Power steering cylinder leaks (ram) when full right

orionsbeltp3vx3 · Jul 30, 2011

I have a prob Guys My 1968 mustang's power steering cylinder leaks when the wheel is turned full right. All of the components are brand new. It seems as if the power cylinder (ram) is maxed out at full travel when it leaks. The min I return to the wheel to less then full right it stops dripping. At full right it leaks about 4 drops every 10 sec. The header power steering drop down bracket seems to be under alot of stress too when turned to the full right posistion. I did replace the tie rod ends recently. Could this cause the the power steering cylinder to extend too far and leak at full right turn? Or are there steering stops I should adjust? Please pardon my ignorence but Im not even sure if 68 mustangs have steering stops. Any help or sugestions with this prob would be greatly appreciated guys.

2+2GT · Jul 30, 2011

Are you holding it hard against the stop?

orionsbeltp3vx3 · Jul 31, 2011

Yes its being held against the stop. Is there some type of adjustments I can make that will limit how far the wheel can turn so it doesnt get to that point?

other_shoe · Jul 31, 2011

I just learned this from other members of the board, so they can correct me if I misstate.

This all has to do with the way the control valve works.

If you are holding the steering against the stop, you are holding the control valve in a position where it will continue the pressurized flow of fluid into the ram cylinder. The cylinder will keep pushing until it has nowhere to go either reaching the full extent/contraction of the cylinder itself or the full travel of the linkage. In either case, once you've reached full travel and hit the stop, the pressure that is being needlessly sent into the cylinder has to go somewhere, so it starts blowing seals or maybe bending or breaking parts of the linkage.

Bottom line: once you hit the stop, back off just a bit.

orionsbeltp3vx3 · Jul 31, 2011

Interesting.... Is there any way to adjust the valve so that the ram doesnt reach full extention to the right? I just want to prevent damage to the system. After spending over 2000 bucks and a year of tinkering with it I dont want to relive the a$$ pain of it all.

2+2GT · Jul 31, 2011

other_shoe said:
If you are holding the steering against the stop, you are holding the control valve in a position where it will continue the pressurized flow of fluid into the ram cylinder. The cylinder will keep pushing until it has nowhere to go either reaching the full extent/contraction of the cylinder itself or the full travel of the linkage. In either case, once you've reached full travel and hit the stop, the pressure that is being needlessly sent into the cylinder has to go somewhere, so it starts blowing seals or maybe bending or breaking parts of the linkage.

Bottom line: once you hit the stop, back off just a bit.

Exactly. The power steering system develops up to 800 psi, and if you hold it against the stops, you'll get the full 800 psi trying to do more.

orionsbeltp3vx3 said:
Interesting.... Is there any way to adjust the valve so that the ram doesnt reach full extention to the right? I just want to prevent damage to the system. After spending over 2000 bucks and a year of tinkering with it I dont want to relive the a$$ pain of it all.

No. The stop in question is the physical stop on the spindle hitting the steel bracket on the strut. There is no adjustment. This kind of problem is considered "operator error". All you need to do is back off a spazillionth of an inch when the steering hits the stop, and that's the end of the problem. Holding the steering hard against the stop is likely the cause of 99% of the wear and tear on power steering systems. Doesn't do manual steering any good, either.

other_shoe · Jul 31, 2011

I'm under the impression that you can't do anything other than back off once you hit the stop. Hitting the stop and extending the cylinder should not be a problem (or at least not a big one); holding it against the stop is.

Also my prior post implied that you could reach full extension of the ram, but I don't think that should happen before hitting the stop.

orionsbeltp3vx3 · Jul 31, 2011

thanks for the help guys.... I thought I might have screwed something up on the install. Let just say the whole converting a manual steering mustang to a power steering system has been eye opening and honestly quite a expensive experience. Thanks again

Great68 · Aug 3, 2011

FYI, I found out the hard way that different cars from that era had different ram lengths. The parts shop sold me the wrong one (too short) even though it was the right one according to their computer.

Power steering cylinder leaks (ram) when full right

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