SOLVED 67 coronet power steering box deadheading

[Muddy Udders]

I'm rebuilding my coronet 500 and upon first start it seems the steering box is deadheading.
Hose jumps on cranking and pump starts chirping shortly thereafter and pump heats up rapidly.
It's unknown how long box sat in the car with no hoses.
Looking at the fsm it appears that there are valves that could be stuck.
I'm going to pull the top valve body but want to know if there are any issues that I should probably watch out for. Flying springs or the like.

Has anyone been inside of the boxes that could shed some light on the situation or have pictures of the valve body?

Thanks

Muddy

 

[RemCharger]

There is a check valve in the return port on the box, to the pump.

 

[Fran Blacker]

After you put valve body back on when starting keep your hands and fingers away from steering wheel. It could spin and bust fingers or worse. Might want to mark its location before removing.

 

[R413]

Did you run it long enough to get the air out of it? Could a hose be plugged? Do you have new hoses?

You can take that top valve off, but it must be adjusted when going back on or the wheel will go full right or left upon startup.

 

[Muddy Udders]

Did you run it long enough to get the air out of it? Could a hose be plugged? Do you have new hoses?

You can take that top valve off, but it must be adjusted when going back on

Old hose on pressure side but I blew it out. Return is new.

Would air cause a dead head situation?
I did move the wheel back and forth till it quit burping with motor off.

What adjustments need to be made to not have the wheel full right or left?

My assumption is the valve that allows fluid into or out of box is stuck. I could have fried a turkey in the PS fluid after maybe a minute and a half of my test running the engine.

Edit: is there a way to move the valves with the hoses disconnected without pulling the valve body?

 

[Don Frelier]

I suggest you contact steer and gear and see if you can get a rebuilt box and a new pressure hose.
The old pressure hose is a potential fire hazard and it sounds like the box is not salvageable.

 

[Muddy Udders]

I have a working box on my donor car. I was hoping that there would be an easier check before I swapped boxes as that looks like a chore to swap out.

I suggest you contact steer and gear and see if you can get a rebuilt box and a new pressure hose.
The old pressure hose is a potential fire hazard and it sounds like the box is not salvageable.

 

[Don Frelier]

If you don't have headers it's not so bad.
Still - Get a new pressure hose and flush out the pump and hoses before you connect any different box.
The centering valve is pretty touchy for debris and if it sticks while driving it's VERY DANGEROUS.
I know I've seen it.

 

[Muddy Udders]

Thanks everyone.
Looks like I'm not driving with power steering yet. I'm watching the chrysler tech videos to get an understanding of what it's supposed to do to see if I can understand what exactly is happening. Most bizarre to me.
Where is the bypass valve in the pump located and how do you remove it?

 

[Muddy Udders]

Pulled valve body off steering box and it looked good and moved freely. Put it back on, no change.

Pulled the pump apart TRW brand I believe original. It looked good. A little sludge build up.
Main valve moved freely I Pulled the bypass valve and cleaned it up. Put it all back together, no change.

Pulled the steering box from the donor car which I had driven around installed it in the 2dr, no change.

After replacing stuff I have the car in the air and move the steering wheel lock to lock until I don't hear it burping. Let it sit then do it some more.

THE ISSUE:
When I start the car.
I can see the pump pressuring the hose I have no PS.
Occasional squawk or chirp from ps pump.
Crank wheel lock to lock fast and slow. No assist felt. This is whith tires in the air.
Within 90 seconds pump ejects all contents. Usually smoke is emitted from reservoir along with the fluid and its hot.

I'm using O'Reilly auto PS fluid. Old fluid most likely was ATF.

I just don't see the light in this tunnel yet. Completely baffled. It worked, sat a short while, swapped motor to different vehicle and no PS.

Sorry for the long post. I will be forgoing wrenching today for reading and researching.

Edit: with the lid off and car running you can see the fluid really sloshing about. There is alot of fluid movement in the reservoir. Is this normal?

 

[Muddy Udders]

At this point this looks like it will be a thread for future troubleshooting.

I've been burping this for two hours engine off.

If I turn the steering wheel to the right from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock I can hear a stream of bubbles in box and can feel them in the wheel.
Turning to the left gets a burp verified by my phone recording. There seems to be no end to the bubbles.
I cannot imagine that there could be this much air volume in the system.
Can the steering box be sucking air due to vacuum of the piston moving?
Has anyone encountered anything like this?
Help I'm drowning in bubbles.

Hopefully the forum hasn't given up on me.

 

[Fran Blacker]

From 67 SM left side of page problem right of page possible cause. From mymopar.com You can download a service manual

 

[Demonic]

Get a long hose on the return from the box into a can or bucket. Overfill the pump just a bit, cap the return there. You should be able to flush the pump through the box into the return line, then into your can or bucket. The pump will have no pressure on the return side, only gravity. The flow or lack thereof will tel you something.

 

[Muddy Udders]

Get a long hose on the return from the box into a can or bucket. Overfill the pump just a bit, cap the return there. You should be able to flush the pump through the box into the return line, then into your can or bucket. The pump will have no pressure on the return side, only gravity. The flow or lack thereof will tel you something.

Make sure I have this correct
Return port on pump blocked.
Return from box long hose into tub.
Fill reservoir and turn steering wheel.

With this setup it filled the tub and no lowering of pump volume. Seems to have expelled all fluid from the box
Car is not running.
I could start it but it will need to be jumped as I have battery and tray removed.
It seems as though the box is sucking air from somewhere.
I rechecked the pressure hose fittings. Removed and looked for damage, looked okay.
Ordered a new pressure hose. I will be here next week.
Truly a head scratcher for me.
I believe I'm mechanical but this truly has me douting that belief.

Anyone near St Louis wanting to show me I'm a dumbass is welcome!

 

[Muddy Udders]

Tgank you everyone that has helped me on this one.
I GOT IT¡!!!!¡
Pressure hose has gotten blocked up.
WTF
I blew through it in the beginning and could swear that the air went through.
Seems to be blocked at the coupler in the middle as I can push a wire from both ends to about that point.
New hose will be here next Wednesday.

I knew it I'm a dumbass.

For any one else reading this double check pressure line to be clear of obstructions if you are experiencing these issues.

Wham bam out of the blue plugged

 

[Muddy Udders]

Self induced dumb assery.
I must have stuck this vacuum plug in the pump outlet when I pulled the motor.
Many months later I connected the hose right over the top of it.
The pressure lodged it firmly into the middle coupler.

My original conclusion was correct, pump was dead heading.
Hose was clear when I blew it out then I preceded to plug it upon installation.

Hope everyone that reads this can get a chuckle as I'm currently laughing too.
This also answers the age old question of whether that thing in the middle is a pressure reducer. Nope just a coupler for the two hose sizes.
Unless of course I'm involved. Reduced to zero in this case.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Self induced dumb assery.
I must have stuck this vacuum plug in the pump outlet when I pulled the motor.
Many months later I connected the hose right over the top of it.
The pressure lodged it firmly into the middle coupler.

My original conclusion was correct, pump was dead heading.
Hose was clear when I blew it out then I preceded to plug it upon installation.

Hope everyone that reads this can get a chuckle as I'm currently laughing too.
This also answers the age old question of whether that thing in the middle is a pressure reducer. Nope just a coupler for the two hose sizes.
Unless of course I'm involved. Reduced to zero in this case.

View attachment 1289544

Tape to your tool box as a reminder or someplace you look regularly.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Tape to your tool box as a reminder or someplace you look regularly.

PS I have several, broken screw on a $700 carb that broke because I didn't take time to heat it. Chip from an engine block and several bolts.

 

[Muddy Udders]

PS I have several, broken screw on a $700 carb that broke because I didn't take time to heat it. Chip from an engine block and several bolts.

There were a few compounding issues on this one.
1. Unknown steering box in 2dr car
2. I blew out the line when I started
3. I'm the mechanic

At least I didn't throw a bunch of money at it.
Some hours yes.
Needless steering box swap, yes but hey I can assume the 2dr box is good.
It was a painless swap.
Good news is previous owner had installed a stud in the frame side mounting hole for the box.
Seemed to make it easy to mount. I had read that hole is a bugger to get the bolt into.