I have a 69 Firebird I bought a few years ago as a project with no engine, tranny, and a lot of other things I didn't know were missing until I started putting it back together. I have since put in an OHC 6 with Sprint manifolds and a 5 spd. I am about to the stage of it moving under it's own power for the first time in over 25 years but the power steering has me stumped. The pump is pushing fluid out the high pressure side, into the steering box, and back out into the pump reservoir but there is no power assist. After about 5 minutes running, the hoses get very hot and fluid starts foaming out past the fill cap. The fluid has been changed several times. I don't want to buy a new pump or steering box if I can fix what I have. Any Ideas anyone.
Thanks--Brian

What are you using as power steering fluid???
Are you sure the system is full??

Did you get all the air out of the system?

pump is wiped out....

Thanks for the replies. I have tried the old Dexron II ATF fluid and the new stuff you buy in the stores that just says "Power steering fluid". Pump is full with no air in the system. I have pulled the high pressure line and stuck it in a clear container and there seems to be plenty of pressure. It empties the pump reservoir in a few seconds. I really think it's in the steering box. The car was stored inside for many years with no hoses connected to the box. Guess I'll pull the box and pump and open them up.
Brian

Sounds like the gear box is bad to me. Nappa sells them pretty reasonably plus you can get a quicker box.

A good rule of thumb is to turn the steering wheel 20 times from stop to stop to bleed out the system. This is a million times easier if the front wheels are off the ground. Personally I turn 20 times before AND 20 times after starting the engine.

Although from your story it sounds like the fluid passage inside the box is blocked or something. Good possibily since there was no lines hooked up over the years. Maybe a mouse dropped some mouse food in there??

Sounds like you've done a ton to the car. Good luck!

Kyle

You might check the pump by pulling it, remove the reservoir and look at the back side of the pump. There is a snap ring that holds a cover in place. Behind that is the pump (impeller vanes). If that snap ring pops out you’ll still have flow, no leaks but no power assist and it will foam the fluid after a while. Not saying this is your problem but something to check. I chased the same symptoms you describe for weeks and found the above to be my problem.

Quick way to check the gear itself. pull the return line off the pump and raise the front end. Plug the line with a bolt or similar and clamp. Raise the front end and turn the wheel with the motor off. If pressure builds and wants to blow the plug out, the gear is most likely ok. If no pressure, it needs rebuild/replace.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I will try a few of your suggestions when it warms up again. We went from 83 degrees to freezing and snow within a couple days here. Gotta love that Midwest weather. To Lupdiesel, If the box is clogged, it's probably not a mouse problem. When I bought the car it was pulled out into the driveway and I noticed dead roaches everywhere. The seller said the neighbors had a problem and had just had their house exterminated. I discovered it wasn't the neighbors. After bringing the car home it sat on a car trailer for a couple days and I checked it for hitchhikers and didn't find anything. After putting it in my garage, they started showing up. It took several attempts to exterminate them. Not trying to gross anyone out but you never know what's living in that next project car. I should have put a tarp over it and bug bombed it before bringing it in.
Thanks again---Brian

Yeah I was kinda joking about that, but I have seen rodents cause all kinds of havoc. I had a venture van with an inop washer fluid pump that I pulled a "blue" mouse out of the bottom of it. I've traced down some weird electrical problems that ended up being chewed wires.. But the best was removing a LIVE possum from under the hood of a truck. You wanta talk about a SURPRISE!!! Nothings better than opening a hood, then getting hissed at!!

I was just tring to say is you never know what might of dropped in there, if anything at all...Just using rodents as an example

--Kyle