Leak Repair - 07/11/2015

So the car has been leaking at a good pace, namely from the valve covers and the power steering pump. These things happen when a car has been sitting for years and gets back on the road. All easy fixes, so might as well fix them and save the environment at the same time!



Valve cover gaskets replaced. Originals were hard as a rock, photos didn't come out. It was pretty special. Underside of valve covers are super clean, no sludge, so that's good news. A little hammering with the ball peen hammer on the edges was necessary to straighten everything out. Someone used super glue on the passenger side at one time on a very hardened and dry gasket...



Here's our leak. Return line of the power steering pump. Pump has a reman sticker on it so it isn't original.



Have to pull the fresh air duct to get to the hoses, which requires pulling the battery tray.



Battery tray looks really good. Could use a painting and cleaning one day but not today.



Plastic shell is easily separated from the steering box. Rag joint looks brand new.



Fitting is still good, hose was dry as a bone and likely original.



Hose has been replaced, no leaks!



While I'm at it, time to replace the cracked and broken hood release cable. Luckily I have a spare!



Hood latch is gooey but otherwise in good shape since I lubed it up.



Cable separated.



Kind of a goofy way of doing this, but this is how the two pieces go together.



And back together. Not as easy as it looks.



Cable routed through core support.



Gotta test it all and make sure it doesn't leak! Engine was running in photo but flash makes it look super dark.



While we're here, hook up the AC and see how it goes. Had to remove all of this to get to the valve cover anyways.



Belt and wiring all hooked up properly. Runs too!



It blew cold for about 30s. Then stopped. Bubbles in the sight glass indicate low freon. That I got anything at all and no groans or grinds means it's probably good. These systems leaked naturally over time so it isn't surprising.

Not a bad day. Can probably get away with charging it up and it will run for a while. Then I can determine if it has a fast leak or a slow leak. The compressor isn't noisy when engaged but the clutch is a little loud up close (can't hear with hood closed) so the system will likely need to be gone through eventually, but not right away. It was 90 with a heat index of 98 and humidty of around 80% so quite miserable. At least it's done!

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Last updated July 11th, 2015