My truck is a 1999 F350 4x4 with 105K trouble free miles.  Never a lick of problems until I came to a sudden stop from about 15mph.

I was out hunting and plowed into a hidden stump which took out my power steering cooler on my truck.  I did a field repair by simply bypassing the cooler with a piece of aluminum tube and used it to couple the lines to stop losing juice.  

It seems to work fine and I hope it will get me through hunting season till I can find a cooler to replace it.  

Is this going to cause problems to my power steering system?   Should I just park it until it's replaced?   Where the hell can I find an OEM type steering cooler without paying ridiculous dealer pricing?



Thanks for any help.

No ford just put it on there for the hell of it...


YES you need it. It prevents the PS fluid from overheating and melting seals and orings in the system.

You can replace it with a factory part OR a small transmission cooler that can be found at any parts store fairly cheap.

You'll need a cooler. You can subsitute a inexpensive transmission cooler to do the job for about $20.00.

Okay, I know it's there for a reason but was hoping it would let me drive for a few days on it with just the bypass.   If the short term is still terribly harmful I'll go out and hunt for something to replace it with ASAP.  

I love my truck, it's been such a great rig I'd hate to do something stupid and start causing problems.

Quoted: Okay, I know it's there for a reason but was hoping it would let me drive for a few days on it with just the bypass.   If the short term is still terribly harmful I'll go out and hunt for something to replace it with ASAP.   I love my truck, it's been such a great rig I'd hate to do something stupid and start causing problems.

A couple days in Oregon (while it's fairly cool?) shouldn't hurt it.  Replace the cooler with OEM or equivalent (or larger) aftermarket size and replace the fluid while you're at it.  Make sure to use what's called for in your maintenance book.  Some call for power steering fluid, some call for ATF (and don't mix the two).

Good luck.

Merlin

Quoted: Okay, I know it's there for a reason but was hoping it would let me drive for a few days on it with just the bypass.   If the short term is still terribly harmful I'll go out and hunt for something to replace it with ASAP.   I love my truck, it's been such a great rig I'd hate to do something stupid and start causing problems.

Pay now, pay later.  Fix it and forget it.  

You need to fix the problem.  In the mean time just be aware of it.  The PS fluid heats up w/use, so the less you use the PS the less heat you generate.  Short of driving in the city and using the steering alot or other tight driving.

Quoted: I'd imagine your brakes are boosted by the PS unit too.  Soooo.

+1
Diesels have no intake vacuum, thus they must have Air, or Hydra-boost brakes, and I've not seen a F-series with OEM air brakes.

Quoted: Quoted: I'd imagine your brakes are boosted by the PS unit too.  Soooo. +1 Diesels have no intake vacuum, thus they must have Air, or Hydra-boost brakes, and I've not seen a F-series with OEM air brakes.

-1

Diesel engines may not have intake vacuum, but it has not been uncommon for them to be equipped with vacuum pumps to provide vacuum for for various accessories including vacuum powered brake boosters.

That being said, I believe that a 1999 Ford Superduty should have a HydroBoost hydraulic brake booster that does operate off of the power steering system. They also have a vacuum pump.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'd imagine your brakes are boosted by the PS unit too.  Soooo. +1 Diesels have no intake vacuum, thus they must have Air, or Hydra-boost brakes, and I've not seen a F-series with OEM air brakes. -1 Diesel engines may not have intake vacuum, but it has not been uncommon for them to be equipped with vacuum pumps to provide vacuum for for various accessories including vacuum powered brake boosters. That being said, I believe that a 1999 Ford Superduty should have a HydroBoost hydraulic brake booster that does operate off of the power steering system. They also have a vacuum pump.

what''s the difference between Hydroboost and a vacuum system?  i have both chevy and ford diesels; the gm having a vacuum pump, but i forget.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'd imagine your brakes are boosted by the PS unit too.  Soooo. +1 Diesels have no intake vacuum, thus they must have Air, or Hydra-boost brakes, and I've not seen a F-series with OEM air brakes. -1 Diesel engines may not have intake vacuum, but it has not been uncommon for them to be equipped with vacuum pumps to provide vacuum for various accessories including vacuum powered brake boosters. That being said, I believe that a 1999 Ford Superduty should have a HydroBoost hydraulic brake booster that does operate off of the power steering system. They also have a vacuum pump. what''s the difference between Hydroboost and a vacuum system?  i have both chevy and ford diesels; the gm having a vacuum pump, but i forget.

Vacuum assisted brake boosters basically use vacuum, either from intake manifold vacuum or an auxilliary vacuum pump, to create a low pressure environment inside of the brake booster canister. When the brake pedal is depressed, it allows air at normal atmospheric pressure to enter one side which then acts upon a diaphragm and presses it towards the other side of the booster which still has vacuum in it. This force is transmitted to the rod that goes to the master cylinder.

Hydroboost is a brake booster that adds supplemental pressure to the braking system via pressurized fluid from the power steering pump. Fluid flows from the power steering pump, through the booster, and then onto the steering box. When the brake pedal is not in use, fluid flows through the booster to the steering box. When the brake pedal is depressed, pressurized fluid flows through a spool valve into a chamber in the booster. This fluid exerts a force on a piston in the unit which pushes on the master cylinder and provides assist to the brakes.

Hydroboost systems provide roughly twice as much pressure to the brake system as do vacuum boosters. This means that the brake calipers and wheel cylinders are able to exert that much more force and provide better stopping power. Hydroboost is pretty much universally considered to be better than vacuum boosters.

I know that GM has used Hydroboost systems on their heavier duty light trucks for a long time. Our 1994 GM K2500 Suburban had a Hydroboost system on it.

Dodge used vacuum boosters powered by vacuum pumps in their diesel trucks though the 1996 model year. My 1997 Ram with the Cummins turbo-diesel has a Hydroboost brake booster along with a vacuum pump that operates the heater/AC controls, cruise control, front axle disconnect, and exhaust brake.

Quoted: There is no vacuum in the intake tract of a diesel engine because there is generally nothing to restrict airflow. The engine is free to draw in as much air as it can.

I didn't know that, thanks!

Wouldn't logic state that a normally aspirated fuel injected engine also wouldn't require a restrictor to create a vacuum (with the fuel being shot into the airstream at the valve under high pressure)?  

Updated:   I bought a replacement cooler at autozone for a whopping $20.   Btw, my truck is a gasser V10 and this is the first thing I've had to replace on it other than the spark plugs at 100K and that was just because the book said I should.  

I've got a few qts of Mercon and I'll get to work on it as soon as it stops raining.  Sometimes I really wish I had a garage

Quoted: Updated:   I bought a replacement cooler at autozone for a whopping $20.   Btw, my truck is a gasser V10 and this is the first thing I've had to replace on it other than the spark plugs at 100K and that was just because the book said I should.   I've got a few qts of Mercon and I'll get to work on it as soon as it stops raining.  Sometimes I really wish I had a garage

10 days.  You should be ok.