[Chevelle-list] Power Steering

[Joe]

You don't mention what kind of hot rod your friend has, but anything
Chevelle or smaller will be pretty squirrelly with a truck steering box. The
amount of assist available has to do with the valving in the box. Reducing
pump pressure or return flow is the wrong approach- keep the stock pump and
put in the correct box- problem solved.

-----Original Message-----
From: chevelle-list-bounces at chevelles.net
[mailto:chevelle-list-bounces at chevelles.net] On Behalf Of tech
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 2:55 PM
To: Chevelle-list at chevelles.net
Subject: [Chevelle-list] Power Steering

A friend of mine has been having trouble with the power steering in his hot
rod for a long time.  The assist is way too much and driving the car on the
highway can be very scary because of it.  He put in the shim kit in the back
of the pump and that helped a little.  He then installed a flow control
valve in the return line and that helped a lot but overheats the fluid.
After he boiled the fluid out of the pump, I finally convinced him to put on
a new (rebuilt) pump.

With the new pump the steering is sticky when the fluid is cold, mostly to
the right and still has way too much assist.  I suggested he should raise
the wheels off the ground and turn it from lock to lock a few times to purge
any trapped air. He is going to try putting the shim kit back in too.

Is this a sign of a failing gearbox or could there be something else wrong?
He is using a pump and gearbox from a 1994 Chevrolet truck.


G r a n i t e   C i t y   P e r f o r m a n c e
custom engineered competition components