Power steering fluid boiling over....

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Cleary67

Cleary67

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Hope someone can help me out here....

I have a 67 cuda with a 360 block and Doug's headers installed. Car has power steering and the header damn near touches the gear box and seems to be heating up the fluid enough to spit out/boil over out of the power steering pump.. Is this in fact what is happening? Anyone have this issue? - Can't wrap the header or gear box, they are in place for good..
 
My headers are very close as well and the box does get extremely hot. How close to the top of the filler neck is the fluid after it is warmed up and is the cap gasket in good shape? Sometimes the top of the filler neck on remanufactured pumps are pretty beat up and don't seal well. I found a gas cap with the same size rubber gasket and used it on my pump cap. No leaks since.
 
Fluid is kept at the bottom of the pump fill neck. Think it's an original pump and neck seems fine, but I will definitely try new rubber on the cap! It very well could be hardened up! '- gotta start somewhere.. Thanks man!
 
I have never heard of this issue. If you believe the cap seal is intact and the system is correctly bled, you might try slipping a license plate ( aluminum sheet) between them.

Or try flushing the system. Water boils before oil.
 
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Cleary67 said:
Fluid is kept at the bottom of the pump fill neck. Think it's an original pump and neck seems fine, but I will definitely try new rubber on the cap! It very well could be hardened up! '- gotta start somewhere.. Thanks man!
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I just brought my cap to NAPA and had them look through all their gas caps for one with the right size gasket. We found one that fit perfectly. I didn't remove the old one, just put the new one on top. The inside diameter of the seal was stretched over the center of the cap and held it in place nice and snug. If it doesn't leak, it's empty!
 
Bodyperson said:
I have never heard of this issue. If you believe the cap seal is intact and the system is correctly bled, you might try slipping a license plate ( aluminum sheet) between them.

Or try flushing the system. Water boils before oil.
Click to expand...
How do you bleed the system? I did just install everything including a brand new gear box on the car. The fluid turns real milky looking when it's that hot. - probably can't fit any metal between them..
 
73Swinger18 said:
I just brought my cap to NAPA and had them look through all their gas caps for one with the right size gasket. We found one that fit perfectly. I didn't remove the old one, just put the new one on top. The inside diameter of the seal was stretched over the center of the cap and held it in place nice and snug. If it doesn't leak, it's empty!
Click to expand...
Perfect! I will try that too. Thx!
 
Remove the return line from the pump and cap the pump. Disable your ignition and crank the starter for 10 seconds a few times until clear fluid comes out of your return line into a bucket. You can also do this with the engine running and turn the wheels back and forth with it up on jacks. Just make sure you keep the tank full of fluid.
 
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73Swinger18 said:
Remove the return line from the pump and cap the pump. Disable your ignition and crank the starter for 10 seconds a few times until clear fluid comes out of your return line into a bucket. You can also do this with the engine running and turn the wheels back and forth with it up on jacks. Just make sure you keep the tank full of fluid.
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Thanks!!
 
If this was a fresh fire up it possible that the air isn't out of it yet, as it does take some time to circulate it out.
Usually takes a day or so.
The pump compresses the air bubbles and when the fluid returns to the tank again it expands and overflows.
It helps to fill it ONLY as much as is needed to cover the pump housing down inside the tank for a day or so before filling it all the way.

My car has two tubes so close to touching the steering gear you could hardly see the gap and it doesn't boil over.

If it is actually boiling it over the fluid would be smoking at that point.
Now that said, the cooler sure couldn't hurt to extend the life of the box either way.
 
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I added an in line small power steering cooler that runs in the return line o help with that, my headers are too close too.
 
Cleary67 said:
How do you bleed the system? I did just install everything including a brand new gear box on the car. The fluid turns real milky looking when it's that hot. - probably can't fit any metal between them..
Click to expand...
Milky is usually water in the fluid.
 
If the fluid really is boiling, I would add a fluid cooler. Safety first and extend the life of the system components. Many vehicles have OEM coolers. I think I have one of the OEM coolers for this application ( hangs at the p/s fluid pump ) laying around here somewhere. Came from a 75 Valiant Brougham, slant 6 with towing package.
GM placed a neat little cooler under some FWD vehicles, Grand Prix, Grand AM for examples. Its at the bottom of the firewall at right side, under the car. It faces the road in those applications but could be mounted most anywhere. My imagination suggests under the battery tray for this application.
 
I added mine in the dead zone inside the k member. Small in line one. Cut some relief air vents foward and behind and helps spme. My grille area has the trans cooler. And the engine oil cooler. And ac condensor already. No room for anything else.
 
I bought a dual circuit fluid cooler. I use it for oil and power steering. I run trans fluid through my champion radiator, and have an inline cooler in the trans return line.
 
TrailBeast said:
Or air causing a pink foam look.
It would be easy to tell though by putting some in a glass container and see if it separates over the course of about 5 min.
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It is a pink or foam look on the cap after a long ride...
 
RedFish said:
If the fluid really is boiling, I would add a fluid cooler. Safety first and extend the life of the system components. Many vehicles have OEM coolers. I think I have one of the OEM coolers for this application ( hangs at the p/s fluid pump ) laying around here somewhere. Came from a 75 Valiant Brougham, slant 6 with towing package.
GM placed a neat little cooler under some FWD vehicles, Grand Prix, Grand AM for examples. Its at the bottom of the firewall at right side, under the car. It faces the road in those applications but could be mounted most anywhere. My imagination suggests under the battery tray for this application.
Click to expand...
Pics?
 
TrailBeast said:
If this was a fresh fire up it possible that the air isn't out of it yet, as it does take some time to circulate it out.
Usually takes a day or so.
The pump compresses the air bubbles and when the fluid returns to the tank again it expands and overflows.
It helps to fill it ONLY as much as is needed to cover the pump housing down inside the tank for a day or so before filling it all the way.

My car has two tubes so close to touching the steering gear you could hardly see the gap and it doesn't boil over.

If it is actually boiling it over the fluid would be smoking at that point.
Now that said, the cooler sure couldn't hurt to extend the life of the box either way.
Click to expand...
Thanks you!!
 
When cold, my fluid is actually below the Saginaw filler tube. I can see the pump guts inside.
But since it is a new pump, the pressure setting may be too high. The pump may be ramming the fluid round and round and just beating it up. The heat from the beat, is expanding the oil too much.
The system is self-bleeding,but you can speed it up, per post #8
I would shoot the box with an IR gun;I bet it's not hot enough to boil oil. Like TB said, if it was boiling it would be smoking, and you didn't mention that.It smokes for a long time before it boils......
 
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