dan at larescorp

It's off of a 1954 Chrysler with a Hydraguide steering gear.

Can't wait to see this one get the Smartin treatment!

Nice car and great story!

I don't know how I missed this one before now. Very cool car Ron! Great work so far!

His wife must have caught him foolin around and tossed all of his stuff out the window.

Regrets with the 74 unit. The OEM unit was designed for the car. The 1974 units are a strait ratio. Some of the 60's gears were variable ratio. The difference between strait and variable ratio is the teeth on the sector shaft and ball nut. The teeth will be pointed on a variable ratio gear which causes the ball nut to move faster when out near lock. This will give you a faster feel without really changing the ratio. The standard ratio will have squared teeth, and move the same speed throughout the turn. The issue you run into going from the older style box to the newer is the old box uses a 3 1/2" housing and the new uses a 3". The 3" doesn't travel as far as the 3 1/2". This causes you to lose turning radius. As for the fast ratio difference in feel, no matter what box you use the power steering pump will still put out around 100 - 900 psi. You won't have to muscle the steering to make it work either way. But there will be a noticeable difference when cutting the amount of turns from around 4 turns down to 2.5.

Well the gearing is close to the same, as is the torsion bar size. The only upgrade you can get by going to a newer style box is you can get it in a 2.5 turn lock to lock fast ratio. If you're going to replace it I would recommend going with the OEM unit. Faster steering ratio is great when driving down the road, but you'll have regrets as soon as you try to turn into a parking space.

Thanks for the kind words Jim, and Tim! The problem you may run into with buying a gear out of a 74 is you could lose some case travel. This will cause the car not to turn as sharp at lock. Can I ask what you are hoping to see an improvement on?

That is quite an interesting steering setup. I'm excited to see this one come to life!

It's the same story. You can have 2 of the same gears off of the same year car that have a different amount of balls in the ballnut.

I can't help with just the seal, but I can tell you we've seen many gears come in with only 22 balls in the ballnut. We rebuild all Saginaw gears with 24 balls when they leave here, but most cores come in with between 20-24 balls in it.

The engine looks great Martin! Nice work.

Dale, If you leave now no one will ever be able to convince Mr.Earl to get scallops! In all seriousness though, I wish you the best of luck on your future adventures! I do hope you remain active on the forums. Even if you got rid of everything car related, you still have the heart of a classic car guy. That alone gives you more then enough qualification to be here. You're welcome any time!

I don't think they used the full week. 6 days in and they're like "Early reveal!" I'm excited to see this fixed.

I agree. I can get you some good rates at the local hotel! It's only 2 blocks from the show :cool:

What are the differences your noticing?

So will there be a new thread for this one? It's always great to follow your work Barry!

Alright, Who else read the title of this thread and though of this tv commercial?

I think I've found it. It looks like a 1929 Chrysler gear. Here are some photos of the last one we rebuilt. I also found the photos of the 1941 Plymouth pickup gear that I was referencing earlier. There are some differences that would have been easily notable if I had found these photos earlier. Forgive me, I can only refer to my memory (as scary as that sounds ) until I find these photos.

Dodge and Plymouth pickups didn't use the same gear in the early 40's. Cars were more interchangeable. I'll continue to search some earlier models till I find an exact match.

We just rebuilt a 1941 Plymouth pickup gear that was very close to this. That being said, it could be off of an older vehicle. I just haven't found one that looks any closer yet. I'll continue searching to try and find something.

Yes you take those off, remove your pressure fitting, and the reservoir should come off. There is a reservoir seal that goes around the base pump. There is also either o-rings, or a brass seals that mount between the pump and the reservoir when you're reassembling it.

With the upgraded seals that are used for rebuilding these days it is not as important to run a vehicle specific type of fluid. If you have your pump, and gearbox rebuilt with modern seals you can run a generic power steering fluid without any issue. NTX5467 is correct, if you don't do the entire system you may notice a leak with regular power steering fluid that you wouldn't have with ATF.

Flushing and Bleeding Instructions 1. Disable ignition system using recommended procedure in your service manual. 2. Raise front wheels until just clear of ground. 3. Place drain pan under power steering pump return port. Disconnect return line from power steering pump and place it in drain pan. Flush the power steering pump reservoir by pouring new fluid into the reservoir until the fluid runs clear. Be sure to use the fluid recommended for your vehicle. 4. Leave return line in drain pan. Cap the pump reservoir return port to prevent leakage. 5. Fill power steering pump with new fluid recommended for your vehicle. 6. While having someone watch the fluid level and adding fluid to the pump (Keep fluid above top of pump casting) crank the engine over using the ignition switch. (To prevent excessive starter wear; crank engine over for less than 20 second intervals.) Continue to add new fluid until return line runs clear. Reconnect pump return line. 7. This completes the flushing procedure. Now begin bleeding the system. 8. Fill power steering pump with new fluid recommended for your vehicle. 9. While having someone watch the fluid level and adding fluid to the pump (Keep fluid above top of pump casting) crank the engine over using the ignition switch. (To prevent excessive starter wear; crank engine over for less than 20 second intervals.) 10. While you are cranking the engine over, turn the steering wheel lock to lock slowly at least 4 times to bleed the system. If you see any bubbles and/or foam enter the pump; stop and let the system rest until all of the bubbles and/or foam has dissipated. Repeat steps 8-10 until bubbles and/or foam no longer enter the pump. 11. Reconnect ignition system. Lower wheels to the ground. Start engine and test drive car. If assist is smooth, bleeding is complete. If assist is erratic, whines or fluid is foaming; repeat steps 8-10. If you have questions, please call our tech line at 1-800-555-0638 or support@larescorp.com

First, Thanks for the kind words earlier Mike! Second, TJ55 is correct. I would look at the flow control valve. You have to be careful when bleeding the system of air. An air pocket being pulled past that flow control valve can cause it to jam in the housing. When that happens your pump pressure will drop to a point that you loose assist. I think we discussed our bleeding procedure when you and I last spoke. Let me know if you would like me to post it here.