formula
10-27-2007, 11:38 PM
I guess this theoretically isn't a super-emergency, but my car is stuck out in the open in a parking lot at my school until I figure out what the friggin deal is, and I'd like to have it back together before this weekend so I can drive to my best friend's 21'st birthday party on friday.
About a month ago, I put a new flaming river power steering box on my bird. Went ahead and ordered their rag joint and power steering line set to go with it, so I could just yank the old stuff out and drop the new stuff in. Their box uses o-ring fittings, unlike the old press-fit stuff that came stock on my car. Put everything together, and I had a small leak on the high-pressure side. Sigh. Took it apart, and the o-ring was split. Ok, I just presumed that it probably slipped as I was putting the hose in or something. Got a new o-ring. Redid everything. Started her up--the leak seems fixed for a minute, then comes back, then gets worse. Sigh again. Same deal--the o ring is split. Fix it a third time, this time I take it apart to make sure the o-ring is not falling off during installation, and everything seems fine, so I button it up and test it out, and everything seems to be holding. Drive the car for a couple weeks...the leak comes back. Then gets ridiculously bad. I'm talking empty-the-reservoir-in-minutes bad.
I haven't taken it apart yet because of midterms, but i'm presuming the o-ring has split again. WTF am I doing wrong?! I found out the hoses are made by "gotta show products"--anybody else had bad luck with them? Do I need to find some sort of super high pressure o-ring or something? am I not bleeding the system properly?
As for the other problem...This one's really odd to me. When I first hop in my car, it will start up and drive just fine and dandy. If I drive it for any extended period of time, i.e. 5 minutes or more, then shut the car off, it'll be stone dead (no cranking, clicking, nothing) but I'll still have lights, radio, etc. If I roll-start the car it will fire right up, and then continue firing fine for the rest of the trip, seemingly regardless of the time I drive. Amp gauge reads 14-15 amps when driving, which seems kinda high to me. Could my alternator be on its way out? Battery issues? any other ideas? chipped tooth on the flywheel that just happens to keep catching? I'm really lost on this one but it's stranded me 4 times now!
About a month ago, I put a new flaming river power steering box on my bird. Went ahead and ordered their rag joint and power steering line set to go with it, so I could just yank the old stuff out and drop the new stuff in. Their box uses o-ring fittings, unlike the old press-fit stuff that came stock on my car. Put everything together, and I had a small leak on the high-pressure side. Sigh. Took it apart, and the o-ring was split. Ok, I just presumed that it probably slipped as I was putting the hose in or something. Got a new o-ring. Redid everything. Started her up--the leak seems fixed for a minute, then comes back, then gets worse. Sigh again. Same deal--the o ring is split. Fix it a third time, this time I take it apart to make sure the o-ring is not falling off during installation, and everything seems fine, so I button it up and test it out, and everything seems to be holding. Drive the car for a couple weeks...the leak comes back. Then gets ridiculously bad. I'm talking empty-the-reservoir-in-minutes bad.
I haven't taken it apart yet because of midterms, but i'm presuming the o-ring has split again. WTF am I doing wrong?! I found out the hoses are made by "gotta show products"--anybody else had bad luck with them? Do I need to find some sort of super high pressure o-ring or something? am I not bleeding the system properly?
As for the other problem...This one's really odd to me. When I first hop in my car, it will start up and drive just fine and dandy. If I drive it for any extended period of time, i.e. 5 minutes or more, then shut the car off, it'll be stone dead (no cranking, clicking, nothing) but I'll still have lights, radio, etc. If I roll-start the car it will fire right up, and then continue firing fine for the rest of the trip, seemingly regardless of the time I drive. Amp gauge reads 14-15 amps when driving, which seems kinda high to me. Could my alternator be on its way out? Battery issues? any other ideas? chipped tooth on the flywheel that just happens to keep catching? I'm really lost on this one but it's stranded me 4 times now!