justavillain
Well-Known Member
I have had a lot of work done on my Super Bee's 440 and one way or another the Federal power steering pump pulley was damaged (solid disk no spokes). It was replaced by a slightly wider one that I was told is actually OEM for the car. the replacement one is the 3 spoke design slightly wider. It fits the car the belt doesn't rub etc. However it likes to vent all of the fluid out every time I drive it. With the older pulley it never did that was on the pump never did that. I am thinking it is over driving the pump and causing issues. But at the same time I have no idea for sure.
There has been a lot of work done to the car and I remember having to fiddle with the spool valve for some reason not that long ago. I have been fighting loose steering for a while and rebuilt the coupler and working on the headers I think I ended up having to redo the alignment on the spool and it tracks fine, when the car has fluid on it it power steers fine, quite, works a treat. When it is done venting all the fluid while driving it squeals and I have to add more fluid. I can't say for sure where it is coming from as when I let it idle in the barn on stands it doesn't show it as foaming or venting out the cap or a line. Now that it is winter I can let it idle a little longer with a fan on and try and have the better 3/4 turn the wheel while I watch.
I thought initially it was sucking air. I pulled the lower pressure line off and replaced it with stronger hose and a constant pressure clamp, removed the high pressure line added some tape to the threads, and retightened it. The spool seems to be sealing well. But not sure how to actually check that part. I am not sure if there is an internal pressure leak that is causing it to eject it all or if that pulley is it. I know the cap is vented and maybe that is the source of the air leak? I might in my barn have the old pulley but not totally sure I can look after work and get some measurements.
I do have a back up used federal pump however it doesn't have a pulley either so I would end up replacing it with the one on the car.
The car is a mix of parts initially it was a 383 car and someone made it an A12 clone so I don't know if the pump is original to the 383 or if it was changed along the way. I do know that it has had a few engines in it but it was a factory power steering car. Any help on testing it or what to look at is appreciated!
There has been a lot of work done to the car and I remember having to fiddle with the spool valve for some reason not that long ago. I have been fighting loose steering for a while and rebuilt the coupler and working on the headers I think I ended up having to redo the alignment on the spool and it tracks fine, when the car has fluid on it it power steers fine, quite, works a treat. When it is done venting all the fluid while driving it squeals and I have to add more fluid. I can't say for sure where it is coming from as when I let it idle in the barn on stands it doesn't show it as foaming or venting out the cap or a line. Now that it is winter I can let it idle a little longer with a fan on and try and have the better 3/4 turn the wheel while I watch.
I thought initially it was sucking air. I pulled the lower pressure line off and replaced it with stronger hose and a constant pressure clamp, removed the high pressure line added some tape to the threads, and retightened it. The spool seems to be sealing well. But not sure how to actually check that part. I am not sure if there is an internal pressure leak that is causing it to eject it all or if that pulley is it. I know the cap is vented and maybe that is the source of the air leak? I might in my barn have the old pulley but not totally sure I can look after work and get some measurements.
I do have a back up used federal pump however it doesn't have a pulley either so I would end up replacing it with the one on the car.
The car is a mix of parts initially it was a 383 car and someone made it an A12 clone so I don't know if the pump is original to the 383 or if it was changed along the way. I do know that it has had a few engines in it but it was a factory power steering car. Any help on testing it or what to look at is appreciated!
