Thursday, June 16, 2011

Power Steering & Charging Issues Fixed




Owning an old car is a constant battle. There always seems to be something that needs attending to, and turning that classic into a 700 hp fire breathing monster only adds to the list. Two nagging problems leftover from last season were a power steering leak and a charging system that had obvious issues.


The power steering leak seemed to originate from the low pressure return line coming out the back of the reservoir. The big block power steering brackets purchased last year didn't prove to be a simple bolt on. I had already turned a bolt hole into a slot in order to get the bracket to fasten to the headers last year. When it came to the cradle, I influenced the bracket onto the pump with a few taps with a rubber mallet...or maybe it was a steel mallet, depending upon resistance. Perhaps due to my impatience, or intolerance for parts that don't fit, the outcome proved to be a pump that leaked. The leak wasn't so bad that it required my instant attention, but it was of enough concern that I traveled with a funnel and a few courts of fluid, and often had to top it off prior to returning home.


I decided that coercing the new cradle bracket into place was a bad idea and instead decided to modify the design by removing the bottom portion with a cutoff wheel. After that, I had to replace an unused stud on the reservoir with a bolt, for clearance issues, and then everything bolted into place without a problem. A fire up of the engine proved that the problem was resolved. Next on the agenda, replace my unworthy alternator with the badass unit I bought through Summit Racing Equipment.






Last year, I concluded I had an electrical issue, no doubt about it. My gas gauge was inconsistant at best, and my volt meter also jumped all over the place. I tried new grounds a few times, and the problem persisted. A friend suggested my alternator was struggling to keep up, especially with my 4 electric fan set up likely drawing around 44 amps total. For reasons I can't explain, I never turned my voltmeter to measure amps, and verify my suspisions. Instead, I dusted off the area in the back of my brain, dating back about a decade when I bought my alternator. I recall buying it at Autozone back home, and that I recall it either being a 65 amp alternator, or perhaps slightly higher. Regardless, when combined with my MSD ignition system, I felt that whatever my alternator was, it wasn't not capable of supplying the needed power. So, I ordered up a Powermaster 140 amp alternator, which upon arrival, was rated at up to 161 amps of output. I took this opportunity to switch my charging system to a one wire alternator. I was surprised to find that it's simply a matter of hooking up the alternator power when dealing with a unit already designed to be one wire. With my battery mounted in the trunk, for both better weight distribution over the drive wheels, and to lighten up the nose, I ran the supplied power lead to the main starter terminal, without issue.



After installation, I fired up the engine, and quickly noticed that not only did my voltage gauge seem to be functionioning flawlessly now, reading about 14.5 volts. My gas gauge also seems to be back to normal, as the gauge quickly dropped down to where I figured my gas level was after a trip up to the Hot Rod Power Tour stop at Metro Beach.


So, with those two leftover problems from last season out of the way, my biggest concern left is that brake issue. Not that it's that big of an issue to resolve, I just sort of detest working with brake fluid, as it tends to have some seriously ill effects upon anything with paint. That said, I'll likely venture on out to the garage and knock this problem out somet time this afternoon, that way I'll have a little peace cruising down the freeway next weekend enroute to Gratiot Cruise.

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