Power steering system leaking

[Infinite Monkeys]

Sitting for 20 years has taken it's tole on many of the seals.

Right now I have a huge steering fluid leak. Looks like it's coming from the end of the ram and the control valve.

The control valve appears to be "new". Looks like it was replaced shortly before the car was parked.
The steering system is working properly, just leaking a lot.

I'm going to rebuild the ram and the control valve. Seems this site has everything I'll need.

http://www.dearbornclassics.com/steering/power-steering-valves-cylinders-and-related.html

The question is, what should I expect when I take the control valve and the ram apart.
I think the ram should be straight forward, I'm concerned about taking the control valve apart.

Any thoughts on these procedures is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[jopizz]

I've had poor results lately rebuilding the control valve. The new seals don't seem to be up to the standard of the originals. On the last one I had I tried twice before I wound up sending it away to be rebuilt. If you want to give it a try just follow the instructions in the shop manual. As for the ram you shouldn't have any issues. Getting all the old parts out is the hardest part.

John

[Infinite Monkeys]

There's a place called steer and gear that does the valve rebuilding for Mac's. I talked to them a while ago, they seemed really helpful and knowledgeable.

Think I'll get the valve rebuild kit from them. Then hopefully I'll get a quality kit.

Anything tricky about the valve rebuild?
Thanks.

[jopizz]

There's nothing tricky about it. Just make sure the cylinder and spool valve are in good condition and not scored.

John

[Infinite Monkeys]

There's nothing tricky about it. Just make sure the cylinder and spool valve are in good condition and not scored.

John

I think the insides of the valve at least should be good. The valve appears to be basically new. The cylinder looks to be well worn. I'll see when I open them up.

Thanks again.

[Tbird1044]

I'd be willing to bet, that back in the day, if you took your new TBird back to the dealer for warranty work, and told them the P/S was leaking, they would probably say that's normal. ;-)
Nyles

[Infinite Monkeys]

I'd be willing to bet, that back in the day, if you took your new TBird back to the dealer for warranty work, and told them the P/S was leaking, they would probably say that's normal. ;-)
Nyles

Don't know if this is a common issue here. Mine is now almost spraying out fluid. It didn't have a leak a few weeks ago when I first started it.
It'd be nice to drive it more than a few miles at a time and then not have to park it for a week or two to fix something.
Soon!!

[Deanj]

I recall servicing the control valve as an easier task than a remove and install procedure. The guts can come out while on the car (take photos of the order of the parts). Pulling the pitman arm is a bugger, and so go the obvious route first.

Dean

[jopizz]

I recall servicing the control valve as an easier task than a remove and install procedure. The guts can come out while on the car (take photos of the order of the parts). Pulling the pitman arm is a bugger, and so go the obvious route first.

Dean

Dean is correct. You can remove the spool part from the rest of the valve and put in new seals without removing the entire control valve from the pitman arm.

John

[Infinite Monkeys]

I just logged on to ask for help in pulling the pitman arm. Yeah, it ain't coming off. I was about to use a torch, but thought I'd ask first.

Should I start the disassembly of the valve from the front, or back, or just start taking it apart and it'll be obvious as I go?

Thanks.

[jopizz]

To remove the valve body remove the four hoses, take off the cap at the end of the valve and remove the lock nut. Remove the spacer, spring and adapter. Remove the two bolts that hold the valve body to the rest of the control valve. Carefully remove the valve body from the shaft. Follow the shop manual when you install the new seals and insert the spool. It needs to be done correctly to avoid damage to the seals or spool. Then reverse the procedure to reinstall it. Tighten the lock nut until it stops and then back it off 1/4 turn. Reinstall the hoses, refill, start the car and keep your fingers crossed.

John

[Infinite Monkeys]

I'll wait for the complete disassembly till I get the gasket kit in hand, this way stuff will be fresh in my head as I reassemble.
Hoses and the ram is off already.

Thanks again for the help.

[Infinite Monkeys]

I got a couple more questions about this procedure.

One is, will I be able to replace all the seals without taking the ball stud off the pitman arm? Seems the cover under the metal sleeve cannot be replaced without taking the stud off? Is this cover an oil seal, or a just a dust boot?

Second, Rockauto has a rebuild service for $160.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1960,thunderbird,5.8l+352cid+v8,1336632,steering,power+steering+control+valve,7280

Should I just go ahead and do this, or do it myself. If I do send it in then how do I get the pitman arm off? I think if I can get the arm off then I'll feel better about doing it myself anyway.

I found a rebuild kit for $50 which includes the ball stud.

Thanks.

[jopizz]

You said earlier that the valve looked new. If so then you should not have to replace the ball stud. It should have already been done. The instructions I gave you earlier are to just replace the two spool seals without removing the ball stud from the pitman arm. The ball stud needs to be greased so the boot is a dust cover. If you want to remove the entire unit and have it rebuilt you need to use a puller to separate it. I use a tie rod end puller like this. It's not perfect but with a little finessing it works fine.

John

[Infinite Monkeys]

I'm not sure where the leak is in the valve so I want to replace all the seals. Seems the best way to do this is on a work bench and not laying under the car and having to work with just inches of space.

I do not have that puller, good reason to buy one.

The valve appears to be new, but I was thinking that if I have to start beating the heck out of it to remove it from the pitman arm than I will still have a new ball stud to put in. Looks like I may not need to resort to the BFH.

Thanks John.