mitchedo
Jun 10th, 07, 9:44 AM
I took the plunge and put power steering in my formerly manual steering 67 Chevelle. The engine is a later model 383 crate with a long water pump, ca 1979 for the block, with nasty smog heads. I think it's all truck based.
Here is what I used:
97 Grand Cherokee power steering gear (not quite 3 turns lock to lock)
87 Chev half-ton pickup brackets and pump
80 Camaro pressure hose
67 Chevelle power steering pitman arm.
86 Chev 2WD pickup rag joint (didn't need it; the Chevelle joint fit fine)
just about 1 quart of power steering fluid
...and the costs:
$50 gear (from "full service" junkyard)
$40 pump, brackets, and rag joint (local pick-n-pull)
$10 return hose (Checker. AutoZone sold me fuel line, which didn't feel as sturdy)
$12 pressure hose (Auto Zone)
$35 Chevelle pitman arm (purchased from a board member)
$8 37" v-belt
can't remember how much the quart of power steering fluid cost
Discoveries:
The 80 Camaro pressure hose did not fit without a rather serious reworking of the bends in the tubing. ...ruined my cheap Harbor Freight tubing bender by the time I was done.
I think the steering gear might have metric mounting bolt hole threads. I used the ones that were on the Chevelle already, and slammed them in with the impact wrench and noticed the threads that poked through looked a little shiny. The bolts from the truck wouldn't have worked, since the frame is not boxed. The "full service" junkyard did not keep the Jeep bolts, so I don't know if they are long enough. I suspect they might be.
The rag joint of the Chevelle manual steering shaft slipped right on the input gear of the steering gear. I now have a spare.
Either my heads are different than the donor truck, or I left some part of the bracketry on the donor truck (kinda greasy and hard to see). I had to add a couple of spacers on the head bracket to make the pulley line up. The block bracket was fine. Part of the bracketry bolted to the exhaust manifold, and holds one of the two adjusting slots, and held the AC compressor on the donor. I cut the part off that bolted to the exhaust manifold; it's plenty sturdy without it. I still need to cut off the top of that bracket, cuz it is really ugly sitting up there waiting for an AC compressor.
I now have not quite three turns lock to lock instead of the 6-ish turns of the manual gear. The steering has a good feel, yet I can turn it with two fingers. My turn signal cancel feature works just fine with the new gear.
All in all, it was a fairly easy swap, and well worth the $150 cost. The bracketry places the pump rather close to the steering gear, about 3/8" or so. When I convert to my big block (once I manage to save up 25 grand), I'll buy brackets from Alan Grove Components. I can't use the last inch or so of the belt tension adjustment without the pump bracket hitting the steering gear.
Here is what I used:
97 Grand Cherokee power steering gear (not quite 3 turns lock to lock)
87 Chev half-ton pickup brackets and pump
80 Camaro pressure hose
67 Chevelle power steering pitman arm.
86 Chev 2WD pickup rag joint (didn't need it; the Chevelle joint fit fine)
just about 1 quart of power steering fluid
...and the costs:
$50 gear (from "full service" junkyard)
$40 pump, brackets, and rag joint (local pick-n-pull)
$10 return hose (Checker. AutoZone sold me fuel line, which didn't feel as sturdy)
$12 pressure hose (Auto Zone)
$35 Chevelle pitman arm (purchased from a board member)
$8 37" v-belt
can't remember how much the quart of power steering fluid cost
Discoveries:
The 80 Camaro pressure hose did not fit without a rather serious reworking of the bends in the tubing. ...ruined my cheap Harbor Freight tubing bender by the time I was done.
I think the steering gear might have metric mounting bolt hole threads. I used the ones that were on the Chevelle already, and slammed them in with the impact wrench and noticed the threads that poked through looked a little shiny. The bolts from the truck wouldn't have worked, since the frame is not boxed. The "full service" junkyard did not keep the Jeep bolts, so I don't know if they are long enough. I suspect they might be.
The rag joint of the Chevelle manual steering shaft slipped right on the input gear of the steering gear. I now have a spare.
Either my heads are different than the donor truck, or I left some part of the bracketry on the donor truck (kinda greasy and hard to see). I had to add a couple of spacers on the head bracket to make the pulley line up. The block bracket was fine. Part of the bracketry bolted to the exhaust manifold, and holds one of the two adjusting slots, and held the AC compressor on the donor. I cut the part off that bolted to the exhaust manifold; it's plenty sturdy without it. I still need to cut off the top of that bracket, cuz it is really ugly sitting up there waiting for an AC compressor.
I now have not quite three turns lock to lock instead of the 6-ish turns of the manual gear. The steering has a good feel, yet I can turn it with two fingers. My turn signal cancel feature works just fine with the new gear.
All in all, it was a fairly easy swap, and well worth the $150 cost. The bracketry places the pump rather close to the steering gear, about 3/8" or so. When I convert to my big block (once I manage to save up 25 grand), I'll buy brackets from Alan Grove Components. I can't use the last inch or so of the belt tension adjustment without the pump bracket hitting the steering gear.