I purchased the stock Z06/Z51 Power Steering cooler from a dealer and was wondering if anyone had any tips and tricks on the installation.

Thanks!

Karl

 

This was posted by someone a good while ago, and I used it to help me with this job:

"I purchased the Z-51 PS cooler from Ken F. and installed it last week. It took 5 hours and was a real bitch to install! Yes it does bolt in on the frame in existing holes. Not the same ones, but they are there. The problem was disconnecting the old “cooler” pipe from the existing PS pump. VERRY small area to work in. Takes an 18 mm wrench or two to remove the pipe union. I ended-up grinding the edges off a Sears shorty 18 mm open head and cutting a slot in the head of a long Sears 18 mm box wrench, all just to get the pipe union off. Same problem getting the new connection tight. VERRRY small area to work in. You will also need new PS fluid as you do not want to reuse the old. 2 G.M. bottles will take you all the way. Worth it? Yes. The PS steering has been the weak link in the suspension set-up. Same with the F-Body. The LE-1 option there also has (or at least had) the PS cooler. The Z-51 cooler is a real heat radiating fluid cooler placed in the flow of air. The stock trombone on the C5 tells me that G.M. is aware of the problem but does not want to use the best fix on all the cars. So you have to do it yourself."

I used a shorty standard wrench together with a line wrench. Redline PS fulid is a good replacement for the GM stuff, but this is not critical. All in all, just a good preventive measure.

 

How much was this? If I want to stay in the stock class of SCCA, I have to add this to get the Z51 springs and rear sway... :smash:

 

Z51 Power Steering Cooler from Ken Fichtner - GM #26057898 - $101.94

 

Two local mechanics quoted me 1 1/2 to 2 hours to install the cooler. My connections shouldn't be too hard to remove since I'm on the third pump and second high pressure hose :mad

 

You should use an 18mm flair nut wrench to remove the line if you want to make sure you dont damage the nut. Take the alternator off and the bracket that holds up the ABS block (5 bolts, on the crossmember). That'll give you tons of access to everything you need.

 

Thanks a lot guys! I just love this forum. A little prior knowledge going into these things can make it so much simpler!