tharrold

I had purchased (years ago) a set of heavier (but I believe 1" shorter) coils springs for my '69 convertible. They improved the ride dramatically. (along with a fatter front sway bar). I recall that the rubber pads at the top of the coil springs were just about disintegrated. I thought I'd buy replacements. I see CJ pony parts has rubber replacements that look contoured to the spring shape. I see Scott Drake makes a polymer version. Any thoughts on a good direction? Also, the LOWER spring saddles have some pads...I cannot find them. Any sources? Lastly, I see a Scott Drake 1" poly spacer that (I think) would mount at the top, but i'm not 100% sure, I can't find any installaton details. Would these spacers replace the need for the top spring pads? Any other upgrades while I have the shocks and springs out? (not sure if the spring saddles need any work typically.) Thanks, -Tom

Update, Not so much vacuum coming through the choke stove connector as I thought. Tried setting the idle mixture screws to "first start" setting (all the way in, back out 1.5 turns). Again, car starts with no issues. I can get it to idle (in park) at about 900-1000RPM. I checked the timing, and set it to 10BTC. As soon as it gets warm, I'm having a hard time keeping it running. This is so frustrating, as I just dont' know what to check next. And I only get a short amount of time before things heat up, and I can't keep it running on my own. :(

69RavenConv, thanks for the info. Actually, my convertible is painted "Arena Red", it is a '96 Porsche color, as I recall. When I purchased it, it was pretty well butchered up, bondo buggy, painted some horrible bright red color. I wanted something that was close (loosely) to a factory color when I re-painted it, but was still unique. Regarding the choke stove tube..I do feel a fair amount of vaccuum coming through that connector on the back of the choke assembly. Perhaps because my idle is still too high?

Also, I have never had the exhaust manifold choke stove connected. It was gone when I first bought the care 20+ years ago. I know that it sucks air. I assume it's supposed to be left uncapped when the choke stove is disconnected.

I will check vaccuum again, but the last time (last year) I checked, it was holding solid at a good value. (forget what that value was, but it was in the range it was suposed to be). If the air-fuel mixture is too lean, how do you adjust that?

Sorry for the delay. I have a bi-metal choke(stock heat activated). Carb is an autolite 2100 2-barrel. All stock. Choke stove tube has never been connected since I have had the car, but it hasn't been an issue. (just thought I'd mention it). There is about a 1/2" spacer between the manifold and the carb. That hasn't changed, I assume it is stock, to allow for clearance of a few of the carb components. I do see the choke open when the engine heats up. In fact, if I force it futher to the closed position, RPMs increase, and the engine runs stronger. I have tried adjusting the choke so that it's about 1/16" to 1/8" open when cold. I'm wide open to any ideas. I'll try just about anything that seems logical. :)

I'm at wit's end troubleshooting an issue. It started as stalling at idle speeds, only after the engine was hot. In the troubleshooting process, I'm noticing that the timing changes based on engine speed. (Yes, I've pulled the vaccum advance, and plugged the vacuum line) First, refresh my memory please: This isn't normal, is it? I have a pertronix ignition module under the cap. Also, does anyone have any initial choke settings? I have no idea at this point, where to set the choke. I'd like to leave it out of the equation, if possible, but it has a huge effect on engine idle speed. the last time I checked (last year) I had good vaccuum, very consistent. (can't recall the exact value) ANY help appreciated. -Tom

Thanks for the suggestion, I ended up getting a belt that was 47.5", and it fit, and give me a bit of clearance from the fuel line and oil pressure sending unit. Still, the filler neck is not quite pointing straight up. I'm curious if anyone has any good pics of the orientation of their power steering pump... Thanks in advance.

Good afternoon, I just re-built my pump, getting things back on the car, and I noticed that the pump belt that I have (I doubt it's correct) doesn't allow for very much adjustment of the pump. Basically, I tighten the belt very close the to the "loosest" setting on the adjustment bracket. I even have to put the belt on the pulley as I am mounting the pump, or it won't clear the pulley. I've always had clearance issues with the pump and the oil pressure gauge, and I (just noticed that the pump isn't quite straight up. (the filler neck is tilted toward the driver side, not straight up) Can anyone confirm whether the proper position of the power steering pump filler neck is supposed to be straight up? (as viewed from the front) I suspect this belt is just a bit too small. Anyone have a size/length or part number of the correct belt? The markings on the belt I have are "YCO 15470 Made in USA". It's a ribbed belt. Thanks in advance, -Tom

Bear with me here...I have some pics attached that may help with my questions. I pulled apart my pump that was working fine, but leaking quite a bit. Too much grime to tell for sure where it was leaking, but I suspect from the opening in the reservoir where the high pressure hose connects, and from the lower front of the reservoir, probably due to the reservoir main gasket failing. When I removed the reservoir, I see what appears to be a very thin gasket at the back (inside), where the high pressure end of the pump exits the reservoir. See photo of the remnants of this "gasket". I also included a photo of a gasket that came with a remanufactured power steering pump - is this similar to what should be used? It also appears that the metal around that opening is slightly distorted inward. It was easy enough to hammer it back to flat. Is there supposed to be a gasket where I am describing? Would it come with a rebuild kit (or a pump gasket kit, if that's all I need)? How thick is that gasket? Could someone have put an incorrect gasket, and could that have caused the metal to distort as the reservoir retaining nut was tightened? As far as the large o-ring that seals the pump to the reservoir - it LOOKS fine. Do they typically fail this way? Just start leaking, even though it still appears flexible with no apparent breaks or flat spots? Are there any tricks/tips when re-assembling the reservoir to the pump? (anything stupid that people do, until they learn the right way...) Lastly, any good sources for a gasket kit for these pumps? Thanks for the help. Tom

I'm not familiar with a seat - I thought it was just steel-on-steel compression fitting.

Shops that rebuild pumps should have a way to pressure test them for leaks. I can measure the pulley diameter on my car, if that helps. I believe my pump came from a '69 coupe with factory air.

OK, I was tired of a leaky power steering pump, (seemed to leak from every possible location) so I bought a remanufactured pump and installed. I tightened the high pressure hose with a standard open ended wrench, bled the system, and it leaked like crazy. I bought a new high pressure, hose, figuring that the compession fitting was just shot. New hose installed - leaked like crazy. I started tightening the compression fitting - grabbed a longer wrench, and tightened about 1/16 of a turn, checked, tightenened another 1/16, etc. Finally, leaking stopped. Is this normal? I feel like I had to tighten the $#it out of that compression fitting to stop it from leaking. It's been 15+ years since I re-built the PS system (should have done the pump at that time....but it wasn't leaking then). Anyone do this recently? Do the current replacement pressure hoses just need to be torqued hard? Thanks, -tjh

Update: Found that O'Reilly had a rebuilt distributor in stock. At only about $45, it seemed silly not to just buy the whole unit. It was motocraft, not Autolite, but it seems to be a pretty close fit. Had some issue getting the Pertronix module to fit with the right gap, but it is installed, an I now have vacuum advance! Should the vacuum advance stop advancing at 30-35 degrees? It seems to go off of the scale when I rev the engine. I'm about to take a test drive, and see how it runs. Quick question if any of you are still reading - what is the suggested order for tuning a 302? I always thought: 1) high idle 2) timing 3) back to high idle 4) re-check timing 5) check low idle in drive Any words of wisdom? Thanks again, -tjh

Update: Found that O'Reilly had a rebuilt distributor in stock. At only about $45, it seemed silly not to just buy the whole unit. It was motocraft, not Autolite, but it seems to be a pretty close fit. Had some issue getting the Pertronix module to fit with the right gap, but it is installed, an I now have vacuum advance! Should the vacuum advance stop advancing at 30-35 degrees? It seems to go off of the scale when I rev the engine. I'm about to take a test drive, and see how it runs. Quick question if any of you are still reading - what is the suggested order for tuning a 302? I always thought: 1) high idle 2) timing 3) back to high idle 4) re-check timing 5) check low idle in drive Any words of wisdom? Thanks again, -tjh