Power Steering Valve Body Adjustment

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66fyssh

66fyssh

Don't Stop Believin'
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I replaced the leaking o-rings under my power steering valve body, then followed the FSM to adjust it.

I've got it to the point where it will turn the steering wheel about 2" right when I start the car and turn about 2" left when I shut the car off.

Any ideas where to go from here? The last couple of adjustments were literally just a hair or two!

Thanks!!
 
By loosening the two mounting bolts and tapping forward and back. Then I tighten it back up and start and stop the car.
 
Can't tell you were you are going wrong if I don't know what you are doing.
Here is how you do it. Jack the front up so both front wheels are off the ground,
now loosen the bolts on the valve so you can run the engine without it leaking,
now tap the valve forward till the wheels start to turn. Now tap the valve to the
rear till the wheels turn the other way, now tap it back 1/2 way and tighten it down.
shut off the engine and restart it, the steering wheel should not move.
 
brian6pac said:
Can't tell you were you are going wrong if I don't know what you are doing.
Here is how you do it. Jack the front up so both front wheels are off the ground,
now loosen the bolts on the valve so you can run the engine without it leaking,
now tap the valve forward till the wheels start to turn. Now tap the valve to the
rear till the wheels turn the other way, now tap it back 1/2 way and tighten it down.
shut off the engine and restart it, the steering wheel should not move.
Click to expand...

THANKS!!
I see where I went wrong. I didn't get the front wheels off the ground. I'll hit it tomorrow after work. Makes me a little nervous loosening the bolts and running the engine. Seems like there would be some pressure in there! I guess it would help having the wheels off the ground.

Thanks again!!
 
just crack them loose so it doesn't leak, If it wont move by tapping lightly loosen them a little more.
 
Caution! With the wheels in the air , A tiny miss-adjustment will sent the steering wheel spinning, and the wheels too! I usually have a helper for this job, and tell HIM to hang on tight.This is not a job for your wife, unless she's maybe 5ft 8/155lbs, and can pay attention for 5 minutes..
 
I wouldn't allow anyone near the steering wheel while adjusting the steering gear.
 
I feel sorry for the poor steering box, when the wheel goes whizzzzzzzzz and things slam to sudden stop inside there.
Any guy can hang on to the steering wheel, even my 13incher. He just has to be paying attention. And his part only takes a minute.
 
If it slams right or left your not doing it correct, I been setting them up for years and never had that problem.
 
LOL, I got it pretty close to begin with, but it still went left...not hard to the stop, but a lot more than I thought since I felt the valve body was VERY close to the same position it was before I took it off.

I'm hoping its almost centered but I'll have a helper hold onto the wheel tonight for the final adjustment. The adjustment is a lot more sensitive than I imagined it would be...
 
You didn't listen! You don't need a helper to hold the wheel. It will f you up. Don't listen to the boy from up north. If you follow what I told you it works every time. I don't know what your camber and caster settings are so you might have to align the front end to get it to go straight.
Brian
 
Oh...but I DID listen. I used a helper and the project is complete. Jacked up the front, loosened the two valve body bolts (just slightly), started the car with my helper holding the wheel. The wheel was barely pulling to the right. A few taps with my 1/2" drive ratchet and it got better. A few more and the wheel was straight. Turned off the engine, no movement. Started the engine, no movement. Tightened bolts. Thanks for the tips!!! I still can't believe how sensitive the centering adjustment is. My taps couldn't have been more than a few thousands of inch of movement. :thankyou:

I'm a Damn Yankee (A Yankee who moves South because of the warmer climate and friendly people, and decides to stay. (As opposed to regular yankees who return home because they like crappy food and weather cold enough to cause death)). LOL :poke: ! Grew up in Waynesboro, PA...home to about 100 machine shops back in the day. I ran a turret lathe at my first job after high school, making camshaft, crankshaft, and valve grinding machines at Landis Tool Company. Then auto manufacturers started buying cheap Japanese stuff and about 300 of us were laid off. That's when I joined the Air Force and haven't lived there since. We love it in Georgia and hopefully will be here for a long time!!

By the way, my son lives just south of Youngstown in East Liverpool, OH. He moved there right after high school for a girl and hasn't left in 10 years!! He and the girl just had their first baby!!
 
Congrats on the baby, and glad its straight. I'm selling off all my stuff I don't need, a ton of ebody stuff I haven't started on yet. Mostly AAR, and I'm seriously considering moving south if I can get rid of enough stuff, getting tired of the cold.
 
Thanks! First Grand baby! Makes me feel old though...

We lived in Biloxi, Mississippi while in the Air Force. It was cool living on the Gulf Coast but too hot, for sure. Moved from there to Atlanta, then to Virginia, then decided to come back to Georgia. For me, its a great compromise between cold and hot.
 
Only thing I would add to the mentioned adjustment is, when you get it adjusted so that it doesn't turn left or right, I will rev the engine to about 2500 rpm to make sure the setting doesn't need fine tuning.
 
Hi Guys . I have just rebuilt my 1970 CUDA power steering box and am unable to set the valve . I have followed the procedure listed above but I have reached a stage where the wheels remain centred , however , a very gentle push on the steering to the left will make the wheels turn all the way left slowly and a slight push to the right will make the wheels turn right slowly . In short the steering turns both ways slowly if we touch it . What to do now
 
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