Power Steering Bracket Needed

[Gary Lewis]

And back to our regularly-scheduled program, I had to media-blast the parts.  Or at least the pulley so I blasted both of them.  I didn't realize it, but someone had painted the pulley at some point and the brake cleaner I used yesterday trying to find the ID # melted it and made it gooey.  I thought I could get it off with more cleaner but that just spread the goo around.

So I blasted both of the parts and you'll probably want to paint the pulley or it is liable to rust.  But a coat of spray paint should be easy.

You really should use a pulley puller/installer to get the pulley back on.  I have an OTC Stinger 4530 puller set, but I think you can "borrow" one from your local auto parts store.

I'll get the pulley and bracket out to you this afternoon and send you the tracking #.

[85lebaront2]

Gary those look great!

[ArdWrknTrk]

Way to pay it forward!  

[Gary Lewis]

Thanks, guys.  I've been blessed with so much that I'm happy to share.

Also, for the next three weeks I'll be two years less OLD than one of you, which has me thinking about the coming years.  Time making appears to have been offshored to China and time just doesn't last as long as it used to last.  So I've come to the conclusion I'd better do something with my stash now as the kids won't know/care what to do with it when the time comes.  After all, even tjmac won't want a PS bracket or pulley for a 460, so I'm happy someone does.

[BigBrother-84]

Gary Lewis wrote

[…] and time just doesn't last as long as it used to last.

My Dad uses to say that life is like a toilet paper roll:
Closer you come to the center Craft tube, faster it rolls out.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It certainly does seem to go quicker the older you get.

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, it is now going by in a blur.  But it is sad to think that at the end all I'll have left is a toilet paper roll.  

[Jermd21]

Gary,

You da man!  I’ll be sure and put some paint on them so they don’t rust. They look amazing though. I’ll be sure and use the right tool for the job this time instead of just getting a bigger hammer. 🙂

[ArdWrknTrk]

The pulley is steel,  but the casting is Zamak. It can't possibly rust, it's non-ferrous.
None of them came with any finish from the factory.

[Gary Lewis]

Jim beat me to it.  But I would have said the bracket is cast aluminum, so I'm sure I'd have been wrong as it doesn't quite feel like aluminum.

However, I didn't know what zamak is, so looked it up in Wikipedia: "Zamak alloys are part of the zinc aluminium alloy family; they are distinguished from the other ZA alloys because of their constant 4% aluminium composition. The name zamak is an acronym of the German names for the metals of which the alloys are composed: Zink (zinc), Aluminium, Magnesium and Kupfer (copper)."

I was tempted to powder coat the parts for you, Jeremy, but for two things - color and the belief that the bracket is aluminum.  On the color, I'd have done them in black and that might not be your choice, particularly since the bracket looks pretty good raw.

But the aluminum was the killer - cast aluminum, and probably zamak as well, is fairly "porous" and gets impurities down into the "pores".  So when you heat the part up in the oven to 425F the impurities burn off and blow the powder off, leaving holes in the finish.  The solution is to wash the part very well with brake cleaner, heat it to 400F for an hour, then wash it again with brake cleaner and preheat the part before applying the powder.  And that is very time consuming.

As it turned out I didn't have the time to do all of that yesterday.  Instead I spent that time "making" a box, meaning cutting an existing box down to size.  I'll bet I saved at least a dollar vs using a USPS flat rate box.  

[salans7]

Didn't see any clear photos of the power steering bracketry for a 1983-1987 460 assembled but without the accessories, so I'll throw these in for future reference if needed, even though they aren't the best.

For the record, the power steering pump bracket I have also says D8AC-3A732-AA. Mine came from a 1986 F250 with a 5.0 302, so it appears this bracket was used on most if not all of the gas V8's, at least in the later years.

[Gary Lewis]

Good to know, Shaun.  Thanks!  (Things like this are why we MUST take all of our history over to the new platform.)