Ok...so I recently replaced most of the power Steering system on my 1967 F-250 4x4......

The Cylinder was leaking a bit around the shaft, and I had run the pump out of fluid more than once.....the "valve" also seemed to have too much play in it.

So, I replaced them all, at great expense to myself!

The Problem:

Firstly, at idle, sitting still, the wheel is extremely hard to turn...at about 1200 RPM or more, it seems to ease up and work as it should. When I went back to the shop to discuss it with them, they said it needs to be a higher RPM to work...but this doesn't seem right to me....the last time I rebuilt the system, it would power steer all over the place when sitting still at idle....Is this right? Should it have so much bindy feeling, or should it turn powerful and smooth with all new components?

Secondly, I am noticing a "sound/vibration" coming through the steering column (I think) on steering (especially nearing the extremes) that sounds like "air bubbles in an hydraulic system" if you understand what I mean....kind of a fluidy buzzy sound that has a slight vibration counterpart.

So....what is up....did my shop not fill/bleed it right? Is one of my "rebuilt" components possibly not so good? (all parts came from NPD) Or is this normal?

It's not too much of a pain, but after spending $500 on parts (with $740 in core charges) and another $500 for the swap out, I feel like I should have ended up with a bit more smoothness....

One last note....I did not replace all the hoses....there were no apparent leaks, they looked ok, but should they be replaced along with the other parts?

 

Check the reservoir. You should have clear fluid in there, and ZERO froth.

a lot of times with the new systems, they churn up the air bubbles and turn all the fluid to froth. It takes a few hours of sitting with the engine off for the bubbles to clear out. Once they do, you are low on fluid!

So make sure it has enough fluid in there and that it is not frothy.

It most definitely should be smooth and easy to turn the wheels at idle. Raising the RPM will alleviate a symptom to a problem, and not cure the problem at all. It may even end up worse after a few weeks.

 

That's what I;m afraid of!

Ok...so I have always been under the impression that the PS fluid level needs to be checked with the engine running...is that correct?

 

You should be able to turn lock to lock with one finger at idle if the system is working properly. I just replaced all my parts also. One thing that I have learned is that if you are using the Bendix type control valve and somebody uses a pickle fork to remove it from the pitman arm it is probably damaged. That happened to mine and I had to take the ball/socket end all apart and do a lot of grinding, smoothing, adjusting etc to get that ball stud moving freely because that senses your steering movement and sends oil to the ram. Mine wound up turning easier one direction than the other and I had to put in the smallest paper thin washer that I could find as a shim and it has worked flawless since and most importantly no leaks. Also there are 2 different length pitman arms and I changed to a longer one and that makes your steering more responsive. The longer one puts your bolt center down next to the leaf spring and is pretty obvious compared to the shorter one. Paul

 

Ok...um...lemme see....which part are you saying becomes damaged from pickle fork use? The Valve body or the arm from the steering box that it connects to? I ask this because the valve body is a new unit, not my original, I swapped the original out for a rebuilt unit.

Can I see this damage? As I'm sure the shop will not want to admit to anything that could have damaged it.

Could this be from some sort of blockage in one of the hoses? Could it be the result of a poorly rebuilt part?

Edit: I just went out and looked at it up close...I can see that the little rubber "boot" that goes around the ball stud on the end of the valve body is torn...it's only been in the truck for 2 weeks now...

 

The part that gets damaged is the ball stud inside of that rubber boot. If you have to remove the control valve from the steering box pitman arm you can not use a pickle fork because it will damage the socket area around the ball stud. When this happens usually your power steering does not work very well or at all because when you turn your wheel the ball stud cannot move within the damaged socket. However it seems to me that if you bought an all new control valve and they installed it 'once' then it shouldn't have any damage because it has never been removed. Also this would not make any unusual growling or noises. I suppose that if any foreign debris got into the lines it could lodge somewhere and cause problems too. But be assured that at idle and low rpm is when you need your power steering the most to get in a parking spot and at higher rpm when you are rolling down the highway and making turns power steering doesnt really do much so you should have full power assist at idle. Make sure your resovoir is at the full mark on the dipstick when shut off. Other than that I would take it back to the shop and tell them it is not working at idle!

 

You could also have a problem with low pressure coming from the pump. An inline gauge will tell you the answer.

Bad rebuilt parts happen on occasion, so don't rule it out. I've gotten quite a few dud alternators, or more commonly alternators with bent shafts (dropped.)

 

Yeah, me too.......

I just thought of one thing which might sort this out.....I bought the pump first, thnking that was all I needed, and had them swap that out with some brake work...about a week or two before I got the other steering parts installed...

I'm wondering if the new pump might have leaked out to too low a level in that time before the leaking was fixed...perhaps that should be my next step...as I can swap that out myself...heck I probably coulda done the rest too.....

 

ok...so I'm leaning towards something being wrong with the valve assembly.....the steering seems tougher to the left than to the right, and the noise coming through the steering column...well, it just seems that the only thing it is physically connected to (with fluid flowing through it) is the valve.

I'm wondering if a "pickle fork" could have been used to remove it before it was rebuilt? Would that damage be obvious and/or repaired in a rebuild...or is it possible it could have been "mashed" when I got it?

 

in my experience, using a pickle fork to remove a ball joint almost always tears the rubber boot. If the boot is torn on two opposite sides, or has parallel wear marks, one on each side, that would be evidence of a pickle fork.

 

Well, I went into the shop for all day yeasterday, we tested everything out and it appears the Valve assembly is bad....the pump products 1200 PSI and the piston seems to operate without fault.

The "buzzing" sound continued to grow the day before yesterday....seems the valve cannot get to "all the way open" in either direction at a stop, so I'll be swapping it out, once I locate another $400 to use as that ding dang core charge....