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A first for me, ever... As I was pulling my ragtop into a car show yesterday the power steering went out- but for just enough intermittent bursts of assist to allow me to park it, it was gone. Nothing visibly wrong, fluid looked good and no belt or pulley related issues that I could see.
I thought maybe the fluid had overheated or developed an air pocket but no leaks, nothing burnt or foamy inside the can.
So after about an hour or so I decided to leave the show before it started getting dark, in case I was going to have continual problems - 25 miles from home and I figured if I was going to get stuck I'd at least try to get to an empty lot from which I could be towed rather than from the show itself.
as it turned out, as long as I kept moving at speeds under 40 in the straightest path home possible, I had enough steady assist to make it home
this a.m. I removed the pulley on my Saginaw pump and found the shaft key had sheared - part of it was still in the shaft,and the long piece embedded in the pulley slot
I assume it was only the residual belt tightness of the pulley against the shaft that kept my assist intact enough to get home but in the spirit of caution, I'm going to replace the whole pump.
It was a Lee Power Steering unit that I installed a year ago or so, and they're a bit pricey, so I'm pretty bummed that I have to replace it with something of similar build (i.e. their PSI and flow rates are high to go with their fast ratio/firm feel steering boxes). I'm ordering a March Performance pump from Summit this time around, which seems closest enough to Lee's specs to work, albeit at about 1/2 the price.
Wow, that's a new one on me. FYI, the car steers just fine with the PS belt removed. You just get an upper body workout, and really only at low speeds.
Yeah it would have been quite the character builder if I'd had to go completely sans power steering. Luckily except for about 5 soft turns in the entire 25 mile ride it was all straight local driving
No clue why the key sheared like that though - it was brand new with the pump when I installed it and never an issue before yesterday
my biggest immediate fear was having developed a box issue... So I'm glad that's (presumably) ruled out
You should ask for your money back for that PS pump. Especially if you only bought it a year ago. Pretty much every imported piece of junk you buy at the parts store nowadays comes with a lifetime warranty.
I did email LPS earlier outlining the failure and asking if they would do anything about it at this juncture - will see what kind of response I may get.
They apparently build pumps and boxes to order and the lead time is 3-4 weeks, which I still wouldn't want to wait on if they were to offer a replacement (or a rebuild on my existing pump) - this time of year in FL is perfect cruising weather so minimal downtime is my goal. of the moment.
I have to believe this is a pretty uncommon failure not indicative of their build quality, LPS otherwise has a pretty solid rep for their products.
Not that I recall beyond normal steering occasion requirements - and even at that, I've never seen that kind of failure in any of the old cars I've had over time, so to me at least it's an anomaly.
maybe someday a company like Lee can re-engineer the pump to mold a keyway into the hardened shaft for the pulley to simply slide over?
FYI, the car steers just fine with the PS belt removed. You just get an upper body workout, and really only at low speeds.
Yep, the PS failed on my 70 Supreme in college and since I was so poor I drove for a year or more without it. I had 235-60 tires on front so low speed turns were tough, but at speed no issues at all.
Not that I recall beyond normal steering occasion requirements - and even at that, I've never seen that kind of failure in any of the old cars I've had over time, so to me at least it's an anomaly.
maybe someday a company like Lee can re-engineer the pump to mold a keyway into the hardened shaft for the pulley to simply slide over?
When I was turning wrenches in college this was a once or twice a winter repair. Some kid would be blowing donuts in dad's truck with their foot on the floor holding the steering wheel against the stop. It dead heads the pump and either the belt flys off or the pump quits. Those conditions are very hard on the pump, i never hold the wheel on the stops.
connected with LPS today - they're having me send the pump back for a look and possible warranty replacement. They think based on my photo of the sheared key that it possibly locked up somehow, thus causing the key to shear - but won't know more until they get into it - in any case I'm pretty happy with their prompt response and their products, so I have little doubt they'll help remedy the problem.
I removed it from the car tonight and shipping out tomorrow.
