ATX MKIV #9644 Coyote Build Thread (Index #137) - Trickle Charger Port Added

[dbo_texas]

I'll get back to the fan stuff in a bit - I have a plan to fix that. In the meantime, the last time I had the engine running, I had a couple of things happen which just make me shake my head. It's like one step forward, 3 steps back with this build. I'm beyond frustrated and feeling a bit like the problems will never end. I took a week vacation on the beach to clear my head. Still not happy but ready to get back to work and fix this stuff.

Power Steering Leak:
I'm real concerned my PS rack has a blown seal. When I turn my wheel, a fair amount of PS fluid comes out of the PS rack where the steering shaft enters it. It's not from any of my hoses. You can see the location in the pic below. I've never seen a leak here....wondering if my rack is done and and needs to be completely replaced. Can anyone provide advice here? Is this rack toast?. If so, which rack to I need to purchase? I'm dreading the responses here...the thought of pulling apart the front suspension at this point in my build...let's just say I'm not excited about the possibilities. I have the KRC Coyote power steering setup from FFR, and running the fluid through a Forte hydroboost before entering the rack. On the KRC pump, I changed from the included #6 to the #4 flow restrictor which many others have recommended to reduce the amount of "assist". I was wondering if the hydroboost has somehow contributed to applying too much pressure? I'm not real familiar with how hydroboost works....I thought they just use the pressure difference between a diaphragm to provide the brake assist (i.e. high pressure from power steering side helps "push" on the master cylinder for the brakes).


Engine oil leak?
After running the engine for a while, I noticed some oil underneath the PS footbox panels. When I looked down into the engine bay, I can see some engine oil sprayed on the inside footbox panel on the passenger side. It's hard to get a pic, but you can kind of see the splatter here. I wiped it up, and ran the engine some more....no more spray/leaks in this area. Then a few days later, it showed up again. I'm thinking that when I rev the engine and pressure builds up, that's when it happens. My best guess here is maybe the header gasket has a bad seal? Any ideas here for troubleshooting? I haven't re-tightened the header bolts yet (after a few engine heat cycles) - I'm using the Stage 8 locking bolts. Should step 1 be to just re-tighten the header bolts and ramp oil pressure to see if problem persists? If that doesn't work, is it time to pull the header and inspect the gasket? I'm using Remflex #3609 header gaskets with the FFR stainless steel headers, as many others have used.


Brake Leak
Another strange thing happened. When I was pushing down on the brake, I felt the pedal go soft. Brakes haven't been an issue in quite some time so I was surprised this happened. When I let off the pedal, it didn't rebound back to position....it crept up slowly. Inspecting around the car, I found some brake fluid under the rear driver side connection. Same one I had a leak on in my post #185. I haven't had time to investigate...I was already frustrated at this point from the other 2 leaks above, and I'm just disappointed this popped up again after months of no issue. I guess better for it to happen now than when I'm on the road. I'm considering replacing the fitting completely, or replacing my steel lines with ni-copper lines. I'm not 100% confident in my crimping job on the end of the tubes.