1964 Power Steering Query.

[Tbirdgul]

Paul, brilliant!!! Thanks for sending these pics. Looks really clean. I don’t see any way to disconnect the hose without making a mess everywhere. Any tips or recommendations?

Not to get too far off topic, but, I’ve never seen the port or panel in the attached picture on any cars before. Maybe this is a 65 thing? What’s it for? Thanks, Tony

[Terry64HT]

Paul, thanks for the photos, they show the key problem Tony is talking about. The hose that both he an I have is longer from the right angle bend in the metal tube to the fitting at the power steering box. This means the hose sticks up in the air much more than yours beside the hinge as shown in your last photo. So much so that I was unable to use the single hose clamp that you have on your fender brace at the shock tower. At that point, my metal tube is 2 3/4" above the mounting hole for the bracket.
I have a vague recollection that these hoses are from a Dodge truck of some year, but don't hold me to that. They sure don't mimic the originals.
Terry
64HT

[paulr]

@Terry and Tony:

The steel part of my pressure line seems to be designed to fit the Tbird engine bay profile precisely. I got it from BIRD NEST more than 7 years ago. Key to the orderly fit are the two hose brackets and their rubber grommets—the small square one on the brace and the curved on on the wheel well. The square one is unique to 64 only (maybe 63 also??) but not 65/66 because those years have a different hose assembly.

@Tony:

That panel looks like an owner/dealer fabrication. I’ve studied dozens of FlairBirds. That’s a stand-alone. Someone correct me.

[paulr]

Tony, also your question about a messy disconnection...part of life. You will have air in your system afterwards. Follow the bleed procedure for PS. You should be fine. Type F cleans right up.

[Tbirdgul]

Gents, with a lot of persistence and your very helpful pictures, I managed to get the the hose fitted. I still need to tighten, refill and bleed the system, but the hose does seem to fit. Unfortunately the dryer is right where the hose needs to go and after a dozen attempts, I found the only I could make the hose and fitting angle line up was per the pics attached. This was definitely a knuckle buster with very little room to swing the wrench. The other thing I experienced, was the fittings on the Mac Auto parts were 13mm and 17mm metric where the original hose was 1/2” and 11/16”. In hindsight, I would get it from Birds nest instead. The quality is fine, just not crazy about having metric on inch car.

[Terry64HT]

Good news, Tony. I see from the photos that you chose to use the hose retainer on the shock tower so that the 90 degree bend in the metal tube sits lower beside the hinge. I used the double hose retainer on the wheel well so that the A/C hose was clamped down. Maybe I'll look at changing to your setup (especially if I can find a single retainer for the A/C) and see how it looks.
I share your aggravation about the fittings, at least your threads (like the second one I bought) were SAE. Paul's hose, that fits correctly, was purchased 7 years ago and I would venture to say that Bird's Nest now supply the same as we have.
Terry
64HT

[Alan H. Tast]

Did any of you know that there were at least a couple of iterations of how the PS hoses were routed and that these changed during the model year? I still need to find part numbers and descriptions to figure out how/when changes were made, and whether this routing was affected by installation of air conditioning, which in turn affects how the lines connect to the pump and supply reservoirs, i.e. remote-mounted for A/C vs on top of the pump for non-A/C). This is something that's been bugging me for at least 20 years, and I still haven't found time to sort it out. Those of you with '64s may want to start chiming in on your build dates and how your PS hoses (especially from the pump to the box, which I think is the pressure line) are routed, whether they use the clamp/isolator on top of the shock tower-to-cowl brace or the one down low on the side of the shock tower (where the return line should be running as well), or if there's another routing/mounting points I haven't mentioned yet. I suspect the routing over the top of the brace came in the fall of 1963 after production began, but more information is needed. "Fuz" Johnson might be able to shed some light on this, but I don't know that he's monitoring the '64-'66 Forum at this time.

[Tbirdgul]

Why doesn’t that not surprise me. Actually, I could see how the placement of other equipment could impede the routing. In my case , I have a drier right where the bend occurs. There must have been a more efficient way to route the hose like point to point. This is what initially confused me. I couldn’t see the value to go a longer distance just to turn back. The hose I had originally was coiled under the master before going to the pump. It was a 2 Pc design without the bent metal section. It looks really old and in fact nearly broken in half while disassembled. I can’t be sure if it’s original but it is definitely old.

[Tbirdgul]

Quick question. I have Mercon/Dexron ATF. Is that acceptable for the steering pump? Or should go buy type F. What’s the capacity of the system? Thanks Tony

[paulr]

I hesitate to touch this as I know expert minds have much more to say. My two cents: I’ve never known any Ford man to use anything but Type F in his Ford, but that probably related exclusively to transmission. If your PS/wiper system is working...? Maybe don’t fix it. I’m certain you don’t want to blend the two and clearing the system entirely of one type is a job. In your case if the pump doesn’t groan or chatter I would leave things alone until it’s time for major component rebuilds.

[Terry64HT]

As usual, I agree with Paul
Terry
64HT

[Tbirdgul]

I completely understand. The problem is I don’t really know what’s in there now. I’ll go with type F, hoping that is the right stuff. Thanks for the quick response.

[paulr]

Big job, your work is cut out for you. I attempted to remove all the Type F from my system for a full synthetic Type F swap. In the end, two things: my two fluids are compatible and at very best I know there was still fluid lurking in small places. You’re best off removing the wiper pump and flushing it. The steering pump is no problem. The gearbox is where you have doubts unless you’re thinking this is a good reason for a Redhead rebuild Too much of the wrong fluid on the seals could have you headed that direction anyway.

[Tbirdgul]

I wasn’t planning on doing a full flush just add the fluid I lost during the install of the hose. Doesn’t sound fun by the sound of it. This evening, I added about 1/2 quart of type F to the system, cycled the steering left and right a couple times and voila. Everything runs well and sounds good. Job done.

[Terry64HT]

All the suggestions and photos inspired me to take a look at the routing of my hoses. As you can see in the first photo, the metal right angle part of the power steering pressure hose to the steering box stood up very high and was tight to the hinge. I swapped this hose with the A/C return in the double hose retainer on the wheel well and brought them above the fender brace. I could now reinstall the single hose retainer bracket on one of the fender brace bolts.
The routing is a lot cleaner and the 90 degree metal tube of the steering hose is now lower and sort of centered between the hinge and master cylinder.
I may play with the routing a bit more, but this is a big improvement.
Love this forum.
Terry
64HT