Power Steering pump always leaks: Here's the fix

[stevedrums]

https://secure.cougarpartscatalog.com/t ... clone.html
the large one in this kit looks awfully similar, but they only list the outlet diameter

[stevedrums]

I FOUND THE PART NUMBER
372896-S
i quick google search for that brings up multiple sources. sorry for multi-posting but it's good news!

[TonyC]

Bumping this old thread because it's now time for me to address this issue. First, a backstory.

I went to Florida the third week of February to visit my mother and made the return trip around March 7th. Everything was fine until the last 400 miles of the return trip: My fuel pump blew out its diaphragm and as a result dumped gasoline into the crankcase part of the engine. I drove 260 miles with that going on before finally stopping in a small town just over the Kansas border to do an emergency oil change next to a local Wal-Mart. That leakage also got through the rear seal of the power-steering pump and contaminated that fluid, causing the same issue I had last year on that trip to Florida (for a different reason, however): Belching of fluid, bathing the whole left side of the engine bay, again. I did a partial purge of the steering fluid, emptying out what I could from the pump and reservoir, which wasn't a thorough job but I hoped would be enough to keep the system from self-destructing. Long story short, I was able to limp back to Junction City, after stopping again in another town and accepting help from a local resident in doing a makeshift installation of an electric fuel pump to stop further contamination (but some fuel still got into the new oil between Winfield and El Dorado, just not nearly so much as got in between Marietta, OK, and Winfield, KS). All the remainder of the way, I felt the steering trying to seize up, making the trademark groaning noise to an almost deafening level with the slightest turn of the wheel from dead-center (and still noticeably groaning even at dead-center). Since then, I've fixed the fuel pump (the corrosion damage to the diaphragm still shocks me, as it's only been four years, five max, since I installed that then-newly-rebuilt pump) and done a full purge to the steering, which involved removing every hose and line, spraying and blowing them all out; cycling out all fluid I could from the gearbox and wiper motor; and draining the pump and reservoir, cleaning out the reservoir thoroughly and spraying out the filter; and refilling with brand-new Type F. Right after that, I had to diagnose a problem with the car starting, which turned out to be the battery going bad (it was already past the three-year mark and went through a lot in those three years); quick visit to Wal-Mart cured that problem.

Now, my problem. Even with the steering system purged and full, my pump is still giving off that disconcerting groaning...not immediately, and not while puttering around town at low speeds; but at highway speeds it starts to groan. Sometimes it will stop, sometimes not. I'm strongly suspecting that pump has to come off, again, and undergo another rebuild, this one involving replacement of the bronze bushing in the core. I have a kit on the way to do that. Meanwhile, however, that means I'll have to draft my other pump back into service; I took that off because it was badly leaking fluid, most of it from the outlet fitting. I have confirmed that the flare seat has a very deep ring worn into it, which is likely why it's leaking. I've removed the seat and am not really sure if lathing it would even help; you can see what I'm dealing with in the shots below. So, I'm thinking that replacement may be my Plan A; I've seen the posts that show the specific dimensions, and I'm in the process of verifying with my own measurements of my own seat. That said, I saved the link to Lee Power Steering that Steven shared here, and I wanted to ask if it will be okay to go with that; Steven said the seat he got from there cured his leak problem. Anyone else feel it's a good chance to take?

---Tony

[LithiumCobalt]

Looks similar to the seat I took out of my ‘67. Took into the machine shop and they fixed it in less than five minutes. No charge.

[TonyC]

Well, I suppose I can carry it with me to the auto center tomorrow, as I need to go there anyway do yet another oil change, to get rid of any residual gasoline that may have leaked into the engine before I had that bypass installed. If the staff there can smooth it out, then great; no need to buy another yet.

But, just in case it's something they or another machine shop cannot lathe out, what about Steven's link as an alternative?

---Tony

[Suicidekid63]

Tony and anyone else wondering or looking for the return line seat.
The Lee's fitting I purchased was for the return line and worked perfectly. My pump is still leak free in 2023.
I didn't need the pressure seat, so IDK about it. I never used it.
https://leepowersteering.com/collection ... x-seat-kit

[Dan Szwarc]

It's stuff like this that will never be on FB.

[TonyC]

SO true!

---Tony