power steering - some things you can do without removing the box.

[UKcuda]

At the weekend I finally identified and cured the problem I was having with my power steering.  Big thanks to Kapteenikosmos for the info from his re-build.

I went in from the top end without removing the steering box from the car and without any special tools, and I found you can do quite a lot that way, so I'll post here how it went for anyone who wants to try anything similar.

One useful thing to know is that you can easily change the input shaft seal (and the bearing if you need to) without removing the box. 

You can also easily remove and replace the upper reaction spring and ring and, although I didn't need to go that far, I am 99% sure you can also remove and replace the lower reaction spring as well.  That means you could probably install a set of "firm feel" cop car reaction springs (chrysler part number 3643169) in the space of an afternoon.  They seem to be available for about $45 a pair.

So - the first thing I did was remove the steering column as a unit.  It was a surprisingly quick job but would be more complicated if you have column gear-shift.  Three bolts at the floor plate, two nuts under the dash, knock the roll pin out of the steering coupling and unplug three wiring connectors under the dash.  Then it pretty much lifts out - took me about 30 mins and some of that was removing the kick trim to get the carpet peeled back.

The next thing is to remove the valve body from the top of the box (2 x bolts and two hoses) and pull out the spring and pivot lever (it just pulls off).  Then I removed the top end cover by unscrewing the big castle collar nut.  Apparently these vary a lot in how tight they are.  The manual lists a whopping 110 - 200 foot pounds !!  After a few sharp blows with a hammer and drift mine spun off easily.  I can't see how this would be much easier with the box on the bench - the chassis holds it as firm as any vise could.

So here are photos of the box with valve body and top cover removed (I'll post other pictures in successive posts so they stay with the relevant text):

[UKcuda]

Below are pictures of what comes off with the top cover, the cover has an O-ring on the outside which seals it to the box.  The thing with two holes in is the upper reaction spring (for right turns).  When I say "upper" and "top" I mean nearest the steering column.  Inside the cover you can see the little needle roller bearing, also there is a circular black rubber seal fitted around about half way to the middle and a steel ring just in from that.


The other picture is of the upper reaction ring.  This was the problem with my steering.  It has a flanged shoulder all the way round and the middle section fits inside the reaction spring with the outer shoulder pressing against the inner edge of the spring.  When you turn the steering wheel the ring should push outwads against the inside circle of the spring and the outside circle is anchored against the outer lip of the top cover, so that's where the springyness happens.   On my car someone had been inside before and re-assembled the ring on the wrong side of the spring, so the spring was doing exactly nothing.


Assembled correctly the order (from inside moving out towards the column) is: reaction ring, reaction spring, plain ring, seal, cover.  The inside diameter of the reaction ring is just bigger than the outside diameter of the plain ring and slips over it after going through the spring.

[UKcuda]

That was enough to fix my problem but I decided to go a little bit farther in.  In the photograph in my first post looking down from above the box you can see down the hole where the lever goes there is a rib down inside which goes across the center of the hole.  Between the casing and the rib is a thing the manual calls the spacer.  It is possible to remove the spacer by putting a screwdriver through the hole and pushing it out.  You have to put your fingers inside the box and keep the spacer straight or it snags.  Then it comes out easily.


Here it is.  The hole is where we were looking through to see the rib.  The slot and dowel keep everything lined up.

[UKcuda]

This is looking inside the end of the box after the spacer was removed.  You can see the lower reaction spring and its ring (correctly assembled this time with the ring on the spacer side of the spring).  In this picture you can also see the locating dowel (the manual calls it a ferrule) which comes out from the head which is under the spring.  It has a little O ring on the end.  The nut in the middle holds a washer against the "bearing".  The bearing is the thing with a slot in it.  The rib that's visible from the outside is in the bearing.  If you look at the alignment of the bearing and the lower reaction ring you can see the bearing looks off center - that's because it is.  It is not fitted snug over the shaft, which is why I called it a "bearing".  It is held central by the inside circle of the spacer and it flops around after you remove the spacer.  In the photo it has slipped down.

[UKcuda]

This is where I stopped as the next step would be removing the nut and I didn't want to disturb the clearance setting.  The nut doesn't go tight and is staked in place.  I believe that if you were to remove the nut it would then be quite easy to remove the bearing and the lower reaction ring and spring.  I think the correct setting for the nut is basically to be screwed on far enough to remove all the slack but without tightening on anything, similar to a front wheel bearing.


I think those lower parts would also be OK to re-assemble with the box in the car.  While I was poking around I turned the shaft which moved the bearing out some and the lower reaction ring slipped out of the lower spring and dropped, but it was dead easy to pop it back up into place by reaching my finger underneath the bearing.


Anyway, here's my last photograph showing the spacer going back in.  To hold the bearing centrally in line I put some thin nose pliers through the pivot lever hole and grabbed the rib.  That was easy enough.  The trickiest bit of the job was getting the top cover back on without the upper reaction ring misaligning and jamming on the steel ring in the cover.  As noted above, the steel ring needs to fit inside the reaction ring.  If it doesn't then after the top is secured the shaft can't move the bearing back against the spring.  It took me three tries, each time spinning the big spanner nut on hand tight to check.  On the third try with some wiggling of the cover I felt it go together.


The last thing before tightening the cover down is that everything has to be lined up by rotating the cover until the spacer hole and the bearing rib come into line and checking they are straight by popping the lever back in.

By the way, I didn't have to drain the fluid to do this, there is only a little bit dribbles out from the top end.


Back on the road my car now steers fine, except the wheel alignment is slightly off and pulling a little to one side as it was set with the box not working correctly.  My total time on this was about four and a half hours.

[dutch]

hey Steve     great post. I`m sure it will be used by a member or two     Are you sure the chiropractor`s bill is cheaper than a new box...?   

[UKcuda]

hey Steve     great post. I`m sure it will be used by a member or two     Are you sure the chiropractor`s bill is cheaper than a new box...?   

LOL - I'm not so young and supple anymore, but this was actually a bit of a breeze in that department.  Nowhere near as hard on the skeleton as removing (and replacing) linkage/headers/steering box.

[73EStroker]

Are you a B,RB or LA engine. Looked too easy compared with mine - B engine and hydraboost brakes.

[UKcuda]

Are you a B,RB or LA engine. Looked too easy compared with mine - B engine and hydraboost brakes.

LA engine, my brakes are powered.

[72rtchallenger]

nice post,,looks good,,will have to use as a reference 

[cwestra]

At the weekend I finally identified and cured the problem I was having with my power steering.  Big thanks to Kapteenikosmos for the info from his re-build.

I went in from the top end without removing the steering box from the car and without any special tools, and I found you can do quite a lot that way, so I'll post here how it went for anyone who wants to try anything similar.

One useful thing to know is that you can easily change the input shaft seal (and the bearing if you need to) without removing the box. 

You can also easily remove and replace the upper reaction spring and ring and, although I didn't need to go that far, I am 99% sure you can also remove and replace the lower reaction spring as well.  That means you could probably install a set of "firm feel" cop car reaction springs (chrysler part number 3643169) in the space of an afternoon.  They seem to be available for about $45 a pair.

So - the first thing I did was remove the steering column as a unit.  It was a surprisingly quick job but would be more complicated if you have column gear-shift.  Three bolts at the floor plate, two nuts under the dash, knock the roll pin out of the steering coupling and unplug three wiring connectors under the dash.  Then it pretty much lifts out - took me about 30 mins and some of that was removing the kick trim to get the carpet peeled back.

The next thing is to remove the valve body from the top of the box (2 x bolts and two hoses) and pull out the spring and pivot lever (it just pulls off).  Then I removed the top end cover by unscrewing the big castle collar nut.  Apparently these vary a lot in how tight they are.  The manual lists a whopping 110 - 200 foot pounds !!  After a few sharp blows with a hammer and drift mine spun off easily.  I can't see how this would be much easier with the box on the bench - the chassis holds it as firm as any vise could.

So here are photos of the box with valve body and top cover removed (I'll post other pictures in successive posts so they stay with the relevant text):

In your first picture here, UKcuda, what is the part were looking at inside that hole?  It is the part that interfaces with the slot on the pin but what is it called?  I am assuming that it must move back and forth (or front to back) in order to actuate the valve on the other end of the pin, right?  And the ring that the pin interfaces with inside there does not rotate but just moves fore and aft?  Is this all correct?

[UKcuda]

Yes these parts move forwards and back but nothing rotates.  I think the place where the fat part of the lever sits is called the spacer and the bit you can see farther down the hole which interfaces with the slot in the lever is part of what the manual calls the bearing.

Anyway I see from your other post you got it sorted out.

[cwestra]

Yes these parts move forwards and back but nothing rotates.  I think the place where the fat part of the lever sits is called the spacer and the bit you can see farther down the hole which interfaces with the slot in the lever is part of what the manual calls the bearing.

Anyway I see from your other post you got it sorted out.

Yes, I did.  Just wasn't sure what was going on inside there in case I didn't get things put back together properly from before.  Turns out the recommendation of shifting the valve body did the trick.  Anyway, thanks for getting back to me on that.

[72bluNblu]

Saw this thread pop up when I was looking for info on police power steering boxes. I was wondering if anyone has a picture of the reaction springs (ie, what's different) or the part number for the stock reaction springs...

[UKcuda]

Saw this thread pop up when I was looking for info on police power steering boxes. I was wondering if anyone has a picture of the reaction springs (ie, what's different) or the part number for the stock reaction springs...

I had the part Nos all written down when I did it but I just looked for you and I'm sorry I can't find them now.

I seem to remember I found a reference on Moparts so maybe you can find it there.  I do recall that the part No for the Police springs is the same as for some truck box springs from the '70s if that helps.

I doubt you'll be able to see any difference in a photograph of the springs.  They are just a flat disc like a shim steel washer.  The police springs might be a bit thicker but I think it would be marginal to the eye.

I think it was Kapteenikosmos who actually doubled up the stock springs and got a good result that way.