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Hi,
I just picked up a 68 f100 2wd and I’m having issues with my power steering 😫. The steering box appears to have been changed to a Saginaw steering box. I am experiencing hard steering and at times it is extremely hard to turn the wheel. The truck tracks down the road well and I don’t feel there is a large amount of play or slop. The pump is not making any excessive noise, but there are time I can hear fluid flowing. I was hoping to get some ideas of what the problem maybe before I dump money into parts that are not needed.
the steering box and the high pressure line are both wet.
hope someone can help
thanks
Is it possible somebody tightened the pre-load on the sector shaft to reduce the slop in the box? Doing so can cause the box to lock up or become really difficult to turn and should not be adjusted. If the box is sloppy it is due for replacement.
The white arrow in the image below is the pre-load adjuster I am referring to.
The leaks should be addressed, but in the meantime, try jacking the front of the truck off the ground, and turn lock to lock. This should bleed any air out of the system that maybe in there. Add fluid as needed while you do this. If it's leaking, it probably needs it. There is a paper gasket between the PS pump and housing that can fail, letting air bleed in. If you find it's easier to steer after you let it back down and drive it, you've pinpointed that the components work, the just leak. You can rebuild both if you do some research first. Parts and seals/rebuild kits are available.
Makerguy makes a good point. I had the same issue with my 1972 f100 power steering box and once I jacked it up and bled the air out it worked fine. If you do end up rebuilding the steering box and/or pump definitely do as much research as you can. Rebuilding the box and pump is pretty straightforward for the most part but on my steering box I had to make a special wrench to take it apart the worm bearing and put it back together. You definitely don't want to mess with resetting the bearings if you don't have to. A good video that I watched is linked below
Makerguy makes a good point. I had the same issue with my 1972 f100 power steering box and once I jacked it up and bled the air out it worked fine. If you do end up rebuilding the steering box and/or pump definitely do as much research as you can. Rebuilding the box and pump is pretty straightforward for the most part but on my steering box I had to make a special wrench to take it apart the worm bearing and put it back together. You definitely don't want to mess with resetting the bearings if you don't have to. A good video that I watched is linked below
That's the video I used for referenced when I re-sealed mine! I ended up filing down a puller I had to make the wrench you're talking about. It's not pretty but it worked. That video saved me from having a floor covered with worm gear ball bearings haha. There's a great video of the rebuild of the PS pump that I used too. It was a mustang pump, but the same. I'll post it here if I find it.
Here is the "puller..spanner...WRENCH? That allowed me to get into the worm gear assembly, install new seals and reassemble. I've been driving the truck daily for two years since that rebuild without any issues whatsoever 👍
