Hi Guys. It's been ages since I posted on the forum but I do browse it regularly. I've found that retirement keeps me away from the keyboard.

A little background. I've owned my 74 for 30 years and in that time I've never had what I would call "power steering". I've been through the whole system at least 3 times, replacing everything with new components, with varying degrees of success. My latest go around with this beast was prompted by not having any assist at all and having very poor returnability. The steering and suspension system has been upgraded for years now to VB&P front monoleaf suspension with upper and lower tubular control arms. All ball joints and tie rod ends are in excellent condition.

Yesterday I started to troubleshoot the problem. A visual inspection showed that the pump had sufficient fluid and none of the hoses were leaking. The front end moves from lock to lock with no binding.

The first thing I suspected was a stuck flow control valve in the pump. I proceeded to vacuum the fluid from the pump and removed it from the car. An observation, the fluid I removed from the reservoir was black but the fluid that drained from the lines going to the control valve was clear. I put the pump on the workbench and removed the fitting on the back. The flow control valve came out by using a magnet and I also removed the spring. Nothing seemed to be wrong and the valve moved freely within the bore. I put some fluid in the reservoir and it appeared to flow out the fitting OK so I assume there are no internal blockages.

So now I'm scratching my head. Do I have a control valve that is stuck and not letting the fluid from the pump circulate through the system or do I have a bad pump that is not pumping fluid to the control valve. Or is it possible that the ram is malfunctioning. The pump is fairly new. It's an AGR unit that probably has on a few thousand miles on it if that and the rest of the components are new replacements with probably the same mileage or slightly more.

Before making the decision to start replacing parts at random, or rebuilding the entire system, I'm seriously considering just going with the Borgeson conversion and being done with it. I've read all the articles on the net and most of the posts here on the subject and there seems to be universal agreement that the swap is a vast improvement and worthwhile. It also looks like the cost wouldn't be that much more than replacing the stock components with new pieces.

I'm six months away from my 70th birthday so I'm planning on this being my last adventure in fixing the steering on this beast. It's a lot harder to get under her than I remember. I'd appreciate any advice you may have. Thanks.

 

I just purchased the Borgenson for my 73 BB. I have not installed it yet but I like the idea of getting rid of two hoses, slave cylinder, and all the other hardware under the car. When I do the swap I will pull and rebuild the pump while I'm at it.

My question to you is how long has it been since you changed out the power steering fluid in your current system?
I seems strange that you have two different colored fluids that seem to have separated.

 

Have you tried this modification?
Post 10 & 16.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...some-help.html

 

Thanks for the replies. I probably only have 3K miles on the current fluid. Remember, The car is only driven a fe hundred miles a year so even if it's been 10 years since I rebuilt the system there would only be 3K miles at the most on this setup. The difference in the fluid color is what has me puzzled. As I said, what I drew from the pump was black but what leaked out of the rest of the assembly was clear which leads me to believe that the fluid is not being pumped through the system but is being recirculated in the pump. That would also explain the lack of power assist. I haven't made any of Jim's modifications because I'm not sure if the issue is lack of flow. I think the problem is no flow.When I took the flow control valve out I flushed it with brake cleaner and didn't see anything clogged. Are there passages that can clog and can they be cleaned out? I've got the pump on the workbench so now would be the time to do it if that's the case. The pump turned freely and didn't make any noise on the car so I don't think anything is broken internally.

 

I good OEM style pump is between $150.00 and $200.00 from Borgenson.
It might be less headache to just purchase a new pump.

 

did you try blowing some compressed air through those lines ? there might be a blockage in the rubber line .

Also it might be like the situation you can get with the rubber brake hoses , damaged internally and when under pressure it blocks .

strange indeed.

if you go with a Borgeson kit , new hoses come with it .