Power Steering leak

[76okievette]

Any secerts for finding a leak in the power steering? Not sure if its the pump, hose's or cylinder assembly. All I can think of is to wipe it all down and watch to see where it leaks but that could take a while so I was wondering if anyone had any ideas?

 

[bill81vette]

check the control valve....
mine went bad after seven years of sitting and had to be replaced.
I got a rebuild kit and did it myself,pretty easy!!

good luck

 

[Wayne robson]

Try it first

Hi will probably have to do a rebuild like Bill says, but a few years ago when i lived in the us, preston sold a leak stop power steer oil, and it helped quite abit on a 69 buick electra convertible i owned, wonder if its still sold, regards wayne.

 

[Yoda]

Wayne,

This is just me... I bought my 1981 in 1997 and the power steering leaked, the car was 16 years old at the time. I was pretty sure the system was all original, so rather than chase a leak I decided to replace the control valve, hoses and cylinder and pull and check the pump.

My reasoning was... I could have changed hoses, that may or may not fix the leak, I could have rebuilt the control valve that may have or may not fix the leak, I could have replaced the cylinder that may have or may not fix the leak.... I figured rather than chase the leak and continue to be frustrated and have an Oil Slick on my garage floor, I would bite the bullet and make sure all the compentents in the system were either new or rebuilt and there were NO LEAKS. This would give me peace of mind and I KNEW it was fixed.

As I said that's me :W I did the same for my ole pal BLACKDOG 1980 when I did his I found the Pump pretty much shot.. I ended up getting a pump from NAPA and rebuilding his pump assy.

My theory ... by the time I fixed the leak I probably would have replace or rebuilt everything anyway... I can be very anal sometimes

Good luck

Bud

 

[bmotojoe]

My feelings are its like old plumbing, once it’s broke loose replace as much as you can.
If the system has to be opened up i.e. removing hoses etc, for safety’s sake before starting car remove the steering cylinder rod and rubber cushions from the bracket bolted to the frame rail and let cylinder hang so there is no contact with it to steering system or a chance of it when extended hitting the ground.
Once the system is opened up air will be introduced into the hydraulic system. Without removing the steering cylinders cushions and rod from bracket bolted to frame rail when you start the car the relay valve will send a serge of hydraulic fluid through the steering cylinder and if you have your hands in the spokes of the steering wheel, well there may be a chance your arms might be twisted up like a pretzel! You won’t stop the wheel.
There is a bleeder valve on the end (usually under a cap) of the relay valve to bleed air from the system. This process is explained in the Corvette Service manual.
Safety First!
Brian

 

[76okievette]

Great advice from all I appreciate it I will work it this weekend and see what I can see. It looks like the cylinder and valve have been replaced, I have only owned the car 4 years but they don't look 30 years old. Thanks again.

 

[KOPBET]

When you will get the movement in the slave arm is when the p/s control valve is imbalanced, not when the system has had the p/s fluid drained from it. The adjustment on the end of the valve under the dust cap is for adjusting this balance and it is not a bleed valve. If you haven't adjusted this screw then you should have no problem with the balance unless it was off to begin with. You can check this with the front wheels off the ground. The p/s sysem is self bleeding. Just start the engine for one second and shut it off, check and top off the fluid level and repeat until the fluid level no longer drops.

 

[petes74ttop]

Hi guys, I agree go in there once and be done with it. I just did everything about a month ago and it was an easy job. Auto-zone has the proper size "Pickle fork" and the'll loan it to you for free! While your there get some flare wreches, they keep you from stripping the fastners. Good Luck, PG

 

[LVMYVT76]

I was always told that if you put on a rebuit control assembly, you should always replace the hoses, in case some junk comes off the old hoses and would mess up the control valve. The hoses are only $50 a set and once you are into the mess, why not do it all? Get 'er done!!

 

[76okievette]

Getting ready to get into it, will take a look tomorrow and then order the parts and be back up and driving next weekend.

 

[76okievette]

OK, there is what I want to try. I am going to drain most of the fluid and replace it with a stop leak fluid to see if it does any good. But what I need to know is two things
What is the fluid capacity of the system and how do I drain out the fluid, just loosen up a hose and let it drain out? Then I am assuming that I will have to go through the bleed procedure after this but what about if I just filled the pump up and drained out fluid until I saw the new fluid would that work also that way I did not induce air into the system and should not have to go through the bleed procedure, Ideas?

 

[bmotojoe]

If you have a turkey baster you no longer need, or a good excuse to get a new one connect a rubber hose (clear) if you have one just slip it onto the turkey basters end and draw out the fluid from reservoir a little at a time. If you use a empty qt oil container near the pump reservoir so after hose is withdrawn from pump just transfer hose to empty what you have removed. The oil container will also show you how much fluid you have removed.
I also used a old blanket draped over the fender I was working over so if I did drip any fluid my paint was protected.
My power steering cylinder wept just the smallest amount of fluid and I removed old fluid and refilled with Valvoline SYN power steering fluid. It is a synthetic blend and also has conditioners that help stop squeals & leaks. If you decide on replacing the fluid get a Qt. size bottle because you will want to fill reservoir start car make move steering right to left stop engine and remove fluid and then refill again. I did this three times to clear out all old fluid.
I found this to be a good fluid:http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=VLV&MfrPartNumber=VV100&CategoryCode=3282
Brian

 

[76okievette]

Thanks Brian, thats exactly what I was going to do but when I got under there today I discover that I do have a bad hose under pressure you can see the fluid running out. So now I am trying to decide, just replace the hose's, replace hose's, cylinder, and valve and either with new or rebuilt or should I take on the job of rebuilding them myself? Any suggestions.

 

[bmotojoe]

Have your turkey baster, hose and empty oil bottle ready and start the car letting fluid circulate good and then remove the old fluid. Look at the old fluid real good for any debris in the fluid. If you find a moderate amount I would replace other items you mentioned above. If the fluid looks nice and clean I would just replace the hoses and fluid for now and see how it goes. If you decide later to replace the other items I would do the fluid flush first to try to have a clean system when it gets back together.
And when you do replace the hoses, make sure you disconnect the steering cylinder rod shaft from the frame bracket. When I changed my hoses many years ago, when the car started up the steering wheel rotated right so fast and with so much force if my hands were on the wheel or in the spokes I would have been seriously injured. Just jacking the front wheels off the ground and starting the car is not enough!
Brian

 

[Tom Bryant]

I had a few drops of oil on the P/S hoses 3 years ago and I thought I needed to change them at the minimum and maybe even get the valve and cylinder. It's all still original. I cleaned the whole system off with brakes cleaner with an oil drain pan under the work area to catch the run off and it has been dry ever since. I don't know where the oil came from unless it was from a valve cover that I resealed about the same time.

Anyway, since you have isolated your leak to a hose why don't you clean everything off then take another close look at it under pressure to see if you need more than to just change the hoses?

Tom

 

[76okievette]

Its for sure one hose under pressue I can see the fluid coming out and if I move the hose you can see the fluid leak out of the hose right where the metal is pressed on to the hose. Still thinking about rebuilding the valve and cylinder myself anyone attempted that, do I need special tools?

 

[76okievette]

OK, after doing more looking I have now decided to replace the hoses, valve and cylinder all at once. My question is will I have to go through the valve adjustment process in the shop manual or should the new valve come adjusted correctly?

Also one more thing I think I will order the parts from
http://www.duntovmotors.com/
has anyone got parts from them, they are the cheapest for remanufactured parts and have free shipping. Let me know.

 

[KOPBET]

Depends on where you buy the valve. Some say it will need centered, others claim theirs are pre-centered. Adjustment is easy regardless.

I wouldn't buy an empty cardboard box from duntov.

:bash

Check out here.

 

[wishuwerehere82]

I wouldn't buy an empty cardboard box from duntov.

:bash

Check out here.

Amen to that!

 

[petes74ttop]

Hi 76 okievette, you made a good choice, if the pump is okay than just change everything else. I purchased the kit from "Vette brakes and Products", never did business with them before but the shipped quickly and everything fit correctly.
I had to adjust the valve. It pulled a little the left.
Power Steering Kit 199.95
Core Charge 135.00
S & H 27.55
VB&P parts worked okay for me. However they took over 70 days to return the "Core Charge"
I've never done business with "Duntov" but Zora is the father of corvettes so for his wife to lend her name to them has to be good. PG