Power steering leak

[RossL]

My control valve is leaking. My car is a 55 and I believe my control valve is early 55

I replaced the seals in the control valve. It looks like there still may be a very slight leak

Can these things be sealed so there are no leaks? Someone told me they all leak a little bit

[Rusty57]

Yes, it can be difficult to seal older power steering units. A problem I often encounter is that the old hard seals have worn into the sealing surface of the mating metal part. So the new seal does not have a smooth and uniform surface to work against.

If the wear is bad enough you might be able to have the part spray welded and machined/ground back to size. That is a very common repair process for electric motors and industrial pumps.

[ICON 1956]

These cars will always leak no matter.

[55Greg&Amy]

I’ve always believed that these cars will always leak, not only fluids but through the tops too.
FORD = Fill Oil Reservoirs Daily
and Floods On Rainy Days

[RossL]

It went from leaving a 4” puddle to a slight drip over night, which I can live with since it seems like a lot of work to correct

[ward 57]

I’ve always believed that these cars will always leak, not only fluids but through the tops too.
FORD = Fill Oil Reservoirs Daily
and Floods On Rainy Days

or Fiat, 'Fix it again Tony' The drip pan in the garage is a good thing. You can see what's dripping when not driving. The rest blowing on the undercarriage just keeps the rust away. LOL

[MarkR]

It went from leaving a 4” puddle to a slight drip over night, which I can live with since it seems like a lot of work to correct

I agree with your decision. If you are down to a slow drip on the valve leave it alone.During the restoration a couple of years earlier I replaced the seals on a 57 PS valve. I now had the car sold and was being shipped the next morning. It had a drip so I wanted to make it right for the new owner. Made it leak terribly. Having no time to try different seals I removed and reinstalled the same ones 3 times into the night. As they say the third time was a charm. Not even a drip. The metal surfaces were good and I had new rubber so no explanation.

[RossL]

Anyone try Lucas PS stop leak in this system? I’m not there yet but if it gets worse I might try it

[Rusty57]

This may or may not be relevant to these older cars. I have used the Lucas product with some success in a 2006 Mountaineer. It reduced a minor leak to more just an area were dust accumulated. The leak was around the steering gear.

I had similar results with a 1995 Miata. That leak was really a very slow seep before I used it so it was difficult to see the difference. It did not make things worse.

Your results might not be as noticeable. Most stop leak products have additives to soften/swell older seals. It might not work as well on new seals.