Power Steering Question

[Maine Pilot]

As luck would have it, I lost my power steering just as I was leaving a auto supply store. Went right inside and purchased some Type F auto transmission fluid and added it to the steering pump's reservoir which apparently solved the problem. Another customer in the store said he used to own Mercurys and offered to let me use his funnel to pour in the fluid.

He said I had a rack-and-pinion steering mechanism. I thought my '66 Caliente came with the "recirculating ball" type of power steering. So, now I'm wondering if this could have been an "add-on" by a previous owner or did Ford equipped the cars in 1966 with rack-and-pinion steering. The steering in this car was always sloppy which made me think it was the older type of power steering unit.

[Groover]

As luck would have it, I lost my power steering just as I was leaving a auto supply store. Went right inside and purchased some Type F auto transmission fluid and added it to the steering pump's reservoir which apparently solved the problem. Another customer in the store said he used to own Mercurys and offered to let me use his funnel to pour in the fluid.

He said I had a rack-and-pinion steering mechanism. I thought my '66 Caliente came with the "recirculating ball" type of power steering. So, now I'm wondering if this could have been an "add-on" by a previous owner or did Ford equipped the cars in 1966 with rack-and-pinion steering. The steering in this car was always sloppy which made me think it was the older type of power steering unit.

Don't think there was rack and pinion available in 1966 on Comet. Easy way to check is look inside. If you have a big steering box, a pitman arm and a control valve on the drag link then you have stock.

https://www.google.com/search?q=comet+p ... BvtCUNM%3A

[lavron]

He might have mistaken the power ram (or whatever it is called) for a rack, in Ford, if I remember correctly, was first offered on the Pinto/Mustang 2 in the mid '70s, Maverick/Comets did not even have R&P from the same era.

Not saying you don't have R&P but if you do it was an add on by somebody later.

See Ya,
Mike

[Comechero65]

No such thing as an R&P steering in those days at least not on fords. Don't think they existed on anything in those years.
As far as 'recirculating balls' the saginaw box in your ford does have those. Was one of the improvements to saginaw boxes.
Type F trans fluid or power steering fluid is correct in ford ps. Good you found the problem so easily. Now switch to EPS and you can forget about fluids and leaks. I did.
Ron

[mopar 346]

If you had to add fluid there is a leak, find it and fix it. It doesn't evaporate or use up in anyway, if it's gone it leaked it out.

As stated no racks available on Comet or even any American car I can think up in the 60s, could have been added. If he was looking at the car at the time then maybe you do have a rack but if he said it sitting on the stoll in the parts house then he is mis-remembering something.

[Maine Pilot]

UPDATE....

Brought my Comet into my mechanic's place yesterday for some other work. As I got out of the car I happened to look at the ground and saw a large puddle of...yep, power steering fluid. Again, the gods were with me having broken down at a repair garage!

We put the car up on the lift and found: 1) the car has a "power ram," (which could have been mistaken for R&P steering, and 2) the hydraulic fluid return line to the pump suffered an embolism, splitting open and letting out the fluid in a forceful spray. Looked like this line was original with the car. At least it was a relatively easy and cheap fix.

Thanks for the responses guys.

[poboyjo65]

That just goes to show you cant believe everyone, & especially strangers .

[comethead]

Glad you found and fixed the problem!
Funny how you hear about how terribly those old systems leak. Mine don't. The old mustang I had didn't either. Not one drop from either car. With a little maintenance any leak can be fixed pronto!

Joe

[SASSY]

Got to wondering when RnP steering came along so I googled it

Feature Article from Hemmings Motor News
July, 2010 - Jim O'Clair

Although rack and pinion steering is relatively new in U.S. auto history, it is definitely not a new concept. BMW created the first rack and pinion gearboxes in the 1930s, but they were not sold in the U.S. until the 1951 MG, and were not used in production American models until the 1974 Ford Mustang II and Pinto. AMC used rack and pinion in their 1975 and up Pacers, but GM and Chrysler did not begin their use until the early Eighties X-bodies and K-Cars.