My 1962 Mark II has an automatic transmission with Power Steering. The Power Steering unit mounts or the rear of the Generator however my car has an Alternator with the Power Steering unit mounted on the rear. I seem to remember that there was a company who put these units together.

The power steering has worked perfectly since I bought the car about 4 years ago however it now does not work. The car has not been driven in about 6 weeks????? There is hydraulic fluid in the container and there are no leaks. The fluid seems to have turned a brownish color from the original purplish. The steering wheel is harder to turn than one without Power Steering. Any thoughts???? Thank you in advance.

Gary Higbee

 

In the original set up there is a coupling between the back of the generator and the power steering pump. This coupling has three parts. Two driving dogs and a central ring. The central ring has some rubber coated slots into which the driving dogs sit. The driving dogs then slot in to the back of the generator and th efront of the power steering pump. Over time the rubber coating wears away and you get a sloppy fitting and metal on metal. This causes the digs to wear quite badly and they no longer allow the coupling to engage so the generator no longer powers the pump. If the pump is not being turned the PAS will be as you have described very stiff.
Why the colour of the fluid has changed colour I cannot say other than it might not have been changed for a length of time.
A lot of people myself included have changed to a dynalite alternator which is an alternator in the same body shell of the old generator so we can change to Negative earth and have the extra power afforded by the alternator. Having a Dynalite means the car does not look as though it has been alerted and the original coupling for the PAS can be retained.

 

Thanks. I mentioned in my post that I have an alternator however I did not know the name. What is the fix for the problem you mention. Thanks.
Gary

 

One requires to remove the PAS pump & replace the coupling & 2 X drive dogs. (So called star drive by some). These are special order parts from Barratts & will collectively set you back 300 Pounds new.

Most people search out used units at autojumbles & Generator/Dynamo refurbishers that tend to build up a small stock of them.

 

This is what an old worn one looks like taken from my S Type a couple of years ago when I had a similar problem of the PAS not working as well as it should have. I managed to find a good used replacement rather than pay the £300 plus to SNG.
The second photo is comparing the old coupling with the replacement I found. The main damage as you can see is in the wearing away of the vulcanised rubber which means the driving dogs are metal to metal and get very worn.
Not saying that this is what is wrong with your PAS but it is a common fault.

 

This might also help. You should start by checking the fluid pressure at the input of the PAS steering box with the steering at full lock. See post # 185.


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/m...234129/page10/