weird steering

[gerty]

I just changed the leaking power steering box on the Dart to a rebulit one I picked up on ebay a while back.When I started the engine the wheels turned all the way to the left all by themselves! The steering wheel is very hard to turn to the right, and when I let go of it, the wheels turn all the way back to the left on there own. What would cause this? And what would fix this?
Bob

 

[onehellofadart]

I had a corvette that did that when it was cold out after changing p/s hoses. What I did was take some of the p/s fluid out and kept turning the wheels left and right for a while. My guess is there was air in the lines. It was fine after that.

 

[R/T Magnum]

If you have purged all the air out of the system, it sounds like the spool valve is not centered. Get a manual that details how to center spool valve.
Many years ago I rebulit a p/s box and failed to get the s/v centered and the wheel did the same thing, all the way to left on its own. The s/v is located under the hose fitting on top. Its been a long time ago and I don`t remember how to do this, but its not to hard.

 

[Marty]

Very easy to fix. You loosen the two bolts that hold the valve on the top of the steering box ( where the hose goes in) just enough so you can tap it lightly forward or back to center it. Don't loosen it to much because it will spew fluid all over if you do it while the engine is running. You just want to be able to slide it around (by tapping with a small hammer) on the O rings that are on there to center it. Do it while its running and you'll be able to tell if your going the right way or not. When your done remember to tighten the valve back up. :thumrigh:

 

[gerty]

Thanks Guys, I got her adjusted and it works fine now. It took me about four hours to get it right ,so anyone else could probably do it in ten minutes.
Bob