Power steering system fill procedure

OK guys, finally to the point of adding type F ATF to the power steering pump and then spinning the pump to fill the rest of the system (all new components so everything is dry) or could I vacuum the fluid into the internals via the return line from the cooler? Car is still in the air so there is no resistance on the front wheels just yet, so I'm hesitant to install the belt and drive the pump with the engine.

I lost a PS pressure hose on my F250 SD and drained the entire system, which also gives brake assist using the hydroboost system on the 7.3's. The truck's PS moaned and groaned as I made my way back to our hotel when out of town working, all the while pulling my 12k gooseneck equipment trailer(more turning required to get it in parking area). I installed new PS hose, filled the pump's reservoir with fluid and started the engine and purged the air out with moving the steering wheel back and forth for a few minutes as well as pumping the brake pedal. Got additional 100K miles since this with no issues. I would say you should be "good to go".

When I changed my steering box and hoses, I just filled the reservoir and fired the car. I had the front end elevated and cycled the steering back and forth through the range to "bleed" any air out of the system.  This is how I have done it on other cars over the years to and it always worked fine.

I would imagine they filled the reservoir at the plant and fired them up. Think about how much time it would have taken to do anything differently. Time is money is volume.

Edited by handsofstone - 10-September-2018 at 2:42PM