ok, i drove my 67 for the first time today for longer than across the street! been 4 years in the restoration and finally almost there!! so drove a good 30 min around the neighborhood. no problems so far until i got home...

when i got back home i shut it off and 5 min later started it up again.. the steering wheel was really hard to turn as if no p steering at all! strange.. so im assuming there is a big bubble in the system somewhere. ive searched this forum and read start the car and turn the wheel back and fourth several times with the wheels off the ground. and ALSO read to do this with the car off.

any ideas on what the problem could be? and the "proper" procedure in bleeding the brakes!? (aas if this is the problem) thx

 

Does it happen only when your stopped at idle or all the time? If only at idle, the engine may not be turning enough rpm's to let the power steering pump build up enough pressure to make the wheel easy to turn. You have to remember that 1960's power steering is not the same as modern power steering. If that is the case, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

If you think it should be different, or are concerned the pump may need rebuilt. I'm not sure what type of seals etc. they had, but it could cause for a loss of power at idle.

Scott

 

did you ever run it low on oil might have just burned the pump out.

 

no rpm's dont effect it at all.. im starting to think its a bad pump, its refurbished new and gave my old one away as a core charge..

 

burning the pump out is possible i guess but i never ran it low on fluid at all. it makes no unusual noises,, do you think it could be a wrong sized pulley?????

 

No way air can be in the system after 30 minutes, or even 5 minutes of driving, actuating the ram.

If the PS went out once it got hot, worked when cold, I'd say you had the wrong fluid. The Ford Thompson pumps use Ford Automatic transmission fluid, not PS fluid. The newer clear, dexron, and so on are to thin, and will ruin a Ford Pump.

If you have used the Automatic Trans fluid, then it is a possiblity the rear valve in the pump stuck, or popped out the spring cap in the valve. Both will cause no pressure.

Dan @ Chockostang

 

im starting to think its the pump,,, you think switch it out real quick and see if thats the problem is the easiest solution. i use ford type F atf. so no problems with the fluid!

where is the spring cap?? in the pump hopefully.. i dont feel like messing with the rams underneath!!

 

ok so picked up a pump from a friend of mine.. has a larger pulley on it as well!! so im crossing my fingers on this one... will update tomm after the install