Ford 6600 power steering gasket blown 3 times

DavidBTX · Sep 14, 2020

There is a cover at the base of the steering column on the right side with a figure 8 gasket. It blew a couple of times over a year. The third time I asked a mechanic to help. He put on a fiber-reinforced rubber gasket and said the paper ones weren't as good and that would hold. It blew after 20 minutes with a load in the bucket. The last two times it fired the fluid out very violently.

Any guidance on how best to find and fix the issue?

Bern · Sep 14, 2020

The paper gaskets work just fine if the sealing surfaces are flat and clean, and the bolt torque is to spec. Be advised that there are 3
different lengths of bolts used in that cover (3/4, 7/8, and 1"), and if by chance they got mixed around and/or replaced with longer bolts
(e.g. a 1" bolt in a hole where there should be a 7/8"), it's quite possible that one or more bolts are bottoming out in the holes. This of
course would result in insufficient gasket compression and lead to a blown gasket.

One way to see if the bolts are too long is to put the cover on without the gasket, sector shim, and spring, and then run the bolts down
finger tight. They should all bottom out on the cover. If they don't, you likely found the problem.

SkipperII · Sep 14, 2020

Pressure relief valve sticking?? Had it happen on a 3000. It would suddenly bend the cylinder rods if it hit the stops, or heavy resistance,
before you could let go of the steering wheel. Took it apart, cleaned it with some fine scotch brite, and it worked fine. Bent two sets of
rods before it dawned on me.

DavidBTX · Sep 16, 2020

Thanks! It always blows in the exact same spot, so this could be it.

We knew there were two sizes, but we did not know there were 3.

You said:
'One way to see if the bolts are too long is to put the cover on without the gasket, sector shim, and spring, and then run the bolts down
finger tight. They should all bottom out on the cover. '

I am going to try it. Could you explain 'sector shim, and spring'?

DavidBTX · Sep 16, 2020

Thank you. Several people have mentioned the possibility of the bypass valve or pressure relief valve being blocked.

Can you tell me how to find it?

The mechanics say they want to tear it all down and replace the seals, but these excellent specific known problems of a long bolt in a short hole or a blocked pressure relief make more sense to me. I appreciate you all sharing this key info very much.

DavidBTX · Sep 16, 2020

Seems that was it.

It is easy to tell where the 3/4", 7/8" and 1" bolts go.

The 2 1" go on the bracket on the upper left of the cover that holds the throttle shaft .

The single 3/4" bolt goes in the recessed hole in the top center.

The other 7 are 7/8".

The gasket was blowing right beside a 1" bolt in a 7/8" hole.

I copied a ruler onto paper at 3/4, 7/8 and 1 and measured the bolts on it to find the right ones for the spots. Thanks again for getting us running and saving mechanics tearing it apart for $$$.

Ford 6600 power steering gasket blown 3 times

DavidBTX

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Bern

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SkipperII

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DavidBTX

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DavidBTX

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DavidBTX

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