My 65 has a power steering box and pump from a mid 70's p/u. The pump is a replacement(napa) and has always been noisy, but quiets down once it gets warmed up. The steering is kinda hard to turn one way, but feather-lite when turning the other way. The front end alignment is dead on, all other steering and chassis components new moog pieces, and overall the truck drives nice and straight. Is the pump the culprit here or is it the box? The pressue hose is new, and the return hose is a short piece of hi-press rubber hose about 4" long then double clamped to a piece of 3/8 steel tubing that runs to the box. There are no leaks and the pump dipstick shows full. I'm kinda wondering if there is some kind of flow restrictor that I might be missing, causing an unbalanced system pressure.

 

sounds like your pump.

 

do you have any ideas what exactly could be wrong with the pump to cause this problem?

 

fuelieF100, This wont cost you anything but a litle time, raise both front wheels off the ground and turn the steering wheel dock to dock 20 times. This can help but if it doesn't you will only be out 15 min. Make sure there is some fluid in the reservior before you start, but not to the top.

The Lucus power steering treatment is awesome for quitening one down too. One of our club members turned me on to that.

John

 

It sounds like you may have an air bubble in the system. Thats what Jowilker is saying. By turning the wheels back and forth may work the bubble out. If it dosen't cure it you may have to bleed the system and hope that works.

 

I doubt it has any air in the system. The replacement pump has been on for about 6 years and probably around 40K miles. The old pump was leaking real bad so it was replaced. I don't know if the unbalanced steering began at that time or not. I remember when I was reassembling the truck I had it jacked up and off the ground, the steering would automatically turn full right by itself with the engine running, I could turn it back, and it would turn right again.

 

Nope that self steering isn't a pump problem; it is symptomatic of a gearbox problem.

 

would tinkering with the adjuster screw help any? I had the box disassembled not too long ago to do a lower seal replacement. I went ahead and took off the top cover and pulled the gear and worm to clean them up, they didn't look to worn. But the box does have some play in it. I guess I could try to adjust it, worse comes to worse I'd have to replace it anyway.

 

So there is a chance there is an air bubble in the system.....

 

I haven't been inside a Ford box but if its like a Bendix with 4 bolt cover there is a 1/8" pipe plug to get to a balancing screw. This is a screw to center the fluid ports so the same amount of torque is applied left and right before the ports are opened. The steering shaft twists a torsion quill before the ports begin to open. I believe it's called balancing.
.....=o&o>.....

 

That is why I qualified it by saying that if it wasn't you'd only be out of 15 min.

John

 

when I said "not too long ago", maybe I should have said 8 months, ~2000 miles, I will do the lock-lock routine to be sure. I'll also fiddle with the adjuster screw and see if it will help balance things out.

 

Leave the screw alone.

John

 

I reread your starter thread, sounds like a Bendix box. I rebuilt mine including machining a new bushing for the cover as well two others. The truck with 69K original miles wasn't balanced and went to the right but harder to left. There are three adjustments to the box, first have the pitman arm or drag link should be removed to get a better hand feel on adjustments, all done with motor off. Grag the rag joint with hand when checking at the steering wheel is too large for proper feel. Do the sector shaft adjustment first, the one in the center of the 4 bolt aluminum cover to where it's just loose of detecting straight ahead tightness. Then on the side of the box you'll see a 1" wide screw slot adjusting plug but first loosen a allen set screw that locks into the side of the plug. This pushes a 1/2 sphere (self leveling) slipper which holds the piston rack against the sector shaft gear, adjust to you just detect resistance when go thru full travel left / right to make sure you have no tight spots, tighten allen grub screw again. The 3rd adjustment is the balance screw which is under the 1/8" pipe plug between the in and out hydraulic or pressure line / return line. There is a screw that has a eccentric below the screw slot which rotates the sleeve control valve left and right to center or balance the hydraulic ports. There's a small torsion bar that flexes when you turn the steering wheel left / right, you want the same amount of twist or torque on the steering wheel left / right so that the fliud ports
start to open at equal wheel torque, this is balance. The screw has a tight fit to prevent moving once set, use a good 3/16" wide tip driver. The steering shaft has to be rotated until the screw is within the open window of the 1/8" plug. Make a note of direction screw turned and how much, you should turn it 1/16 turn at a time then install plug and road test. If worse go the other direction as this will be a adjustment, result, correction thing that will take many adjustments until balanced. Even boxes that were rebuilt and tested on the bench must be balanced to prevent the easy / hard pulling you have. Maridian in San Diego rebuilds and balances on their test bench. If you have a box that has no mechanical problems and is in good working condition it can be adjusted provided it doesn't have dirt, metal or other foreign object jamming thing up. If you are up to the task and have mechanical ability
you can adjust yourself or use a mechanic you trust. These are suggestions only so if things go wrong don't blame me. The hardest adjustment is locating that screw inside, better with two people, when you find that screw in the window mark the steering wheel with tape for future reference. The mystery
of the unkown must scare some FTE members. At best when the Bendix box was brand new they were a leaking twitchy POS, a Ford box conversion is better, more common as well availability of rebuild kits in the future. That Bendix box was used only a couple of years and for the Ford truck with power only.
.....=o&o>.....

 

it is a ford box. Top cover is cast iron, has 2 bolts, and says ford on it. ???