Steering

Steering gear is a new Saginaw 600 series fast ratio (12.7:1) gear. These can be a bit hard to find. OPGI was selling this one - marked as for Chevelle only - for a decent price. It was at least cheaper than the Turn One units, but more expensive than a custom rebuild. It uses the late coupler and the metric fittings. I had tried several Jeep Grand Cherokee boxes but ran into endless troubles - multiple leaks and one had the F-body stops! - across several manufacturers and retailers. So went for New!

It appears Saginaw (now Nexteer) designed these for a racing series and runs batches from time to time.

All steering linkage was brand new ProForged units. Good stuff. They had a package deal that had everything except the pitman at a discount, but that appears to have been discontinued. I have noticed that Jegs does some fire sales on their stuff.

Rag joint is a Lares 200. That has the small gear shaft but the correct bolt spacing for the old columns. The 200 has the flat on the gear shaft where splines are missing which matches the steering gear I got, while the 202 has all splines. I did manage to hork up the bolt on the ragjoint by installing it without the ragjoint all the way down. The Lares looks like a very high quality part and is much cheaper than the Dorman 31011.

The pump was a huge problem. I really wanted to use an N-pump with a remote reservoir but they always made noise. I rebuilt several pumps from junkyard cars, used remans, even a new build from PSC. Always very noisy. Also tried a P-pump in PSC's remote reservoir housing. Also noisy.

So now I'm back to a normal PSC P-pump in a normal can. Works fine. Using the Swepco fluid per PSC's recommendation.

Interesting lessons on the PSC stuff. Their cans are slightly oversized and they provide oversized o-rings. So trying to install their stuff in a stock can? Won't fit and will destroy the can. Installing normal parts into their can? It'll leak. Nice.

Lines: I found a cheap source for the Aeroquip power steering rated hose. Work a treat.

Outlet from the gear goes to the multi-cooler, then to a Y-block then the reservoir. The hydro return goes straight to the Y-block.

from: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/chassis-suspension/ccrp-1304-gm-power-steering-secrets/

" When using the older Saginaw pump on a car with a rack-and-pinion steering, this Turn One flow restrictor fitting will eliminate the rack’s “twitchiness.” Turn One’s Jeff Roethlisberger says reducing flow is the key to balancing power-steering system response. A stock fitting (left) employs a 0.150-inch hole, while Turn One’s fitting (right) reduces that to 0.093 inch. Turn One has restrictor fittings for both Saginaw and Type II pumps. These restrictors require Saginaw connectors (far right)."

Flow control valve tool:

http://billshotrodcompany.com/17022.html

Info on flow control valves and springs:

http://jeffd.50megs.com/Pump_valve_mod_page.htm

There's a flow valve kit from Borgsen that IIRC says no washers is ~1400 PSI, with each washer lowering by 100 PSI

http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/2013/powersteeringmods/

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/708701-best-power-steering-pump-modifications-pressure-flow.html

Old notes:

Note: lookup lares 974 and 972 - apparently 10:1 ratio which seems crazy.

pulleys - dorman 300121 is 5.8", x 2.25" - deep offset. 300125 is 6.2" x 1.4"

Outlet for metric pumps is 16mmx1.5mm o-ring

steering gear pressure input is 18mmx1.5mm o-ring

hydroboost is 18mm on pressure, 16mm to gear

new references:

http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_0901_gm_steering_box_upgrade/

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289760&page=2

Pump is from an '83 DeVille. It is a P style body, but uses the later press fit pulleys. It is missing one of the mounting ears which, of course, are used by the Olds mounting brackets. So some hackery is required. TBD. Otherwise it is a remote reservoir pump with a 5/8" inlet. I got an AC Delco rebuilt. Have not opened it yet, but looks good.

Alternate pumps: (a/c delco parts)

36p0278 - 83 malibu 260 diesel 45

36p0281 - 83 chevette 60

3690279 - 83 deville gas 42

36p0277 - 90 monaco 50

36p0276 - 84 isuzu trooper 70

I went ahead and made custom brackets to mount the N-pumps. The mount is very very similar, but not quite the same, as the P.

Pump modifications:

Output hole increased to 0.148", de-burred small bypass hole in outlet to 0.040", changed input to 1/2" NPT, drilled input hole to 7/16". Tapped upper mount ear for 3/8" NC, pressed in solid steel spacers in lower ears: 3/8" ID, ~1/2" OD. Removed shims from pressure valve. Lapped vane cam, plates and ring.

If you've ever driven a classic GM car, then you know the steering feel. Words like "Dreamy" or "On Clouds" or "Vague" come to mind. While I'm not building a rally car, I'd certainly want something better!

The stock box used at 14.1:1 steering ratio, while most modern boxes are 12.7:1, and new boxes have far less boost than old boxes.

There are several paths to get there. 1) get an 80's GM box, but the steering stops are in the wrong place causing huge turns, 2) get a Jeep Grand Cherokee box, 3) have your box rebuilt with new guts.

Lots of info on (2) at this Classic Oldsmobile thread. Rebuilt units are available for $100 to $150, and of course they're out in the pick'n'pull yards and new seals are less than $10. Note that the core charge is about as much - or less - than the cost at pick'n'pull!

Then there's the pump and reservoir. I really prefer having a remote reservoir - easier to fill, easier to check, and gives a cleaner engine appearance. The only problem is there were no remote reservoir pumps (that I can find!) from that time period. Certain ones - I forget if it was Corvette or a pickup - basically put the pump in a small cup and put a tiny reservoir a few inches above it. Not quite what I'm going for.

GM only had a few styles of pumps. All you need to watch out for is the keyway - press or splined - and whether it was preset for gear (1400 psi) or rack (800 psi) pressure. Almost all of the GM pumps are high pressure.

Correction: the later Type II/TC pumps do have a different mounting. That's not often mentioned because there's lots of brackets for Chevy engines. I haven't found anything useful for Olds. There's super expensive March stuff, Mondello lists something... So nothing useful.

I went out on a limb and got the Tuff Stuff 6175B pump since it was the only reasonably priced option I could find. I haven't actually verified that it will mount up and align, nor what pressure it will provide. Hmmm!

The Tuff Stuff was on back order for a long time. Finally verified it's a TC, so no good. Canceled that order.

Lee Powersteering advertises some interesting pumps that appear to be direct bolt-ons with splined shafts. Might need to go that route if the Tuff Stuff ones doesn't pan out.

Talked to someone at Lee, they said it would be a custom build (!!!) but never got back to me with a quote.

Looks like the next option is at PSC, their old style with remote can: part number SP1405F. It's basically a fancy version of the GM Corvette/Truck applications with a similar can. I like this because it has an AN output, no return, and it is intended to be fed by a remote reservoir. The stock ones are supposed to recirculate within the can, so the input line into the can is pretty small.

Finally got some good info, from :http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102767

"Sorry that I can't help you with specific information on the different styles of Saginaw power steering pumps that might be used on the 5.7L Chevrolet engines.

Saginaw makes four basic style pumps that go back to the 60s, 70s, and 1980s.

The big Saginaw P-pump has been around for 35+ years and was used on millions and millions of passenger cars and light trucks. Most of the reservoirs, internal components, etc will interchange between them. The mounting points changed from female 3/8-16 threads to M10x1.5 metric threads in 1980. The pressure hose attachment changed to metric 0-ring in 1980 as well. The driveshaft and pump pulley was changed from a keyway and nut to an interference fit design in 1975.

The big Saginaw N-pump has been around for 25+ years and is basically a P-pump without a reservoir. Eliminating the big cast flange and the integral reservoir made for a much lighter weight pump package. This pump has to have a remote reservoir. Pulleys, pump mounting points (and engine brackets), and all internal pump parts allow this pump to interchange with the P-pump. Mounting threads, pressure hose attachments, and pulley attachments changed at the same time as the P-pump.

The TC pump is a smaller pump and has a ball bearing on the driveshaft. I am quite sure that it will not interchange with the old P-pumps because the mounting pads are on a smaller diameter. It has a somewhat higher allowable operating speed because of the ball bearing. This pump was available with an optional aluminum housing. I just don't have information on applications and interchangeablity. This pump was used on Corvettes in the 80s and 90s.

The Saginaw CB pump was another small pump but it used a bushing (similar to the P-pump) to support the driveshaft. This pump was designed as a lower cost alternative to the TC pump. It had considerable useage throughout the GM car lines. I don't think that it will interchange with the P-pump because its mounting points are not the same. "

Given that, the PSC SP1500BX or SP1500BS may be better choice, as there's really no need for the small reservoir can.

Then there's the reservoir. Never would have thought that was an issue. Apparently aeration is a thing, and most simple reservoirs will cause problems. The Woodward Steering V100 looks really neat (hit the catalog PDF link at the top and keep scrolling...) but appears you have to order direct from them. It has a tank-in-tank kind of design with several special features. Most just have a bent tube for the return. Aeration is a big deal for me because I'll probably go to hydroboost brakes, which perform very poorly when there's air in the fluid.