Re: Things Travelall/392 (Was: Things Binder)

[John Hofstetter <hofs@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Monday, June 30, 2003, at 07:55  AM, Binder wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> Read the forwarded message below...  The message forwarded below is
> from a
> Travelall owning friend.  I'm trying to get him subscribed to, and
> active on
> the digest. Meanwhile... Any words of wisdom on his ring/valve
> questions are
> greatly appreciated.  Think Northern would be good for his purposes?
> I know
> nothing of the Hastings kit.
Northern would be good for his purposes.  In general, Hastings is a top
quality manufacturer of auto parts. So, I would guess, that except for
price he would do well with the Hastings rings. If that parts house is
going to do the machine work, he might be about as well off, price
wise, to go with the Hastings.
> As for his grill hardware, I'd recommend he simply  pull a screw or two
> (assuming they're all the same type), and take 'em in to NAPA or the
> local
> hardware store.  I doubt they're anything too exotic/odd.  If he can't
> unscrew 1 or 2 of 'em due to rust, maybe I need to turn him on to PB
> Blaster...
Look for stainless steel in the little boxes in the hardware store. I
spend a lot of time and money looking through those little boxes of
stainless steel hardware.
> All help re the ring/valve questions are greatly appreciated.  He's
> over my
> head.
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
> Pete's personal IH prob:  I'm collecting info on power steering pumps.
>  Am I
> correct in my thinking/opinion that they are bascially the same quality
> regardless of price paid?  Is NAPA *really* better than Autozone's,
> etc.?
In my opinion, I dont have an opinion with any known validity. Who
knows?  I suspect that it is as much a matter of luck as anything else.
Was the little assembler in some foreign country paying attention as he
put together the one you buy? I mean he better be when hes getting
paid a nickel an hour, or whatever.  By the way, Autozone has a
lifetime warranty on their power steering hoses and they look like a
quality hose.  You will certainly want to replace your hoses when you
replace the pump.

> Mine is leaking like a stuck pig (about 1 bottle every 36 hrs).  I
> can't SEE
> any loose connectors/fittings.  SEEMS to be leaking out of the pulley
> area
> (is this possible?).
Yep, there is a bushing or bearing where the shaft goes into the pump,
and the seal there could certainly leak. Ive never seen one leak
there, but it is a logical place to have a leak.

> The STP seal conditioner stuff leaks as well as the
> generic 'house brand' plain-ol'-fluid.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Ive never had any success
with any of the seal conditioners either.

John Hofstetter