1964 Continental Power Steering Issues & Follow Up

Hey Bill,
I recently took my ’64 Continental into a local shop for some brake issues. Those were all fixed, but while in the shop I was told the power steering lines were rotting, leaking and needed to be replaced.
I went ahead and had them do that, but then the car started making loud noises when steering. The shop claimed it was air in the hoses, but they were not able to rectify that. Ultimately, they determined that the power steering pump was bad and needed to be rebuilt as well. They quoted me $1000 to do that job, on top of what I’ve already had to pay for new hoses.
The car didn’t have any power steering issues before I took it in, so now I’m suspect of the whole situation. I was being pressured into getting the power steering pump rebuilt because they said you can’t find those for sale and if I let the old one go much longer, I
won’t be able to rebuild it at all. I didn’t like the pressure, so I just picked up the car and decided not to address the issue at that shop. But now I have a really loud noise from the steering and I guess I need to get that pump fixed somehow. What should I expect to have a pump rebuilt at another shop? Is $1000 the right range? Do I really have to rebuild this one or can those be found for sale out in the market?
Help!
Mercedes
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Mercedes –
While we feel sorry for you, we are well aware that most shops know absolutely nothing about these pumps and P.S. systems, and your shop could be one of them.
We have no idea what else they may have done to it and we also don’t know if they allowed some debris into the lines, or if the hoses that they replaced are incorrect sizes or what fluid or additive were used.
You may want to consider talking the car to another shop for them to try to bleed the system using correct fluid and pressure test it as per the special correct shown system pressures in the Lincoln Factory Shop Manual.
If you are advised that his pump is bad, you can send it to us for inspection and we can advise you on what parts you need. There would be no charge for this other than the cost of shipping.
Sincerely,
Bill
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Hey Bill,
Thanks so much for the advice.
I will contact another shop and see if they are able to rectify the issue through bleeding and proper fluids/pressure. If this pump ends up being bad, I’ll send it your way for inspection.
Thanks again!!
Mercedes
Mercedes