55 Power Steering Pump

[KAD36]

Hey guys - wrestling with the pulley on my power steering pump - can't seem to break the nut loose. Tried tightening the belt and using the engine compression to hold the pulley still, but ended up turning the engine over with the wrench. Don't want to marr the shaft or the pulley with vice grips - tried heat, PB plaster, can't find a shaft lock anywhere on the pulley - anyone have any tricks?

My leaky power steering woes are back - the patched up gearbox from the donor car held out for almost 2 yrs and about 1000 "cooperative" miles - pretty good for 30 bucks! I got my gear out of the car (for the second time - that was the easy part) and plan to send the gear and pump out for rebuild. I wanted to get the pulley off the pump so I could get the bracket off and paint it with some of the other engine tin.

Looking forward to seeing some other 54's-56's in NY in July. Will post how the rebuild goes in case anyone else is looking for a trivial little project to fill their spare time.....

Thanks in advance

[old-tank]

Ken

Try holding the pulley with your hand wearing leather gloves and use an impact wrench on the nut...start with the lowest setting first. The pulley is keyed to the shaft and may need to be remove with a puller.

Good luck...

Willie

[KAD36]

Hi Willie - thanks for the tip - good to hear from you. I'll put the impact wrench on it tomorrow night. I am having a heck of a time holding everything still without scratching anything up. I tried a band wrench tonight to hold the pulley still and some heat on the nut and ice on the shaft and whacked it with a breaker bar and socket to no avail, so I pulled out the table saw and went about building a crate to ship everything in - progress!

I took the whole front seat out this time around- made it easier as you try to swing that dang 50 lb gear assembly up over the battery box and slide the shaft out of the jacket, plus the jacket doesn't mash into the seat. Brake pedal still got in the way. Seems like no matter how hard you try you always scratch something a little bit under the hood when that gear comes out. Hopefully after this rebuild this thing goes in and stays in.

BTW - I would have liked to go in on that tire deal you were putting together, but I just bought a set of 4 last year. Thought it was a pretty good idea.

As long as the car will be sitting for the next 3 weeks or so, I'll be asking for some advice on the board as I will probably start puttering with my 3 or 4 clicking lifters and painting some of the engine tins. Everything else is holding up pretty well!

[KAD36]

Willie - the pulley spun nicely in my hand while I put the impact wrench on it. I'm calling in the calvary before I bend something - Chip at Power Steering Services - he said he would get it off, sandblast the bracket for me, and return it so I can paint it.

thanks

[KAD36]

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

I thought I'd post an update and share some things I learned along the way. I got the power steer gearbox and pump back from Power Steering Services. The pump works great - took awhile to bleed all the air out and really quiet down, but after about 15 minutes at idle it was fine. Its very important, at least on a 1955, to use the 2 piece, 2 diameter pressure hose - there is absolutly no hydraulic noise under any turning conditions. The gearbox I was initally not very happy with, and actually pretty upset, because it operated very stiff under power assist and wouldn't always return to center, however after about 400 miles of driving, it is starting to loosen up, as Chip told me it would, so I expect it will be fine. Chip at PSS explained that he removed a shim on the side cover to take up internal wear as some parts are just made of "unobtainium" - he prefers the gearbox tight, especially with bias tires, which I use, and I must say the car really tracks straight on level road and responds to the slightest wheel input. I had gotten used to starting to turn the wheel a little before I actually entered a turn to take up all the slop - indeed, sometimes turning right during a left hand turn to counter road crown - now with new tires, kingpins, all new inner and outer bushings, springs, etc - heck it steers just like a real car and not like the lawn tractor! Neither unit leaks - which is a relief! I actually got to my first cruise in at the Home Depot tonight (almost missed the whole summer!).

Some tips to pass on if anyone decides to try this themselves - assuming R&R with the engine, inner fender and interior in place

1) Removal - it helps if you pull the 3 heater hoses off or pull them up over the carb - you will need the room to pull the gearbox up, and rotate it to clear the inner fender to get it out. It also helps if you remove the brake pedal, because as you lift the gearbox up to clear the grill, the column jacket will hang up on the brake pedal prventing you from lifting the gearbox the extra inch you need to clear the grill, and it will jam in front of the seat and you will be stuck there yelling for help holding 75 lbs of cast iron gearbox with oil dribbling down your hands. If you want to be extra safe, pull out the front seat. Although after doing this 3 times, it can be done with the front seat where it is. I also put a 2x4 on towels across both fenders and used a rope to support the unit so that when I pulled the frame bolts, the unit didn't hang from and bind in the jacket or bend the shaft. Definitly wrap the end of the jacket in a towel after the steering wheel, shift lever, etc is off because it will whack the seat while you try to lift it out of the engine compartment. Note - when you take the horn contact wiper off the column jacket, go in the jacket opening with some white paint and mark the shaft where the contact wiper is.

2) Horn contact - mine disintigrated. I used a 1/2 to 1 inch copper fitting with the 1/2 inch side cut off as a new contact ring. You will need to mill the inner part of the fitting with a dremel tool a bit to get a good press fit over the insulator. Use a BIG soldering iron to put a new horn wire on the copper contact if you are running a new horn wire (my horn wire was long gone)- I have a horses leg 500 watt iron that I used. On re-assembly, I epoxied the rubber insulator onto the steering shaft and copper contact onto the insulator. Run the horn wire up the shaft - leave about 8 inches longer than you need - coil it up on a pencil and stuff it back into the shaft. I also taped the wire and access hole in the steering shaft to avoid the access hole chaffing the insulation on the horn wire. Make sure you position the copper contact over where the white paint was you put on the shaft - so it lines up with the wiper.

2)Installation - you don't really need that horn contact protector shown in the shop manual. Wrap the end of the shaft in duct tape so that the teeth don't marr the felt wiper and bearing in the column jacket. I soaked the felt wiper with silcone spray. When you get the gearbox and shaft started back up the jacket, you will feel it hit the bearing at the top of the jacket (steering wheel end)- you can prop the gearbox in the battery tray, go back inside the car, and move the jacket to line up the bearing in the jacket with the shaft and push the jacket into the shaft to seat the bearing on the shaft- its easier than trying to finnangle the gearbox around. Back in the engine compartment, the whole gearbox will go right up into the jacket no problem. Make sure you re-engage the set pin on the underside of the gearbox with the slot at the bottom of the jacket before you tighten the jacket clamp. BTW - keep that towel wrapped around the jacket end - or you WILL damage the front seat as you lower the gearbox into position on the frame and the jacket comes up. Follow the manual exactly regarding the order in tightening up the bolts and nothing will bind up. Before you tighten everything up, peek into the jacken at the horn wiper and make sure the contact is centered over the hole - I admit I measured once and installed it twice until I got it positioned right - still don't know how that happened. Uncoil the horn wire, pull it out of the shaft and solder the button contact on the end. The coils will help you seat the excess wire back into the shaft.

I didn't have any helpers when I did the R&R - I'd say buy some beer and get a helper.

3) Shipping - I made a wooden crate - the whole thing - crate gearbox and pump weighed in at 110 lbs. You cannot build a too strong crate. Despite the FRAGILE and THIS SIDE UP markings, the @#$*@$% UPS guy kicked it off the back of the truck in my driveway because it was too heavy for one person to carry and fell to Earth, blowing one side of the crate out. My wife had a kiniption. It was similarly damaged when it arrived in St. Louis and Chip at PSS fixed it for me - I used 1x4s, 1/2 inch plywood glued and screwed. First time I ever shipped something that big - guess I learned.

4) The gearbox is returned painted whatever color you tell him - if you want the pipes, bolts, etc unpainted so it looks more OEM-like - you need to tell him ahead of time, otherwise he will shoot the whole assembled gearbox the same color.

Anyway - its not so tough - and its good to be running again, even though theres only 2 months of driving weather left, and gas is $3.50 a gallon! Thanks to all who helped with advice along the way.

Next years project - rebuild the Dynaflow. Still searching for reputable, experienced East Coast rebuilder. Any one have any good references?

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm sure it will help others in the future. I've rated it with a couple of stars to let folks know it's good stuff. Thumbs up...

[old-tank]

Hey Ken

I think we should designate you the 55 steering specialist! I wish you could do mine. The last one I did was easy: convertible with no fenders or dash...

Willie

[KAD36]

Thanks guys and also to everyone who made recommendations on who to use. Couldn't have done it without interested experienced people offering their advice.

Willie - I'll swap you a 2 steering R&Rs for a tranny R&R any day! AND I'll buy the beer and have a spare axle in my garage for you just in case.

BTW - ~520 miles and still going - keeping fingers crossed. 30 miles 1 way to work adds up fast - horn works for real (only the second time since '68 - the other R&R I dinked up the contact ring badly) and no leaks. Jeese - the frame actually has clean satin black paint with no oil smeared all down it. The valve cover is nice and dry. The pump and bracket have no oily film all over it. This is starting to turn into a clean hands car - well, almost.....