Bleeding Federal Power Steering pump

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watchdoc

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Resevoir was leaking on my 71 340 Dart with Federal pump. Power steering worked fine. It was just leaking. Removed pump and replaced large Oring around the housing to fix the leak and the seal on the back where the bolt goes thru. Also replaced the return line but not the pressure line. Reinstalled, filled with F type ATF to the bottom of the neck. Jacked up the front of the car and worked the wheel back and forth a good 30-40 times at idle and couldn't get the fluid to drop. I even took for a short drive but no luck. I'm guessing the box itself went dry while pump was out but not sure how to get it to prime again.

Tips or ideas???,
 
watchdoc said:
Resevoir was leaking on my 71 340 Dart with Federal pump. Power steering worked fine. It was just leaking. Removed pump and replaced large Oring around the housing to fix the leak and the seal on the back where the bolt goes thru. Also replaced the return line but not the pressure line. Reinstalled, filled with F type ATF to the bottom of the neck. Jacked up the front of the car and worked the wheel back and forth a good 30-40 times at idle and couldn't get the fluid to drop. I even took for a short drive but no luck. I'm guessing the box itself went dry while pump was out but not sure how to get it to prime again.

Tips or ideas???,
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It shouldn't need anything else done because the pump is a hydraulic type and circulates the fluid even when you are not turning. (though they do get aerated)
If you have power steering when driving you are fine.

I will tell you though, that only filling them just to the bottom of the neck at first is a good idea, because while they are working the aeration out they can overflow if filled to high until the air is out of everything.

In short, turning it left and right a few times after the fill is all they really ever need.
 
watchdoc said:
Resevoir was leaking on my 71 340 Dart with Federal pump. Power steering worked fine. It was just leaking. Removed pump and replaced large Oring around the housing to fix the leak and the seal on the back where the bolt goes thru. Also replaced the return line but not the pressure line. Reinstalled, filled with F type ATF to the bottom of the neck. Jacked up the front of the car and worked the wheel back and forth a good 30-40 times at idle and couldn't get the fluid to drop. I even took for a short drive but no luck. I'm guessing the box itself went dry while pump was out but not sure how to get it to prime again.

Tips or ideas???,
Click to expand...
Are you say that the power steering does not work at all while you are driving?
 
When you reassembled the pump, you probably put the relief valve assy in wrong. Done it myself not too long ago. It does not go the way it looks like it should.

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When you install the valve wrong it will have zero assist, it just bypasses.
 
I did not rebuild the pump. I simply replaced the large oring around the resevoir. Pump was working fine. I literally set it on the bench just to replace the gaskets.
 
watchdoc said:
I did not rebuild the pump. I simply replaced the large oring around the resevoir. Pump was working fine. I literally set it on the bench just to replace the gaskets.
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Something is caddywhompass
Is it making any weird noise?
Perhaps the relief is stuck up?
Did you mess with the valve on top of the steering gear?
 
watchdoc said:
no noises, didn't touch any valves. any possible resolution?
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They only thing I can come up with would be crack open the high pressure hose fitting at the steering gear while its running and see if any PS fluid comes out. Keep someone other than yourself on the ignition switch try not to get PS fluid all over. If fluid comes out you should have power steering. Be careful.
 
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X2 on being careful. Hydraulic oil embolism - a pinpoint leak at 900 psi injecting it into your skin - can lead to very bad things.
 
512Stroker said:
Something is caddywhompass
Is it making any weird noise?
Perhaps the relief is stuck up?
Did you mess with the valve on top of the steering gear?
Click to expand...

Where is the relief valve? Is that something I could have messed up when I popped the resevoir off?

Someone mentioned the pressue line could have collapsed on the inside so I'm gonna pull the line at the box and check for flow with a helper.
 
This happened on my power wagon. Entire system was empty. Filled it and nothing. So i jacked front end up and cycled steering end to end with engine off. Topped it up and its never given me a lick of trouble since.
 
Tooljunkie said:
This happened on my power wagon. Entire system was empty. Filled it and nothing. So i jacked front end up and cycled steering end to end with engine off. Topped it up and its never given me a lick of trouble since.
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Did that... cycled steering 30-40 times with front wheels up.
 
If all you changed was the big o ring that sealed the housing i cant understand why it wouldnt work. Is reservoir full of bubbles?
 
watchdoc said:
Where is the relief valve? Is that something I could have messed up when I popped the resevoir off?

Someone mentioned the pressue line could have collapsed on the inside so I'm gonna pull the line at the box and check for flow with a helper.
Click to expand...
I am not familiar with that pump.
I believe it is internal to the pump.
Perhaps one of the forum members could provide you with a exploded parts view of that pump.
Edit - Reference post #5
 
Just to verify, engine off and cycled steering?
 
In the middle of the 4th pic I posted shows the relief valve and how it goes together. If the spools and/or spring is put in the wrong location it will not make any pressure or can overpressurize. If you did not remove these parts you should be fine providing the pump was working to begin with. If you did remove them i would suggest you check and make sure they are installed correctly. Its been a while since I have looked at a federal pump but typically the nut that holds the reservoir on in the rear is part of the relief valve. This is the part the hose screws into.
If you did the repair on the car it is very possible for a part to fall out any you may not have noticed it.
 
MoparMike1974 said:
In the middle of the 4th pic I posted shows the relief valve and how it goes together. If the spools and/or spring is put in the wrong location it will not make any pressure or can overpressurize. If you did not remove these parts you should be fine providing the pump was working to begin with. If you did remove them i would suggest you check and make sure they are installed correctly. Its been a while since I have looked at a federal pump but typically the nut that holds the reservoir on in the rear is part of the relief valve. This is the part the hose screws into.
If you did the repair on the car it is very possible for a part to fall out any you may not have noticed it.
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So the bolt that holds the resevoir on is part of the relief valve??? I thouht it was just a blind bolt hole with a seal around it????
 
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Ok so I went to the garage and took a look at a federal pump. They do not have the relief valve as part of the bolt that holds the reservoir on. It is inside the pump and a snap ring holds it in the casting.
Sorry for the confusion, like I said it had been a while since I looked at a federal.
 
Mopar Mike is correct. If you pull the pump and remove the reservoir again you'll see a small snap ring close to the size of a dime. The valve is supposed to move up and down if you push on it. Its possible a bit of dirt got in it, as its a close clearance. It has one or two O-rings on it also. The O-rings can cause it to stick also if a piece of rubber gets shaved off and sticks it. If you have the complete rebuild kit you should have these O-rings. Pull the snap ring and remove the valve, careful, there's a spring under there! Make sure the bore is clean. You can take some fine emery cloth to the valve also. Hope that does it.
 
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