Long story short I put a rebuilt power steering control valve in my vette about a year and a half ago along with rebuilding the ram cylinder seals ,new hoses (4) and a new power steering pump. all worked and no leaks (leaked like a Siv before- all original). It wandered a little when driving & reminded me I never "centered" the new valve. So I jacked it up and disconnected the piston from the frame bracket and began the procedure (that I've done before successfully) and got the piston to extend a little so I turned the adjustment back the other way to get it retract and it basically shot back all the way. I tried to re-adjust and it has no response to the nut? I figured I had air in the system so I racked the steering 8-10x's side to side, rechecked fluid (clear and full) and tried again, same result- retracted and no adjustment when running?
So I left the pump cap loose overnight to allow air to escape, came out today and racked the steering again 10x's,checked fluid-ok, checked piston travel , all good it moves out and in by hand manually. I left the piston 3/4's of the way out and started the car and it retracted back all the way with no adjustment from the nut. My question is would you agree that the rebuilt power steering valve is shot and needs to be replaced or am I missing a step in diagnosing this issue. Should I take it apart and try a rebuild kit on it or buy a new valve?. (I hate spending money and time on stuff I already spend money and time on) I cant return the rebuilt valve because I bought it almost 2 years ago but Im leaning on just buying a new valve assembly.

 

I don't know how to diagnose that part, but I have deleted two of them from my life (and am working on a third).

This thead, however, has similar symptoms, and a partial resolution you might find helpful. Do you have a copy of the shop manual and are you exactly following the instructions?

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ing-stiff.html

If it were my car, though, I wouldn't spend another dime on the stock power steering system. I'd buy the Borgeson 990002 drag link adapter that replaces the PSCV, and also order a Borgeson steering kit. I'd use the end link to convert to manual steering for the summer while waiting for the kit to be off of back-order.

 

That's a good thread but I've done all that, I've adjusted the old pscv before I replaced it with the new rebuilt one only due to the old one leaking.
the adjustment nut should be sensitive to turning and its not. I just want to make sure I'm not missing a step.

 

Ram unhooked from frame. Steering dead ahead. Perfectly straight. Engine running.
adjust screw in untill ram moves. Adjust screw out untill ram moves the other way. Put the adjustment screw right In the middle. No it's not touchy. Could be 4 turns between extend and retract. Put it in the middle, should be able to push rod in and out with engine running with this adjustment. Reconnect ram to frame. DONE

 

So I think that you are saying that the car has been "wandering" a bit for over a year, or has that just started?

I know exactly what you mean about spending time and money on the same job - I won\t bore you with my pain regarding the trans cooling hoses running into the radiator on my '78..... But, if it were me, I'd try rebuilding the re-built PSCV. I'd read all sorts of horror stories about doing that, but in the end, by following a few very good instructional guides, I managed it quite easily. It gave me an understanding of how it all worked, and saved me a fair amount of money.

I'd also be checking all tghe P/S hoses for kinks, etc and, when the PSCV is all built, I'd go carefully through all the bleed and centreing processes very carefully.

 

The car has been sitting and I'm selling it, I haven't driven it since last fall and that was just around the block. The car pulls a bit on its own at low speed, I had the same issue before with the old leaking pscv and was able to adjust the center and got rid of it.
its not brakes or alignment as ive had them done all I changed was the new rebuilt pscv last, that I didn't re-enter.
i can make full turns on the adjustment nut now with no movement on the ram/piston?

 

Correct. Perhaps 3 or 4 turns before the ram slams in one direction. Then 3 or 4 turns of the nut until the ram slams the other way.
YES. this is how they are.
If it's 4 turns , center it at 2. Get it?
Half way between the shift in directions .

Stop over thinking this

 

Power Steering Control Valve - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion

That is what I did. The part was assembled in USA.
Lares Corporation 10025 Lares New Power Steering Control Valves | Summit Racing

 

Word of thanks to "4-vettes" for bringing me back to reality, I was actually under a lot of stress personally over the last couple weeks and I was definitely over thinking the situation. I was frustrated with the valve not reacting to my Suttle mechanical inputs as it did in the past with the old/previous valve (1/4 turns). It did in fact react to the adjusting nut after 2.5 full turns and I was able to verify and balance the valve. Thats why I like this forum because before you make a big mistake you can ask others what they would do or have done and you another avenue to go down with out swapping parts.

 

Cheers Mate,
It just needs to centered.