the bracket and the pulley) that I will have to remove/replace when doing the job?