58' Edsel power steering question

[YellowRose]

Hi Craig! Great! I hope that he will do great work for you and get it back to your quickly. Please let me know the quality of the service he provides you. I certainly did not find many who advertise that they do this kind of work on that transmission. Good luck with the wrapping of that exhaust, which should help solve that problem. Thank you for the kudu's. That is what we are here for, to help others...

[cb123]

Ray, I got the pipe all wrapped up and it is looking good! The teletouch hasn't returned as of yet, but hopefully soon. Thanks guys for all the wonderful tips, and I'll certainly be referring to this page often!

Ray, if I could ask another question, but it's not about a Ford, it's about my 56' Chevy. I just found my fill-plug on its factory, standard, steering-box, strangely it still handles good and shows no leaks, but it's pretty much bone dry, now. What type of oil would you recommend to fill it with? Also, if you could tell, what type of brake fluid would you recommend to use in the Edsel wagon?...It has standard brakes. Much thanks as always, Craig

[YellowRose]

Hi Craig, I am glad to hear that you have that pipe wrapped up well. Hopefully, you will be getting the teletouch back shortly. As for your Chevy, I will let someone else answer that question who probably knows the answer. As for the Edsel, Dot-3 is probably what you want to use, but... you need to see if you can tell what might be in there now. It might be something else, or maybe synthetic.. It would be good if you knew what the PO was using when they had the car. I would see what John ~ jopizz or Dave ~ simplyconnected, or others say about this first...

[jopizz]

Ray is correct. Dot-3 should be used. I would stay away from anything synthetic. As for your 1956 Chevy steering box here is a service update that discontinued the use of gear oil due to leaking and substituted chassis lubricant (ball joint grease).

From the the January 1957 Chevrolet Service News Bulletin.

"Lubricant recommendations for 1955-57 passenger car steering gear have been changed to discontinue the use of ‘Multi-Purpose’ lubricant and recommend in its place ‘Chassis Lubricant’. Coincident with the change in lubricant recommendations, service personnel are advised that the steering gear lubricant level should be maintained 3/4-inch below the filler plug hole instead of level with the filler hole as previously prescribed. The reduced level lessens the possibility of lubricant being forced out of the steering gear box during the pump action that results from fast turning of the steering wheels."



John

[cb123]

Thanks John!!! Sorry for the delay, I've been away for a while. Sounds good, and that's just what I'm going to do tomorrow! Did I ever tell you guys you are the Greatest --You're the Greatest!!! Thanks again, your friend, Craig

[YellowRose]

Craig! Did you get your Teletouch back yet? I hope so, and I also hope that you have it installed and it is working well again!

[cb123]

Ray, I got the Teletouch back in good order -- it works like a charm! Mike Brogan from the Edsel Club made a few upgrades to it as while, as totally refurbishing it.I couldn't recommend anyone better -- a true professional of the highest caliber!!! He should be, he's only rebuilt six hundred and one of them -- so he knows what he's doing with zero complaints! The man is simply a wizard, and all for only two hundred dollars -- including shipping. Thanks a million, Ray!!! Your friend, Craig

[YellowRose]

Thank you for the post, Craig. We had been wondering what happened after not hearing from you! In talking with Craig finally, I found out that they got hit by that Hurricane recently that went through his State. They had considerable damage, but not as bad as others around him who caught more of the brunt of the storm activity. They just recently got their power back! I am certainly glad that everything went well with the TeleTouch and it is back in full operation again!

[cb123]

Thanks Ray! I'm still cleaning up things -- what a mess it made! Before all this happened, I had to put a new mechanical full pump on the Edsel, do to low full pressure. The new one isn't running much better, around 2 lbs or less. I blew out the lines and cleaned the gas tank, check the carb.-- it's all good. Would you have any suggestions. Craig

[YellowRose]

Hi Craig, some of our guys are also having fuel pump problems due to age, or constant use of ethanol gas in these old engines of ours. The new fuel pumps seem to be made overseas these days, like so many other things now, and there are reports of a lot of them turning up defective. So some are having theirs rebuilt, with a new diaphragm in them, cleaning out their fuel lines, cleaning the tank out, and overhauling their carbs, perhaps. Some are adding a low pressure electric fuel pump to the line, often back close to the gas tank, and add a kill switch to turn it on/off when not needed. Also, IF you have a good local source for ethanol-free gas, many are going to it, using 90 or 90+ octane in their tanks instead of ethanol. Check out https://www.pure-gas.org and click on AL for Alabama. You will find one station listed that sells ethanol-free gas in Chunchula... Eddie's Country Store is listed and sells 89octane. Look through the listing at all the cities around you, and you might find one that sells something higher than 89, but hey, 89 should do the trick as well as 90 or higher. It will probably cost you a bit more than ethanol does in that octane range, but it should be a big help to your engine. Also, if you have a boat marina or small airports around you, they usually sell ethanol-free gas too.

[cb123]

Ray, that's where I get my gas -- ethanol-free. I'm going to put an electric pump on it tomorrow, and see if I can get the pressure up to 5 or 6 lbs. Thanks so very much again, Ray! Craig

[YellowRose]

Lance Herrington of Tbirds Southwest, for many years has done a lot of repair and restoration work on Tbirds and classic cars. He repaired my fuel pump, carb and electric fuel pump on Tweety Bird when I owned her. He replaced my electric fuel pump with a better one. Instead of putting the electric fuel pump at the rear of the gar, close to the gas tank, he put it under the drivers seat instead. He said that on the Tbirds, there are easily accessible wiring contact points that allows him to run the electrical wiring from under the seat to the ignition switch, instead of having to run it all the way from the rear end of the car.. And he installs an On/Off switch also, so one can cut it in or out as needed. I gather that adding a low pressure electric fuel pump takes some of the load off that OEM fuel pump...

[cb123]

Hi Ray, I still have that pesky vapor/air problem with the Edsel. I had the 4 barrel Edlebrock carb rebuilt. New gas tank and fuel lines good. Also, I have a new mechanical fuel pump and electric fuel pump. The same old problem exists when I do a cold crank startup – the fuel pressure is fine, right at 5 lbs., with the fuel filter full of gas – 10 minutes later it’s down to ½ ld. to zero, with very little gas remaining in the filter. With the electric full pump by itself, located at the back of the gas tank, the pressure is at 4 ½ lbs., and about 20 minutes later you can’t drive it up a hill without it stalling. With both pumps in circuit I get about 6 ½ lbs., and after idling for 15 minutes I get 1 lb. of fuel pressure or less. Ray, do you have any suggestions – should I upgrade to a Thunderbird you think? Craig

[YellowRose]

Hi Craig, I do not know what to tell ya! Except, lets see what John ~ jopizz or Dave ~ simplyconnected have to say about this when they get back on the Forum. You have done about everything you can think of to find and fix the problem. Rather than upgrading to a Tbird, lets see what we can figure out on how to fix that problem with the Edsel! Someone hopefully, can come up with something that has been overlooked.. Lets see what the morning brings, when more are online...

[jopizz]

It sounds like more of a problem with the pumps getting fuel than delivering it. Where did you get a new tank. I wasn't aware that they were available for your Edsel. Also make sure you have a vented gas cap. You may have an issue with fuel being blocked from reaching the pumps.

John