M1009 hard power steering and mushy brakes

[somepriests]

Just getting to work on my first CUCV and as providence would have it I have my first issue to work through. Driving home last night, I noticed that I had intermittent power steering and my brake pedal felt very mushy. When I say intermitent, it felt like I was man-handling the truck through some turns, while other times it was easy as pie. At one point the vehicle would not turn at all for about a second or two, then engaged and turned stubbornly. I have no leaks on the Hydro pump or the lines to the Power Steering Gear. Both brake and hydro reservoirs are full. I have to admit, the TMs on this sight are a life-saver, but before I get into taking the system apart, can any of you guys point me to a potential cause before I troubleshoot this?

Thanks

Steve

 

[kabar1]

Power steering pump making any noise when turning the wheel ?

 

[bigginstactical]

Second that question. Also have you happened to check the fluid levels? Belt?

Power steering pump making any noise when turning the wheel ?

 

[Cleptomaniac]

Had to change my power steering pump and the slave cylinder went out shortly after.
Welcome to the OD Addiction!

 

[somepriests]

The unit does not make any noise in the turns. Fluid levels are good.

Here is what transpired today. I took the truck out for a test drive. At start-up, I heard the fan belt squeal like a stuck pig when I rev'd up the motor. I let the motor rev down and then ran it up again. No squeal. I then drove off my lot and had the usual hard turn but with good braking; engine in idle in the turn. At an intersection I ran the engine up a couple hundred RPMs and then turned the wheel. It turned with ease. Encouraged, I did this about three or four more times, and it worked great. Thinking this would be the new procedure, I attempted one last turn with the engine in idle. This time, the wheel turned easily and stayed that way for the rest of the drive.

Could there have been air in the system? How about debris? I have to confess that I purchased the truck with an additional steering piston linked into the Power Steering Pump which gives it a tighter turn radius than the normal M1009s. I most likely could also assume it is this mechanism as well.

Any ideas?

 

[cpf240]

"additional steering piston linked into the Power Steering Pump"

 

[bigginstactical]

Sounds to me like it could be air in the system. I know a few of the newer fords we work on there is a procedure for clearing air out. Basically rev the engine up to about 1500 or so and turn the wheel lock to lock a few times. let idle and check fluid level. May need to be changed? or bad/gummed up pump? Hard to tell not looking or hearing it. Is the belt in good condition? Maybe its stretched?

 

[txmytx_catahoula]

The last time I had problems with a stiffer than usual steering, one of the bracket securing nuts left me and two of the others were extremely loose. I replaced the missing nut, tightened the two loose nuts and readjusted the belt. No problems since.

 

[Dave Kay]

Had similar issue with my M1008 where it would brake and steer fine, then if I did a slow lock-to-lock turn, like a double u-turn in a parking lot, the brake pedal would go to the floor and after a couple of pumps would bring it back solid again. This happened periodically and could NOT always be reproduced. The pedal was always solid from a high speed braking and gave me confidence.

Over Labor Day this year I started in on the front wheel bearing re-pack and decided to re-do front brakes too. Did the job complete w/turned rotors, rebuilt my calipers and then looked into the master cyl bench-bleeding procedure as a possible gremlin. Long story even longer--- my master cyl was full of black-ish gunk inside so replaced it with a re-man and bench bled. But at this same time I also discovered that my M1008's booster was labeled for an M1009~~!!! TM's state that FY=M1009 while CM=M1008, problem solved?

Replaced the booster with proper CM and did the manual brake bleeding procedure until DOT 5 fluid was clear of bubbles. Then did the power steering hydro-system bleeding procedure: All was good.

But after this I wonder if I'm missing still something because the brakes work OK, but now seem kind of spongy and that solid feeling is gone.

Anyone else got that spongy feeling after a front brake job?

 

[RedneckMilenko]

I'm having the same problem with my M1009 after a day of pretty hard wheeling in it. By that I mean the entire truck is covered in an even, heavy coat of sugar creek mud. I'm guessing the power steering pump went bad but I'm unsure. I was wondering if there has been any fixes to this problem when the fluid levels are fine, no leaks, and the fluids look good.

 

[Iceman3005]

In my opinion I would suspect the power steering pump is the culprit. A worn steering gear could also have the same effect, but if your steering still feels somewhat firm then most likely that is not the issue. A master cylinder that is about to fail or failing could also cause the same problem. Remember these trucks are over 20 years old and most of them probably still have the original parts on them.