Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1968 Mustang Coupe, mustang coupe, steering wheel


Question
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Thank you for your answer. you seem very knowledgeable. There is another question i had that maybe you can help me with.  I have power steering.(Or should i say i had) in my 1968 mustang coupe This used to be my daily driver car and i had a leak in one of the hoses that is connected to the reservoir where you put the oil in.  Well i never fixed it so i would just keep filing the reservoir up with oil.  Went to school and got a job and for the past 3.5 years never used my car and during that time i started my car and drove it around the block so it would not freeze up the motor.  Well the power steering stopped working.  What would be the most common part on that power steering unit that would give up. For sure the leak of oil did not help.  might have ran a little bit with no oil!!  Do you know of any rebuilding kits that would be good. big mistake on my part. really regret it.  sorry for the drawn out question. thank you for your time.  

Answer
NAPA stores have a kit that will give you every part you need to rebuild the pump (and fix that leak!).  Once you have that done, you can decide if the problem is fixed or you need to go into the steering parts too.   So rebuild the pump and then see if it is cured.  I'm betting it will be.  If the hoses look sad, replace them too while you're at it, they might be part of the blockage problem.

When you fill an empty pump, you have fill it first, then start the engine and run the steering wheel all the way to both stops, one after the other, a few times, topping up the fluid after each couple of twists of the wheel.  This will expel all the trapped air and help the system to come back to life.  You might have to jack the front wheels up so you can turn it the first few times.

Dick