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I have accumulated three power steering cylinders that I have not been able to begin replacing the seal. Instead of having a copper washer below the snap ring, there is a rubber type seal. I cannot seem
to be able to remove this seal. I have tried to remove it with sharp picks with various bent metal ends but cannot get it to move. How can this seal be removed or can this cylinder not be rebuilt? Below is a picture of this seal from another steering cylinder core:
Yes they can be rebuilt. That's the normal seal. I used compressed air to dislodge the seal some and then just used an angled pick to get it out - it will come eventually. You'll plug one port and use compressed air on the other port - I can't remember which one is which, but you'll figure it out pretty fast.
It's important to be careful with the pick so you don't score the surface of the cylinder (a big scratch and it will not seal in the future).
Also check the piston shaft for a groove at the position it would be in if installed on the car and the car was travelling in a straight line. It's common for the piston shaft to wear in that position from 40 years of bumps in the road, etc.
Yes they can be rebuilt. That's the normal seal. I used compressed air to dislodge the seal some and then just used an angled pick to get it out - it will come eventually. You'll plug one port and use compressed air on the other port - I can't remember which one is which, but you'll figure it out pretty fast.
It's important to be careful with the pick so you don't score the surface of the cylinder (a big scratch and it will not seal in the future).
Also check the piston shaft for a groove at the position it would be in if installed on the car and the car was travelling in a straight line. It's common for the piston shaft to wear in that position from 40 years of bumps in the road, etc.
Once this seal is removed what is removed next?
Asking as another core I have matches instructions I saw on line and the contents of the rebuild kit: Snap ring, copper washer, leather wiper, metal washer and rubber seal.
The rubber seal is what is showing in your picture above - it is actually metal covered with rubber, which makes it quite rigid.
If you found that seal right below the snap ring and nothing else, it's likely that the cylinder has been rebuilt before and the other washers and wiper are just missing.
The rubber seal is what is showing in your picture above - it is actually metal covered with rubber, which makes it quite rigid.
If you found that seal right below the snap ring and nothing else, it's likely that the cylinder has been rebuilt before and the other washers and wiper are just missing.
I have three cores and they look the same. At least one, I know was originally a new GM part that was made in Brazil. I purchased it from a Chevy dealer in about 2000.
Wondering if GM changed the way the cylinders were assembled?
Saginaw Steering Gear Division manufactured the assist cylinder for the Corvette from 1963 through 1982. For several years more (after 1982) Saginaw continued to manufacture service parts. At some point during the 1980s, the complete cylinder assembly business was sold.
From 1963 through the late 1970s the piston rod seal package consisted of five parts.
You will note from this picture in the Chevrolet Chassis Manual.
#10 - Piston Rod Seal
#11 - Backup Washer
#12 - Scraper Element
#13 - Piston Rod Scraper (bryllium copper)
#14 - Snap Ring
Sometime around 1980, Saginaw revised the seal and scraper package design.
The Bryllium copper scraper was replaced by a urethane scraper package consisting of only three seperate parts.
Those three parts exactly fit into the same machined cavity in the #9 - Piston Body. So all late C3 production and any service parts after that date would have been manufactured and assembled with the three piece scraper assembly.
So nearly all original production Power Steering Power Cylinders would have been manufactured with the five piece scraper package. Late production and any service parts (after C3 production ceased) would have been the three piece scraper package.
I bought one of the "new" ones made offshore. Looked nice on the outside but absolute junk. I tried a rebuild kit on it with no success. There was something loose inside it that you could hear rattling when you shook the ram. It didn't leak but the steering would "catch" when turning and then all of a sudden release and have power steering again. Scary and definitely not safe.
I bought a rebuilt original from one of the vendors here that has the internal cylinder replaced with a stainless steel one and new internal seals as well as, external seals and new rod. Solved the problem.
Evidently the only way you can completely rebuild one of these is to cut the cylinder open, replace whatever is inside and re-weld the cylinder back together.
Just for my info, I searched all over the internet to see if I could find a diagram to see just exactly was inside one but just kept coming up with the kit that only addresses the external components.
Saginaw Steering Gear Division manufactured the assist cylinder for the Corvette from 1963 through 1982. For several years more (after 1982) Saginaw continued to manufacture service parts. At some point during the 1980s, the complete cylinder assembly business was sold.
From 1963 through the late 1970s the piston rod seal package consisted of five parts.
You will note from this picture in the Chevrolet Chassis Manual.
#10 - Piston Rod Seal
#11 - Backup Washer
#12 - Scraper Element
#13 - Piston Rod Scraper (bryllium copper)
#14 - Snap Ring
Sometime around 1980, Saginaw revised the seal and scraper package design.
The Bryllium copper scraper was replaced by a urethane scraper package gconsisting of only three seperate parts.
Those three parts exactly fit into the same machined cavity in the #9 - Piston Body. So all late C3 production and any service parts after that date would have been manufactured and assembled with the three piece scraper assembly.
So nearly all original production Power Steering Power Cylinders would have been manufactured with the five piece scraper package. Late production and any service parts (after C3 production ceased) would have been the three piece scraper package.
Jim
Can the re-seal kits which include the five pieces for the original design, be used in the three piece final design cylinders? Or since GM sold the business and the ones I have came in a GM box, but were made by another company, not rebuild able?
Just for my info, I searched all over the internet to see if I could find a diagram to see just exactly was inside one but just kept coming up with the kit that only addresses the external components.
I'd be interested in that as well. I thought I remembered reading that there was nothing inside of the welded cylinder to rebuild. In other words, no seals, just a machined fit.
Can the re-seal kits which include the five pieces for the original design, be used in the three piece final design cylinders? Or since GM sold the business and the ones I have came in a GM box, but were made by another company, not rebuild able?
Can someone confirm whether the rebuild kits which contain 5 pieces to fit over the shaft, be used on a newer GM cylinder with a three piece seal?
I am sure that the machined cavity in the cylinder end was exactly the same regardless if you had the original 5 piece seal and scraper package or if you had the latest 3 piece seal and urethane scraper.
Also, there is a piston inside the cylinder assembly. It is attached to the rod by means of a torque prevailing nut. The OD of the piston has a machined groove. There is a teflon seal in that groove.
07-31-2016, 09:04 PM
Help Starting Rebuild of Power Steering Cylinder
