Jim S

I am replacing the seals in my power steering ram on my 72. I started the procedure according the instructions in the shop manual. It stated the order as; inner seal, then bushing (I used the steel bushing that came in the kit), the dust seal, outer seal then the scraper. I found that stack of parts made it impossible to install the snap ring. Now when I dissassembled my ram, there was no steel bushing. The diagram on the kit instructions does not show using it as well. My assumption is don't install the bushing and the snap ring will seat. Any one else go through this?

Problem solved! I discovered that the connections at the fuse panel were reversed at the wiper circuit breaker. The ignition hot wire that should go to the common input of the fuse panel was on the oposite side of the wiper circuit breaker. Thus everything on the ignition circuit was going through the curcuit breaker before the common of the fuse panel. Everything worked until the additional load of turning on the heater motor and/or wipers. That additonal load would trip the breaker. All I had to do was reverse the connections and all is well. I guess I'm forever cursed with correcting previous owners mistakes!

I have a new master cylinder to bench bleed. It has a bleeder port on the small reservoir. How is that used? Will it only bleed that one, or will it bleed both the small and large resevoir. What is the recommended procedure?

Thanks to all the contributors. I'll dig in now!

I forgot to mention, both motors run fine for a minute or so before the circuit trips.

When I turn on either the wipers or heater (or both) the fuse will blow. I replaced the fuse with a 30 amp breaker and that will trip after a minute or two. The guages and shifter light are on the same circuit. Is it because the motors are old and pulling too many amps? Any suggestions to keep them safely running?

Thank-you! I actually did that years ago on a Hawk I had. But I sold it shortly after and never knew how long they would stick on. So I thought I would get a second opinion before I tried it again.

In the last 50 years I have owned several Studebakers. Besides leaking, they have one thing in common. The wheel covers won't stay on the wheels. Today my Avanti threw a cover on the freeway and I watched it get squashed by a truck behind me. I have modern 6" wheels to accomadate radial tires. I even bent out the tabs on the covers to keep them good and snug on the wheels. But the flexing of the front wheels and tires seems to still push them off. Has anyone found a good way to keep them from coming off?

Thank-you. Does anyone know what psi I should be seeing to the ram?

OK, I got my hoses routed with maximum ground clearance. So, back to the first problem of no assist. I disconnected the ram from the idler arm and had an assistant turn the steering wheel lock to lock. The ram does not extend or retract until the wheels are turned all the way to the max in either direction. The control valve adjusting nut is set correctly. So do I most likely have a bad control valve or ram? I have a new pump as well.

OK, I got my hoses routed with maximum ground clearance. So, back to the first problem of no assist. I disconnected the ram from the idler arm and had an assistant turn the steering wheel lock to lock. The ram does not extend or retract until the wheels are turned all the way to the max in either direction. The control valve adjusting nut is set correctly. So do I most likely have a bad control valve or ram? I have a new pump as well.

Thank you very much. That is very helpful.

I cannot seem to get my power steering hoses high enough off the ground to prevent them from scraping! The need enough flex to allow the control valve to move end to end, but they still hang dangerously close to the ground. Is the picture or template to show how to properly attach them to the frame?

I'm unsure of the mileage or the length. The car has passed hands a few times.

A friend suggested the torque convertor could be out of balance. But everything is smooth reving the engine up high. Any thoughts on this?