Duffy: Are you talking about the two bolt mounting to the back of the timing cover? Not sure what you're talking about... If so, then that would be engine oil leaking. I have ATF leaking from the power steering system. Specifically, pressuring up and coming out the cap. In large amounts. It doesn't do it after I shut it off, but rather when I run for awhile at sustained higher (interstate) speeds...

 

are you sure its comming out of the cap my leak was the brecket on the back of the pump

 

Anyway...

Changed the steering gearbox with a rebuilt unit - no luck.

No foaming in the reservoir at all, after high speed run. As much as I hate to admit it, it must be the pump. What the hell else could it be? Oh, and I also put a new pressure line on.

This is just flat out pissing me off. Steering works fine. No whining. Hardly (if any) leaking at lower or variable rpm's. But on the interstate, it starts leaking.

When I checked tonight after I got home (when I discovered no foaming, etc), I did notice one thing - the reservoir itself (the area below fluid level) was hot as hell. Hotter than the steel fitting on the high pressure line, even. Return line was pretty cool. Maybe the f*^$%ing pump isn't working right, or the pressure valve inside the pump isn't working right, and allowing too much pressure to build before releasing it to the steering box - that might perhaps explain the reservoir being so hot.

Please chime in if you have any further ideas. Thanks.

 

Aren't power steering gears and pumps rated by volume or horsepower?
Also, are the fitting sizes on the Ford steering gear the same as the ones on the pump's original application?
Going from smaller to bigger probably doesn't hurt a lot, might make the steering seem a litttle stiffer at lower rpms, but going from bigger to smaller restricts flow and makes things work harder...and heat up due to lack of flow.

Step back and look at what you have compared to what the power steering pump was originally running.

You'll find a restriction somewhere.

Mark.

 

I run additional coolers and/or Magnefine filters on all my power steering systems. Never had a problem. The new trucks come with coolers from the factory. They should all have filters, but then again they wouldn't be selling as many gearboxes and pumps, would they?

 

just go buy a new pump and throw it on. theyre less than 50 bucks normally. should fix your problem

 

UPDATE:

Changed the pump today and BINGO - no more problems. I downgraded from the hydroboost pump to the earlier pump (I don't use hydroboost on the F150).

What had me screwed up was that the pump was working fine, or so it seemed. No whine unless it was out of oil. No hiccups at all, except blowing fluid out of the cap. And when it did that, it wasn't a frothy mess, either. Fluid looked normal, for the most part. Evidently, the pump was just screwed up somehow, or the valve was all messed up and holding too much pressure.

Thanks for all the inputs.

Oh, and by the way, I put ATF in the new system...

 

ATF+4 is the Mopar factory fill.

 

The red stuff always goes into my ps systems!