Jim Shea

I finished researching the history of the C3 power steering control valve. There was a heavy effort spring from 1968 thru 1975. In 1976 the spring effort was reduced. I am quite sure that most control valves that are being sold today come with the lower effort spring. Vette Brakes & Products Inc can supply the heavy effort spring. Go to Terry Rudy's websight: http://www.bokonon.net/corvettefaq/ and look under Suspension and Steering. Improved Steering Effort and Feel. I have all the information along with some recommended suspension alignment settings for best handling and road feel.

JIML82@aol.com

69shark

Jim, Thanks for all the help with this. Now I need to find an alignment shop to get them changed

Paul L

Thanks, Jim. That is very useful. I had a four-wheel alignment done about five weeks ago and they went by a "book." Which one I do not know :confused: I will ask what specs they used. I did post recently on "hunting" in the front end so this is an important matter for me. Do I understand that the 1975 numbers would apply to my 1979?

adam

Jim;

Why did they not recommend an owner rebuild his own steering valve? At $30 vs. $90 for them, it is a reasonable tradeoff given what the rebuild really entails. (Other reasons than they want the money.)

My valve is leaking and needs to be rebuilt. I do think I will get the kit from VB&B for $30 and the 55# spring, vs. Zip/Ecklers @ $25.

Jim Shea

Paul79,
I don't have shop or owner manuals for every C3 year so I don't know exactly when or why the rear camber and toe changed. If the rear numbers changed because the tire technology was changing you probably should be using the 1982 spec or the VB&P specs.

Adam,
Robin Wilkie of VB&P was concerned that a lot of people cut the annulus seal (#14 in the blowup) when rebuilding their own valve. The Chevrolet shop manual has some pretty complete instructions on tearing down and reassembling the valve.

JIML82@aol.com

Paul L

I have an appointment tomorrow at a local Chevrolet dealer for a four-wheel alignment. Any suggestions as to what specs I should "recommend" to them? Or should I assume they know what they are doing? I wonder if C3s are well understood these days:( . They do have a good reputation with the local Corvette Club but that is with C4s. They offer a $10.00 alignment diagnosis before things get more expensive. Nice touch!

adam

I would go get the specs from corvettefaq.com and then be adamant that they align the car to YOUR specs! Refuse to pay if they fail to understand your directions. The shop I took it to didn't even get the camber in the spec range!

Otherwise, they will just align it to the sloppy, good enough values.

I get to go and try to fix the alignment by hand and ruler and Sin().

Paul L

Thanks, Adam. I have printed out Jim's specs. I will ask for those to be done.

zwede

Jim,

Good info! I would like to add that you can add some more effort & roadfeel beyond the 55 lbs spring. My valve was still original from 71, so I already had the heavier spring. I wanted more effort and when I rebuilt the valve, I noticed the rebuild kit had a new spring retainer (#13 on your exploded view). I simply added the new retainer while also keeping the old retainer. Using 2 retainers compresses the spring more and increases effort.

Yes, I did tear the annulus seal when assembling the valve. I superglued the rip and amazingly enough it hasn't leaked a drop for over a year.

Jim Shea

Zwede,
Are you sure that you have any power assist? When I look at the old drawings it looks like there is about .100 inch from the spring working height to when it goes solid. I don't have a drawing of the back up piece to the annulus but it sure looks like it may be more than .100 thick. That would compress the spring to solid. :confused:

Paul L

Unfortunately, the alignment could not be done by the GM dealer. My right rear bearing is bad. No noise at all but there is about 1/2" to 3/4" up-down movement on that side. They tried to adjust the bearing but something called a crushable seal is faulty. The left side is tight. So, 5-10 days for the parts to come from the USA and then 5 hours labour. But they did not charge me and tightened up the steering box at the same time. Actually the car tracks very nicely now! A very great improvement. I am beginning to think about that bearing....Is it worth the risk to ignore until it makes noise?

LT1driver

Zwede, I will be in dallas tomorrow, friday, any chance I can meet with you and check out your mods on the vette? Drop me an email. Thanks.

Mike
70LT-1

zwede

Hi Mike,

Can't find your email address with the new forum? Anyways, sorry for not getting back to you earlier. Just saw this post. I work in Richardson and live in Plano. Just give me a shout and we can meet up. My numbers are 972 583 1078 work, 972 612 3589 home. I will be out and about but will make sure I check voicemail a couple of times.

zwede

Jim,

Yes, there is power assist. I'm very happy with the results. It has just the right amount of assist for my taste. I would compare it to my '96 Camaro Z28, where before it definetely had more assist than the Z28.