Just a quick question, Why would a perfectly operating power steering go stiff after lubing the steering box. I was told by------- to drill the lower bolt to accept a zerk fitting install in lower bolt hole and to grease till fresh grease is visible from top hole. I did this and now the steering is stiff as ever. If this is the problem ,how would i reverse it?

 

There needs to be some space left. It sounds like you should have been checking the lower bolt hole.

 

Quick answer...

 

You have caused the binding by over filling! And with straight grease!

Poor advise received and followed - I would be leery of any advice from "-------" in the future.

 

Was you're steering acting up B4 U did this ???? If Not, the 'Old' 'Rule of the Thumb' is .......

"If there ain't nuttin' wrong with it, then don't mess with it"

Worse case senerio ..... You may have to pull the top cover from the 'box' & clean out all of that 'excess greese'. Not a 'biggie' if you're mechanically inclined, BUT, if you're not ..........

Good Luck !

Cruisin Davey G

 

One Other Thing: Are U talkin' 'bout the 'Control Valve' or the Steering Box ?????

 

Taking about the steering box,it wasnt acting up ,but it was in need of lubricant. Guess Ill have to figure a way to remove it.

 

Yeah gotcha on the bad advice, So now whats your advice on correcting the problem and proper lube and filling?

 

When in doubt, always ask on CF first.

 

Just remove two of the three upper cap bolts, then use some kind of suction device (with small hose, whatever) to pull some of the grease out of the box. You probably need to remove about 1-2 [fluid] ounces of grease.

 

That's good advice right there!

 

Ok, got the lube out but its still stiff. I did change the pump also when i greased the steering gear. The pressure valve any different between original and the 89 model thats currently installed?

P.s. Pump was changed due to leak, steering was fine otherwise. Installed the pump and greased the steering gear all at one time. Im thinking on changing the press valve from the old pump, Kinda want some input before draining fluid etc..

 

The power steering hoses and control valve in the C2 and C3 Corvettes were only designed for 1000 psi max pressure. That is the max pressure that the flow control valve (inside the pump) was set for.

Most modern pumps are set in the 1400 psi range. You do not want to use a flow control valve from a modern pump in your control valve - assist cylinder system in your C2/C3 Vette. You will cause leaks in your hoses and control valve. Use the valve from your original pump in the newer pump.


With respect to your "stiff steering" complaint. Did you by any chance remove all three bolts from the top cover of the gear when you were adding grease? I am wondering if you may have caused the mesh of the sector shaft to go out of adjustment.

The gearset is designed with a very slight amount of interference exactly on center. The gearset is also designed with slight clearance either side of center and all the way to full lock. The sector shaft gear teeth are actually machined with a slight taper. The adjuster bolt in the center of the top cover actually moves the sector shaft up and down inside the gear and can increase or decrease the amount of interference on center.

If you have too much interference; steering will feel stiff, the road wheels and steering wheel will not return to center, and the gearset can be damaged. There is an adjustment procedure in the Chevrolet Chassis Service Manual.

Jim

 

As Jim mentioned, if you changed the adjusting nut by more than 1/4 turn CW when you "changed lube", that steering box could have tightened up on you. You might test out that theory by holding the screw in place with a screwdriver while loosening the lock nut. Then turn the screw CCW 1/4 turn and lock the nut down again.

Now drive the car to see if it loosened up any [or not]. If no change, it's possible that you 'buggered' the setup in the steering box when you removed all the bolts & cap. [P.S. The only viable way to do that is to hold the adjustment screw in place as you 'unscrew' the cover completely off that adj. screw...counting the exact number of turns to remove it, then installing it in exact reversed order. Not really the "right" way to do that job, but if you are careful, it works.]

 

Did not adjust the adjustment nut only lubed the unit. What now?

 

How could you possibly lube the unit without removing the cover? If you just pulled the whole "gizmo" out, you now have one messed up steering box.

 

Sorry, for the delay in posting. I work ALOT... As for as my lube procedure, The lower cover bolt was drilled to accept a zerk fitting. Removed upper bolt and greased till grease could be seen in upper bolt hole.

Bolt was removed for drilling bolt and installing zerk fitting. And yes Im finding that this was bad advice.....

 

How do you tell what valve you have, and which is correct out of a handfull of used ones. This was done a few months back and i dont know if i transfered the valve from the old pump or not. Thanks..

 

Having the box filled with grease alone won't make your steering stiff. The sector will just move grease around, you are not creating any displacement inside the box. (BTW, in the early 60s, filling the box and letting it bleed out was the factory procedure for Fords).
Whether you realize it or not, you probably have changed the adjustment of the sector when you removed the grease.

Jack up the front of the car, remove the power steering cylinder rod from the frame and manually turn the wheel lock to lock to isolate the box from the power part and go from there.

 

You could T or directly plumb a 2000 psi pressure gage in the system. Make sure that there isn't any air in the line running to the gage. Turn the steering wheel full lock to dead head the pump if you T'd the gage. Max pressure from the pump should be 900/1000 psi.

Higher pressures will eventually cause hose leaks.

Jim