You know what they say about old cars and the weather in Texas; if nothing is wrong just wait 15 minutes. No sooner had I overhauled the entire rear brake system on the '77 that the car starting leaking power steering fluid.
Knowing that the power steering cylinders on these cars are prone to leaking, I replaced it. In the process of doing so a friend of mine, who owns a '79, recommended I replace all the power steering hoses too. It was while doing that I discovered where the leak was coming from - one of the hoses had a slice in it meaning I hadn't needed to replace the cylinder. Lovely. In fairness, the new cylinder did reduce some slop in the steering and everything felt better. Might have been psychosomatic. This car has a number of suspension issues so who knows.
Meanwhile on a nice long drive last summer, a seal in that new - actually it was a remanufactured cylinder, failed and I lost all of my power steering fluid. I had no choice but to drive more than thirty miles home with a screaming, fluid-less power steering pump. I replaced it, again, and all was good. Until...until I noticed that power steering fluid was still leaking from the car. I checked the hoses, hose connections, control valve even the new, new cylinder. Bone dry.
The problem, as it turned out, was the power steering pump. Notorious for leaks, it hadn't given me any problems until I had that long drive with no fluid in it; no telling how much damage that drive did to an almost 40 year old component. Much like a situation I had a couple of years ago with the electrical system, one thing leads to another until you run out of things to replace.
The pump wasn't nearly as difficult to remove and install as I had anticipated. Chalk that up to experience and my ever expanding patience which I attribute to maturity, or getting older, being a doting husband and father and owning this old Corvette. Don't get me wrong, it was an old fashioned pain in the ass but not nearly as hard as replacing the power steering hoses on my 1996 Camaro.
There was some drama when I first fired the car up with the new pump and it appeared to be leaking worse than the pump I pulled out but I surmised that it was nothing more than excess fluid from my over filling it. It would appear we are all good. For now.
Next up on the list is to overhaul the transmission cooling lines. Knowing what can happen, I can only anticipate what should nothing more complicated than replacing rubber hoses and clamps will turn into a project akin to raising the Titanic. Stay tuned.
The problem, as it turned out, was the power steering pump. Notorious for leaks, it hadn't given me any problems until I had that long drive with no fluid in it; no telling how much damage that drive did to an almost 40 year old component. Much like a situation I had a couple of years ago with the electrical system, one thing leads to another until you run out of things to replace.
The pump wasn't nearly as difficult to remove and install as I had anticipated. Chalk that up to experience and my ever expanding patience which I attribute to maturity, or getting older, being a doting husband and father and owning this old Corvette. Don't get me wrong, it was an old fashioned pain in the ass but not nearly as hard as replacing the power steering hoses on my 1996 Camaro.
There was some drama when I first fired the car up with the new pump and it appeared to be leaking worse than the pump I pulled out but I surmised that it was nothing more than excess fluid from my over filling it. It would appear we are all good. For now.
Next up on the list is to overhaul the transmission cooling lines. Knowing what can happen, I can only anticipate what should nothing more complicated than replacing rubber hoses and clamps will turn into a project akin to raising the Titanic. Stay tuned.
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