L98 steering hoses in a C3
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 1,682
From: Summerville SC
L98 steering hoses in a C3
I have already installed a 1986 L98 TPI engine and a 200R4 trans into my 78. Now the fun really starts, putting it all together. I have been searching the net all day and before I re-invent the wheel, if anyone here has put an L98 into their C3, how did you handle the PS high pressure hose issue. Does anyone make a kit with whatever is needed to hook up the larger hose from the pump to the small fittings in the PS assist cylinder? Or am I destined to mix and match all sorts of an fittings etc.? Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 1,682
From: Summerville SC
No, the entire L98 engine and accesories are in the car. It wasn't worth the trouble to try and force the old style pump with v grove pulley into the serp set up when I already had the correct pump etc.. This was one of the few issues that I saw right from the start but figured there must be some type of work around. If need be I will figure out what -an fittings I need for the cylinder and morph them over to the metric pump.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6,422
Likes: 591
From: McHenry Illinois
I think you can change out the discharge fitting in the pump and use your original pressure hose, may have to bend it a little due to the different pump mounting position. I switched to jic, commonly called an fittings by the automotive crowd.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
I ran into this on my '72 a bit over 20 years ago, and got a brass union/compression fitting like used in house/sink plumbing, and cut the output line of the pump, and the input line of the steering, and joined the two together, put in a rack during winter 01-02 and did same thing, essentially......had a fight with wife's car, replacing a stupid power steering hose assy, FWD and SAE (stupid assed engineering) seem to go together.....so I spliced that line also.....same thing 3/8 diameter steel into the brass union works fine now, 20 years later, driven often enough in that time frame.....
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
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From: Summerville SC
Thanks guys. I will loook at the pump later today for switching out the fitting. I have done that before whitching out SAE and metric, but that was the older style pump with the built in resevoir. And I have thought about the compression fittings, but I believe the lines are different diameters, so then I end up with a lot of stuff going on and there isn't a lot of room down there. But I will check those out also. Something tells me that I should start planning for one or two AN fittings, maybe just at the pump so I can still use the lines on the cylinder. Thanks.
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Drifting
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,990
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From: Port St. Lucie Fl
you clock it at about the 2 oclock position so its pointed out from under the brackets, I did this on my 79 and have no problems.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
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From: Summerville SC
DId you have to make any adapter brakeet to attach to the L98 bracket? If not, I guess I am going to look for an old PS pump and see it this works. I like this a lot more than hybrid an/metric/sae fitting etc.. So do you have an L98 in your car? any other PS issues I need to think about? Thanks for your input.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
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From: Orange Park Florida
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
Likes: 1,682
From: Summerville SC
SO plan A will be to find a DONOR pump from a c3, and see if the pressure fitting in the back will fit into the Gen 2 pump. That will let me use the old lines and at the same time make sure the pressure isn't too high for the c3 system. That makes a lot of sense. Keep th einfo coming. Thanks.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
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From: Summerville SC
I have thought about just doing that but I have read ( on the internet so it must be true) about the pressure issue, so I am trying to learn about some solutions. One seems to be a Borgeson kit that has shims in it to increase/decrease pressure in the C4 pump that is on the installed engine.Or find an old C3 pump and pull the pressure valve out and put it in the C4 pump. Or try and finesse the c3 pump on the c4 engine. I basically am working around pressures, metric fittings and those tiny fittings on the steering ram. I am fighting my natural instinct of doing a quick fix. Part of this whole project ( l98 into my c3) along with some other mods inside the car ( a C4 center consloe so I can have a CUP HOLDER) and the E Stopp set up so I could get rid of the e brake handle) for example is as much about learning new stuff ( I am an old fart so it's not easy) as it is having MY car when I am done. On this, the journey is half the fun of it for me. And I am open to any suggestions that anyone might have for me. Thanks Mr. 7T1vette.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,990
Likes: 183
From: Port St. Lucie Fl
DId you have to make any adapter brakeet to attach to the L98 bracket? If not, I guess I am going to look for an old PS pump and see it this works. I like this a lot more than hybrid an/metric/sae fitting etc.. So do you have an L98 in your car? any other PS issues I need to think about? Thanks for your input.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 3,775
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From: Summerville SC
A picture is worth a thousand words Mr. Kacyc3. Thanks for taking time to upload them and I can see where some confusion is. My set up is from a Y body, 86 corvette, not an f body. When I first started this I was going to do the same as you have, but the accesories did not line up with the OEM water pump on the Y engine, they were off about 1/2". And once I decided to go with all Y brackets, I was locked into the Gen II pump w/ remote resevoir. So now I have eliminated using old style pump and I will go forward with seeing if MrVette's solution of just swaping out the pressure valve from old to GenII pump will let me use all the stock lines. Later today I will start looking for an old pump to pull one out of of. Thanks again for more help. Here is what I have
