Power Steering Conversion

[Entropy]

Hey all,

I finally started converting my stock 71 to power steering. I purchased a kit from Brothers which you can see here.

Disassembly of the front end was fairly straight forward. A couple of bolts holding the inner fender well had to be cut, but that's about it. Here's what it looks like with everything off:

Check out that steering stabilizer! It's gonna get replaced too.

The biggest problem I had initially is that it appeared the bolts for the pump bracket did not fit the holes. It turned out a combination of paint and several years of dirt had mucked them up - cleaning them out was a real chore.

I got the pump test-fitted, but there are a couple of problems. First, it's a tight fit and to avoid the pulley touching the frame requires the filler cap to be under and touching the alternator bracket which means you can't take the cap off. I'm not sure what to do about that yet - any suggestions you guys might have would be much appreciated!

The other problem is the the top tensioning bracket does exactly fit where it's supposed to go on the water pump. It hits the body of the pump and therefore won't lay flat. I'll have to grind part of it off or come up with another solution. I don't have a grinder, so this may be an opportunity for a tool purchase!

I still need to get a new crankshaft pulley. I've heard that stock ones simply bolt onto the existing pulley. I'm shooting for stock since my intent one day (5, 10, or 80 years from now) is to do a full frame-off restoration. I haven't been able to find one yet, but haven't looked too hard.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll bolt in the new gearbox which looks to be a simple direct swap from the manual box. BTW, if anyone is interested in the manual box, let me know. It was pretty "loose" when I took it out but would probably be fine after adjusting it.

Additionally, the kit came with a new pitman arm, but I think it's made for a 2WD and doesn't fit. No worries though since it looks like the original will work just fine.

I'll add to this thread as progress continues. Any comments, suggestions or concerns would be greatly appreciated since this is the first time I've done any suspension/steering work beyond installing new shocks.

 

[Bent77]

On my factory setup, the bracket cradles the pump like your's does, but the cap sit almost level, and much close to the water pump, away from the alty bracket. The second mount goes to the motor mount front upper bolt.

Is there any way to flip the lower bracket in such a fashion as to be able to have the reservour staight up?

 

[Entropy]

Flipping the lower bracket will actually raise the pump higher. The bracket could be flipped with some new bolts (as you can see the current bolts are hex-key and recessed into the bracket - the other half of the bracket doesn't have the recesses drilled for those bolts), but I don't think it would fit at all in that case.

Would you mind posting a picture of your factory setup? I may just end up finding stock brackets to see if those work better.

Thanks for the comment!

 

[Bent77]

I'll try to do pics tomorrow when the sun is up, hopefully they will come out better

 

[69TowRig]

1. I noticed that Brother's site does not specify 2wd or 4wd with their drop down "options" box. That is a 4wd steering box right? 2wd and 4wd are different.

2. Having the pump and pulley that close to the frame tells me one or two things, either they sent you the wrong brackets or it is put together wrong.

3. I hate to tell you that I picked up an entire PS system for $75 off the 67-72 trucks board, bought a seal kit for the box and two hoses. Total cost was ~$150 and it fits like factory.

 

[bp71k5]

Here's a picture on my 71 setup. It looks like your top bracket isn't in the right spot. It's supposed to bolt onto the motor mount in the back. (I added an arrow to the bracket)

 

[Entropy]

69towrig,

Thanks for the reply! The steering gear box appears to me to be the 4wd version - when I made the order I did specify 4wd. Unfortunately, I've been out of town (camping) and haven't had a chance to do more work - this week definitely.

The pump, however, is another matter. The picture bp71k5 posted shows the stock mount puts the pump lower than my current mount does. I think I try to get a stock mount and see if that fits better.

I understand what you're saying about the price. I looked for a month or two for a used setup - but the ones I found were all pretty dodgy (unknown condition) and were still well over $300 for the pump and gearbox. The kit was on sale, and my birthday was coming up, so my wife decided to "buy" it for me.

 

[bp71k5]

If it helps any, the pump pulley is at the same height as the crank pulley on my setup.

 

[Entropy]

I haven't posted in here in a while - to give an update, they sent me the wrong parts - they're for a 2WD so the spline on the box is the wrong size along with everything else. Parts are on their way back.

 

[Dangerousdan]

p/s

I'm working on the same addition to my '71. I'm looking for any stock brackets to add p/s to my rig. Great photos.
Dan

 

[69TowRig]

I haven't posted in here in a while - to give an update, they sent me the wrong parts - they're for a 2WD so the spline on the box is the wrong size along with everything else. Parts are on their way back.

You see...I had my suspicions but could not be sure! Hope it gets back together really soon! Spring is coming...

 

[69TowRig]

http://www.truckandcarshop.com/ sells the factory brackets. Be careful on the year, there are three different versions!

 

[Entropy]

You see...I had my suspicions but could not be sure! Hope it gets back together really soon! Spring is coming...

Yeah - new parts should arrive this week.

BTW, is there any difference between the 4WD and 2WD gearbox besides the steering shaft diameter and spline count? When I had the 2WD one bolted in it fit just fine - just wouldn't attach to my stock 13/16 rag joint.

Here's another source for stock brackets:

 

[69TowRig]

BTW, is there any difference between the 4WD and 2WD gearbox besides the steering shaft diameter and spline count? When I had the 2WD one bolted in it fit just fine - just wouldn't attach to my stock 13/16 rag joint.

Yes, on the 2wd the pitman arm runs parallel to the frame rails when centered. The 4wd box puts the pitman arm 90° (perpendicular) to the frame rails. The sector shaft on the 2wd box has a threaded end for the lock nut, while the 4wd sector shaft does not have that (because the pitman arm has a binding bolt). I believe the rotational travel is also different between the two.

 

[Entropy]

Ok, finally got a little bit of time to get some work done. I got the gearbox installed and the pump bolted in.

Now that the pump is in, I'm trying to figure out what kind of crankshaft pulley I need. I took some measurements, then on a whim, put a double-pulley next to the existing one and took this picture:

So it looks to me like all I need is a standard triple crank pulley and everything should line up correctly. Anyone disagree? I've read nightmares about pulley alignment trying to add power steering to these vehicles and am wary that my apparently simple solution may not be so simple after all.

I have everything else I need to finish this up and got the rest of the parts I need to change the radiator as well. The wife has promised me time this weekend to get the work done, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[69TowRig]

I bought a summit machined billet aluminum pulley for mine. P/N SUM-G3970, short wp, 3-groove. There is only the slightest mis-alignment with mine, I think it has to do with the rear mount for the PS pump pushing the pump forward on mine. Finding a darn belt to work with it was a pain in the rear. When I get home early next week I could look up what length I had to use.

You might want to post a WTB for a used one to get it cheaper and to be able to run "stock-style" belts.

 

[Entropy]

Well, I finally found a pulley, got the new radiator in, got everything put back together and fired it up only to have the water pump/alternator belt come flying off. And then I noticed why:

And this:

After an hour of fiddling around I can't for the life of me figure out how those pulleys, which were perfectly aligned before I started this project, are now out of alignment. The WP pulley is fully seated and flush. The new crank pulley for the PS pump is perfectly aligned with the PS pump pulley and is a stock part that bolts on top of the existing pulley (it looks exactly like yours, 69towrig).

There is something that I must be missing - any ideas?

 

[bp71k5]

I'm not entirely sure, but that water lump pulley looks like it's for a long water pump and not a short one like you have.

I've just learned that there were so many different pulley options for GM, that finding a setup that works is a huge pain.

 

[Entropy]

I'm not entirely sure, but that water lump pulley looks like it's for a long water pump and not a short one like you have.

I've just learned that there were so many different pulley options for GM, that finding a setup that works is a huge pain.

You are right about that! It took three tried to finally get a crank pulley to align with the PS pulley.

But the water pump pulley has been on there for at least a decade and lined up just fine before I took everything apart to add powersteering.

You can get and idea of what it all looked like to begin with from the picture below. None of the parts that belt touches are new.

I will go out again this evening and try again.

 

[bp71k5]

I don't know if it helps, but my 71 has a double groove pulley on the water pump.