Power Steering Pump problems of the 1997 Chevrolet 1500

My son was turning into a driveway when the power assist was lost. This made the truck almost undriveable and very difficult to maneuver. I have removed the pump and found the internal shaft had broken. I am an automotive technician with over 20 years experience as well as a manager for a local government fleet. I network with a large group of experienced technicians including independent repair shops. This appears to be a common failure on these trucks.

Consumer saw a recall notice on tv concerning power steering. Although she did not think this vehicle was included in the recall, the vehicle manifested a similar failure. When making a left hand turn vehicle cut off. Consumer noticed this problem around lost steering. The consumer noticed the problem around December 2002 right after she purchased the vehicle. Consumer took the vehicle to a mechanic and was told that the problem was a power steering pump accelerator. The consumer had this part put on the vehicle, but the vehicle still continued to lose power and pull to the left.

I own a 1997 chevy pickup truck and have had several problems with my steering. The problem has been really hard to fix because it comes and goes and it does several different things. The first problem started about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago and I have not been able to resolve to problem yet. The problem is that when you go into a turn to the left, you can actually let go of the steering wheel and the wheel will not return to center. The truck will actually go around the turn by itself if you let go of the wheel. The second problem is that when you go into a turn it feels like the steering wheel has been pulled by something. The second problem is the one that has me concerned because at times it will over steer without you actually turning the steering wheel. I have two friends with the same year model and make of truck and all three trucks have the same problem. There has not been an accident at this time and I have talked with gm about the problem with no help from them what's so ever. I am not sure what it would take to get help with this problem other than a accident, possibly with a fatality. Really what I would like is for someone to just help with finding a fix without changing out part and hoping for a fix with no telling how many $$$$ later. At this time I have changed my steering box and the power steering pump without fixing the problem. I did change these out from a wrecked truck hoping to find the problem before going and buying a new part that I could not return. Up untill this point every thing that has been changed on this truck was factory gm parts. That includes normal wear parts such as brake pads, oil filters, brake rotors, altenators (3), windsheild wiper motors (before the recall), radiator tank, door pins and bushings, door handle, intake manifold leaking. I know all of that is not normal wear part but once I started I just could not hardly quit.