I've just completed mounting up my saginaw pump that has the resevoir on it to my new bracket and I'm ready to hook up the lines and fill up the pump with fluid.

I was thinking about chucking a shaft into my right angle drill and putting an old alternator pulley on that, temporarily attaching a v-belt to the drill/pulley and rotating the pump with that apparatus so that I can circulate the fluid through the system without having to start the motor. Most of the time I work on this is late at night and I don't want to wake up everyone because the engine is loud.

I am running hi pressure line from pump to box then low pressure 3/8 inch hard line from box to fluid cooler on the radiator, then soft line from cooler back to pump.

I figured with my drill apparatus, I could circulate the fluid by running the pump with the return line (after fluid cooler) disconnected until fluid came out, then connect it to the return inlet to the pump.
Then, jack up the car, run the pump with the drill apparatus and turn the wheels, lock to lock to bleed out the system.

I am very inexperienced with setting up power steering and would appreciate some critique to my plan. I wanted to run it by you all before I did it, just in case something I list here spells disaster and I don't know it.

BTW- This is a 67 Camaro running a BBC....

You really don't have to have the pump spinning in order to get most of the air out of the system. With the pump spinning, air that gets pushed along by the fluid can pass through the vanes, rotor, and cam part of the pump. When air gets into the actual pumping part of the pump, it gets mixed with the oil and whipped into a milky froth. Then it is even harder to get all of it out.

First make sure that your pump reservoir is filled to the HOT mark on the capstick. Then just jack your front wheels off the ground. Now rotate your steering wheel full lock to full lock about 20 times. This will actually pump fluid all of the way through the system. (Now you are using the piston inside the power steering gear to be a pumping means.) You will see whole air bubbles coming to the fluid surface inside the pump reservoir. Refill the reservoir as required. If you are still seeing air bubbles after the 20 steering wheel turns, fill the reservoir to the COLD mark on the stick and turn the steering wheel lock to lock another dozen time.

Let the car down, refill, start your engine and go for a short ride. Your system should be ready to go.

JIML82

You really don't have to have the pump spinning in order to get most of the air out of the system. With the pump spinning, air that gets pushed along by the fluid can pass through the vanes, rotor, and cam part of the pump. When air gets into the actual pumping part of the pump, it gets mixed with the oil and whipped into a milky froth. Then it is even harder to get all of it out.

First make sure that your pump reservoir is filled to the HOT mark on the capstick. Then just jack your front wheels off the ground. Now rotate your steering wheel full lock to full lock about 20 times. This will actually pump fluid all of the way through the system. (Now you are using the piston inside the power steering gear to be a pumping means.) You will see whole air bubbles coming to the fluid surface inside the pump reservoir. Refill the reservoir as required. If you are still seeing air bubbles after the 20 steering wheel turns, fill the reservoir to the COLD mark on the stick and turn the steering wheel lock to lock another dozen time.

Let the car down, refill, start your engine and go for a short ride. Your system should be ready to go.

JIML82

I didn't think of the hot/cold mark. So since hot/cold matters, I guess I should do it with the engine and not a drill motor?

Also, when turning wheels from lock to lock, I do this with the cap off?