Power steering jerking
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2025
Posts: 127
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From: Superior WI
Power steering jerking
I replaced the control valve (New), hyd steering ram (New) all new hoses and filled it up to cold full level. then turned the wheel lock to lock about 20 times. Took for a drive to the corner and back and it seems to be jerking and not much power steering, at least not smooth like it should be. Came home turned it lock to lock again and filled it up to the cold level again and took for a longer drive about 2 miles. Came home and oil everywhere. Checked all the connections which are tight. The cap was on and tight. Can't see the front power steering shaft to see if that's where it's leaking from. Did my pump take a dump? How do they act when they go out? I checked to see if the hoses were on correctly and they are. A little advice please.
BTW I've never really driven it since I bought it so I don't know if the pump was bad already or not.
BTW I've never really driven it since I bought it so I don't know if the pump was bad already or not.
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I'm thinking perhaps you should have properly bleed all the air out of the system, and properly topped up the fluid before the first drive.
Here we are now. You have a leak. Could be from any place in the system. No reason to believe you have a bad pump without checking things out properly first.
First, clean everything up really well. Brake cleaner, what ever it takes. Get it up on ramps. Make certain fluid level is close to full. Start engine. Get under and look for a leak. First place to get wet is the winner.
Just because hoses are tight doesn't mean they aren't leaking.
Here we are now. You have a leak. Could be from any place in the system. No reason to believe you have a bad pump without checking things out properly first.
First, clean everything up really well. Brake cleaner, what ever it takes. Get it up on ramps. Make certain fluid level is close to full. Start engine. Get under and look for a leak. First place to get wet is the winner.
Just because hoses are tight doesn't mean they aren't leaking.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2025
Posts: 127
Likes: 17
From: Superior WI
Yes I agree with you, in fact I've already done that and there is nothing leaking now. I'm wondering if I didn't have the cap on tight. So I've filled it up and ran it lock to lock for over 5 minutes, checked the oil and it's full to the cold line. But when I turn the wheel, the tires seem to jerk and don't move smoothly. Is that a sign of a bad pump? By the way roads are dry today so I've got that in my favor. Thanks 4-vettes any other ideas?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2025
Posts: 127
Likes: 17
From: Superior WI
That's super easy to do and already did that. BTW it's not pulling to either side it goes straight. When turning the wheel it just does not feel like power steering. When I jack the car up and turn the steering wheel with the engine running I can see the tires jerking they don't move smoothly.
Last edited by Kevin LD; Apr 10, 2026 at 06:25 PM.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2025
Posts: 127
Likes: 17
From: Superior WI
Peterbuilt,
Thanks for the written instructions. I followed them to a tee and the jerking is gone, so there must have been air trapped in the system somewhere. There is still a lot of play in the steering. My rag joint is good, my tie rods are tight so I tried to adjust the steering box. I got the top one to adjust easily but I can't adjust the horizontal big bolt. I unscrewed the lock nut and had a really big wrench on the adjustment nut but it wouldn't move at all. I shot it with WD40 and will try again tomorrow. In the mean time does anyone have other suggestions for me?
Thanks for the written instructions. I followed them to a tee and the jerking is gone, so there must have been air trapped in the system somewhere. There is still a lot of play in the steering. My rag joint is good, my tie rods are tight so I tried to adjust the steering box. I got the top one to adjust easily but I can't adjust the horizontal big bolt. I unscrewed the lock nut and had a really big wrench on the adjustment nut but it wouldn't move at all. I shot it with WD40 and will try again tomorrow. In the mean time does anyone have other suggestions for me?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,114
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From: Connecticut, USA
Attempting to correct the steering box by making a lash adjustment is more than likely going to cause gear wear if done incorrectly. The large lock ring holds the preload in place and that is not something you correctly do on the car.
If the box is original than you probably have worn out bearings, possibly gear etching, and old acidic grease. If the box has ever been worked on then all bets are off until if can be inspected by a knowledgeable person. Many boxes have worn gears, many places don't have gears, just the common rebuild kits. Those kits use one size fits all bushings and they no longer come with a cover bushing.
You don't need a new box or a Jeep box, but you probably need yours built correctly to have no play in the driving position. Tightening the lash screw alone typically won't do it. I lost track of how many of these boxes I build that had gears bottomed out and wrecked.
If the box is original than you probably have worn out bearings, possibly gear etching, and old acidic grease. If the box has ever been worked on then all bets are off until if can be inspected by a knowledgeable person. Many boxes have worn gears, many places don't have gears, just the common rebuild kits. Those kits use one size fits all bushings and they no longer come with a cover bushing.
You don't need a new box or a Jeep box, but you probably need yours built correctly to have no play in the driving position. Tightening the lash screw alone typically won't do it. I lost track of how many of these boxes I build that had gears bottomed out and wrecked.
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You can rebuild and adjust the steering gear box "out of the car".
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,114
Likes: 3,904
From: Connecticut, USA
JT - unfortunately, that is not the correct method to adjust a vette Saginaw box. They don't have pin hole adjusters, there is no definitive adjustment to either preload or lash. The vette boxes do not have hex lash bolts.
