Power steering help!!!

[dluna11w]

Chevelle stubbed modified, having problems turning left and right. With motor running and stationary, it takes two hands from outside the car to turn the wheel left and right. I've raced it like this twice and after 20 laps I am DONE! This is what I've tried:

Different Power Steering Pump (known to be in good working condition)
New Steering Box from Oreillys (not the cheapest, but it is under lifetime warranty so it is free)
Better Fluid - Royal Purple

I took the quickner off to see if that was my problem, no luck. With quickner removed and car on jack stands, I can move the left front wheel back and forth. When moving the wheels, turning right always has resistence. When I turn back left, there is no resistence for about 1.5 turns of the input shaft, then the steering gets hard again. I turn lock to lock with the cap off the remote reservoir, the fluid begins to rise higher and higher until a certain point, then stop and remain at that level as I continue to turn the wheels. Is this a sign that there is air trapped, or is this normal?

I can start the car and turn it lock to lock with and without the cap on the reservoir and the car on jackstands. It isn't as easy as it should be to turn off the ground with the motor running.

What would you try next? Could it be the new box?

[speedbuggy]

Fluid lines hooked up backwards?

On the steering box, the port closest to the firewall is the return. The one closest to the bumper is the pressure (coming from the pump).

Never hurts to double check...if they were backwards, may have damaged the pump and/or box.

[bittight]

Do you have a collapsible steering column? If so it's probably got sand n dirt in it.. Try to take it apart and clean it but if its full of crud you should changeout b4 you go to enter a turn and realize hey this sob is stuck tight this time lol

[dluna11w]

Thanks for the replies.

The lines have been tripple checked. I always think of it like the flow of the fluid from pump to box, then to the fitting closest to frame to reservoir, and out to the bottom to the pump. Like a big loop.

I do not have a collapable setup. Currently the quickner is not installed and I am just turning the tires by hand to see if quicker turning and more force would push out any air if that was my problem. Saftey is somewhat a concern at this point as this past weekend the top line was the fastest way around. I REALLY needed to be up another full car width but I couldn't make it happen beause the track was just too rough. I believe the front stretch wall would have welcomed my presence with the slightest bobble.

[TeamLFR]

Check that your spindles are not over reamed causing then to tighten up against the ball joint housing. Just seen this happen with a brand new spindle.

[JustAddDirt]

Process of elimination

1 disconnect pitman arm from draglink Test
if still tight... steering box bad , or bad / tight universal joints in steering shaft
might also be the preload on top of 4 bolt flange too tightly adjusted, loosen up 2 turns and test that too.

2 if it loosens up, then hook up draglink and unhook tie rods. Test
if tight draglink or idler arm bad

3 if still turns easy hook up tie rods 1 at a time. Test.
Could be a balljoint, or a tie rod end or heim
Check the heims and make sure you are not binding them up with too much angle on spindle ends, and draglink end. Make sure inner tie rod/heim it is not hitting the ends of draglink, or front of crossmember when ran threw full lock to lock turning.

Make sure RF tie rod is not hitting the bottom of the frame when suspension is compressed
I had to run a pre-bent RF tie rod for clearance.

[dirttrackrocker]

Make sure there is no air in the lines. While it is running, crack the lines loose at the box and turn it.

[powerslide]

sounds like the only thing you havent tried is new lines....

[johnny v]

how much caster you got in it ? if you have normal numbers.. I would change the box....

[dluna11w]

I called KRC and they thought my remote tank was possibly too low in the car. I have it mounted directly to the side of the pump on the tubing that runs to the front of the car. Last night I raised it high and tried turning lock to lock with it running and still the same results.

I also removed the pitman arm and there is still a weird resistance. I can turn real easy 1.5 turns of the input shaft left or right, then it hits a wall and is hard to turn until I get to the lock and so on. Does this sound like an air or box issue? When I have the motor running there is good flow through the reservoir.

With the motor OFF and cap off, the fluid in the reservoir will rise in the can as I turn the wheels back and forth. Is this normal or is this air that I am seeing?

For Caster I am running +2 and +4.5

THANKS!

[xxxmod]

The only air issue you could have would be if the bottom of the remote tank is lower than the inlet
of the pump.loosen the preload on the box 1/4 turn
at a time.. if the problem does not go away after 2
full turns get a different box.

[JHobbs26]

check your pump with the motor running and see if it is getting really hot really quick. I had something similar happen this year. New box from Oreilly's, fired up and had no PS. Thought the pump was bad, swapped it out with my spare and same results. Pulled the new box off, and noticed where the pressure fitting goes into the box there was a piece of metal, that is attached to the box was blocking the fluid flow. Not sure what that piece is or what it does, but a swap at the store and the 2nd new box was good to go.

Pull the pressure line and fitting off and look down inside there for anything abnormal.

[dirttrackrocker]

jack it up so the tires are off the ground. Without the car running turn it lock to lock, if the problem is still there, it isn't in the pump or lines. If it isn't then you know it is in the pump or lines somewhere.

[dluna11w]

With the car on jackstands and motor off, I move the left front tire lock to lock quickly and it goes really easy and fast for most of the turn form one lock to the other (1.5 turns if I watch the input shaft spin), THEN it hits a much harder spot for the last little bit of turning. The fluid rises in the reservoir while I do this if I take the cap off and watch.

I tried cracking lines loose and no luck. I didn't adjust the preload on the box because it had a green blob connecting the nut and box to show if it has been changed at all. Anyone know if Oreillys will give me a hard time if I adjust this and try taking it back under warranty?

[MM90]

They won't know you did anything to it unless you tell them you did.

[Racer96m]

Do you know the "T Bar" valving inside the steering box? I had a similar issue with my steering. Very stiff to turn while racing etc. The problem was solved when we changed the box to a .180 T bar valving. We run a 2 to 1 quickner, so that turns the box twice as fast as the stock T bar valving was designed to turn. To make it work you need to lower the T bar valving to .170 - .180 area. I called the guys at PSC Motorsports and they were a big help in solving the problem. You can now spin the wheel with 1 finger. Maybe thats your problem, it was mine.

Dave

[JHobbs26]

Does it get hard at the end turning both ways or just one?

GM did make a variable speed box that got faster the last 25% or so of its turn radius, but that is all done with the sector shaft gear.