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    How to flush steering box?

    I'll be replacing the PS pump & am wondering how to flush out the steering box.
    Any suggestions?

    Thanks Guys



    87 Ford LTD Crown Victoria Country Squire Station Wagon. 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, Boxed LCA's, Explorer Intake, 65mm T-body, 'Stang Cam, 'Stang Air tube, K&N, GT-40X Heads, 1" Spacer, 1 5/8 BBK's, 2.5" Pypes X-pipe w/high flow cats, Single Chamber Thunderbolts, B&M 'vertor, Po-lice Swaybars.

    91 Mercury Grand Marquis Colony Park Station Wagon. K-Code, 4.10's, Repacked Trac Loc, MK VII LSC Engine, 'Stang Upper Intake, Stang Air Tube, K&N, 65 mm T-Body, 'Stang Headers, 'Stang Cat Pipe,'Stang Torque Convertor, 2 Chamber Thunderbolts.

    #2
    The usual way is to feed the pump fresh fluid while dumping the old fluid into a bucket... having a gallon or 2 of type F (or merc III) on hand and someone else to crank the engine and turn the wheel lock to lock as fast as they can while you dump the fluid.

    Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
    rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
    Originally posted by gadget73
    ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
    Originally posted by dmccaig
    Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

    Comment


      #3
      Alternatively, what I have done is to feed the pump fresh fluid, and with the belt off turn the pulley by hand. I remove the return line and plug the nipple on the bottom of the PS pump, and let the fluid flow out of the return line into a container. Just another option, especially if the belt is already off
      -Phil

      sigpic

      +1982 Ford LTD-S Police Car. Built 351w, Trickflow 11R 190 Heads, Holley Sniper EFI, RPM Intake+ Hyperspark dizzy, WR-AOD, Full exhaust headers to tails. 3.27 Trac-Lok Rear. Aluminum Police Driveshaft. Speedway Springs+Bilstein Shocks, Intermediate Brakes, HPP Steering Box.

      +2003 Acura CL Type S 6-speed

      Comment


        #4
        I also tend to do this by hand. You wouldn't believe how freaking fast those pumps move fluid. It makes a huge mess if it gets away from you. Turn it from end to end at least once, otherwise it won't get all the old fluid out.
        86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
        5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

        91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

        1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

        Originally posted by phayzer5
        I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

        Comment


          #5
          I wouldn't be brave enough to try the motor running method. Here's what worked for me on my 2000 MGM:

          1. pull the belt off (if only to keep it from getting oily), suck the fluid out of the reservoir, pull the return line, tape a piece of plastic over the reservoir stub, and put some kind of sleeve between the return hose and a container;
          2. put jack stands under the front end, fill the reservoir, and turn the steering wheel fully to one side and back to the middle (which should be enough to empty the reservoir);
          3. refill, turn the steering wheel the other way and back, and repeat filling and turning to your heart's content.

          It seemed to me that you could get away with one quart for a basic fluid change, but you might as well buy at least two.

          I found that turning the pulley by hand only worked when the fluid was above a certain level. At a certain point, it wasn't going anywhere no matter how much I turned the pulley. I would guess the weight of the fluid comes into play.

          2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
          mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

          Comment


            #6
            yeah the pump will only move fluid if its above the intake level. Otherwise it just sucks air and does nothing.
            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

            Originally posted by phayzer5
            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

            Comment


              #7
              yeah... I did use a 6 gallon bucket as my catch bucket and had my wife wheeling it with the front end off the ground. Managed to get the wheels back and forth about 3 full cycles before emptying out the "flush" quarts. I used 2 for that one. Having a full gallon on hand would have been much nicer. But yeah... gotta pour fast. It flushes the system QUICK.

              Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
              rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
              Originally posted by gadget73
              ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
              Originally posted by dmccaig
              Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                yeah the pump will only move fluid if its above the intake level. Otherwise it just sucks air and does nothing.
                What I was talking about was the fluid going down some but getting to a certain point where there was clearly still some fluid in the reservoir to keep it from sucking air, but it wouldn't go any lower. After putting more fluid in the reservoir, it went down to the same level but no more.

                2000 Grand Marquis LS HPP, a hand-me-down in 2008 with 128,000 km; 175,000 km as of July 2014
                mods: air filter box 'tuba', headlight relay harness, J-mod (around 186,350 km), 70mm throttle body, KYB Gas-A-Just shocks, aluminum driveshaft, ARA3 PCM

                Comment


                  #9
                  Like other people said, I second turning pump by hand. Pumps pump pretty well yo. Easier on the bearings & starter this way, plus it's easier to stay "caught up" with what's going on rather than accidentally empty the pump reservoir. Mercon V works pretty well at quieting noise down, Type F just as good, if not slightly better. Stay away from parts store brand.
                  1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                  1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by IPreferDIY View Post
                    What I was talking about was the fluid going down some but getting to a certain point where there was clearly still some fluid in the reservoir to keep it from sucking air, but it wouldn't go any lower. After putting more fluid in the reservoir, it went down to the same level but no more.
                    You guys with roundy cars use different pumps too. Our reservoirs are integral to the pump, they probably pump down to a lower level than the external tank sort.
                    86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                    5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                    91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                    1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                    Originally posted by phayzer5
                    I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I've flushed the box and my aero running. When I did the aero, I had the return line poked into the drain hole on the top of my oil catch pan. That was much less messy than the open bucket. It was much easier to keep fluid pouring into the wide mouth of the box pump though. I was barely able to keep up with the aero.

                      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -- Albert Einstein
                      rides: 93 Crown Vic LX (The Red Velvet Cake), 2000 Crown Vic base model (Sandy), 2003 Expedition (the vacation beast)
                      Originally posted by gadget73
                      ... and it should all work like magic and unicorns and stuff.
                      Originally posted by dmccaig
                      Overhead, some poor bastards are flying in airplanes.

                      Comment

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