power steering/ hydroboost
 

I finally found a hydroboost unit to put in my 79 f150 4x4. got the bracket made, got new hose made, and I got everything mounted. It all looks good, master cylinder fits good. it came out of a 06 f250.

now my problem.

i tried bleeding it. filled it with ps fluid. jack the front end up. turn wheels lock to lock :-blah . I've turned my steering wheel about 100 times and I've put a gallon of ps fluid in it. (its probably puked half of it out). every time i lock the wheel one way bubbles come out of the reservoir, but the level in the reservoir never goes down?

i started the engine and right away it sucked all of the fluid out of the reservoir, i immediately killed the engine because i didn't want to damage the pump. the fluid slowing started to come back into the reservoir.

the fluid is foamy.

do i just keep doing what I'm doing or do i try something else?

maybe i did something wrong with my conversion?

any help is appreciated :-huh :oval

I know bleeding these can be tricky. One question is how does do the steering and brakes work?

If they basically work, I'd drive it around the block and re-check level after. When I changed the pump on mine (no hydroboost) it all worked and I had light whine and tiny bubbles in the fluid for a while (?100 miles) then it was fine. I did have to top up the fluid a little during that first break-in.

I guess I never put it in hard lock during initial bleed... but have done so since a few times with no ill effect.

Another question... did you keep the OE cooler setup or add an aftermarket cooler?

I have a after market cooler.

I took the low pressure hose that goes to the cooler off to see if there was any fluid but the hose was dry. This was after I did all of the other bleeding stuff before.

Can I add fluid while the truck is running?

I tried driving it after I did all the bleeding stuff. I had no power steering. The brakes worked but the pump whines really bad when I push on the brake peddle. No whine when I steer but I have no power steering. :-huh

Ok I added about 1/2 a gallon of ps fluid while the engine was running and it took it all. Power steering kinda works now but it whines a lot and there's hard spots while turning. And the brakes work but it whines when I brake.

When I shut the engine off it pukes power steering fluid out of the reservoir.

To me it seems like it needs more fluid but every time I add fluid it pukes it out.

Maybe I need a bigger resevoir?
Anyone?

And the hoses shake when I'm at full lock and when I brake

Does the fluid puke out with the cap on? Hopefully not. Sounds to me like it still has air. I'd fill it to correct level, drive a little with cap on, shut it down and fill to correct level again to help work the air out. Try to avoid full lock until the air gets out. If it is like mine, the shaking will go away fast and it might whine for a while after that.

I remember when bleeding my system it blew the twist on cap completely off a few times. Wound up turning the steering back and forth quite a few times to get the air out.

That much fluid and bleeding, I would check all of your fitting for leaks. Any leak pulling air will drive you up a wall. If you get it all bled and your pump still whines loudly under braking you may have a pump that is not up to the task. Also be aware of A1-Cardone "rebuilt" pumps. I went through several of them with no luck getting them to stop whining.

Try using a combination of your methods. IE-add fluid, turn lock to lock, bump starter, add fluid, repeat. Keep at it until its full and things work. I wouldn't start the engine and leave it running until the system is full and no air. That is how (why) it is getting all aired up and puking it back out at ya.

did it bleed ford blue?

I got a new pump for a 03 f250. Bolted right up. It's better but fluid still pukes out of the resevoir when I turn the motor off.

Is there anything I can do to bleed it better?

Can't really drive it because the brake pedal is really soft and it's not stopping too good.

yea I had to quit trying to bleed it yesterday because there was so much air in the fluid

Sounds like you still have air trapped in the gear box. Rich, 77&79F250, has a write up in the stickies on how to bleed the power steering. With the hoses on the bottom of the gear box it's a bugger to bleed it properly.

Where can I find this write up?