The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Power Steering Box

Hi,
I am having a big issue. I have a 1965 Chevy c10 truck. It had a power steering box on it already but no pump because the previous owner had swapped out the engine with a 350. I put a power steering pump in and fitted the hoses. I had everything connected perfectly, no leaks at all. When I turned on the truck all of a sudden the wheels turn all the way to the left by themselves and will not allow me to turn the wheels nomatter what and I am a strong guy. The wheels after turning then keep jerking that direction to the left. Not sure what is going on. Any help would be great, thank u.

Check to make sure that the hoses are connected to the correct ports. Next jack up the front end with the wheels off the ground, with the engine shut off turn the steering wheel lock to lock about 10-12 times each side. Check and add fluid as necessary. It sounds like it had air in the system and this should take care of the problem.
Fred

Hy Guys, it sounds to me like the flow direction control valve inside the steering box is stuck in the left turn position, it may free up after some oil gets in there, and it may not. These valves only move a few thousanths in either direction from the straight ahead position. If the steering box ports were exposed to rain there may be some rust jamming the valve, good luck, hope that helps.

Thanks for the fast replies, I appreciate it. I definately had the hoses hooked up to the right ports, I put it all together in Reebies parking lot with the guy that worked there who helped me find the correct fittings. A mechanic said something about a ram maybe being bad, I just talked to him. Have any of you heard of that happening, I am really not even sure what the ram is.

I will also do what you guys advised me of. That is why I posted on here before talking to the mechanic, He deals more with newer trucks and said he doesn't have too much experience with the power steering on these old chevy's.

I will try going lock to lock, issue I have with having it turned on with doing so is that it is not humanly possible to make the wheels turn, really wierd situation.

Thank you again.

Thank you very much for the idea.

You have a couple of things going on here. You indicated that your 65 had a power steering box on it. To me that means that it has been converted to a later steering system (probably 67 up). It does not use a ram.
The 65 had a ram and a control valve which supplemented the stock manual gear box similar to what Chevy passenger cars used from 55 through 64. Fords also used this system. Generally it operated on less pressure than the later Saginaw self contained units which operate at about 1300psi. PS systems are supposed to be self bleeding but like most things they don't always cooperate. Starting the engine before bleeding the air from the system can lead to cavitation which introduces more air into the system. Subsequently you get lots of bubbles and hydraulic systems won't work on bubbles. As 3B also mentioned dirt or corosion could have entered the system which will plug it up.
If you have the ram/control valve system, the pump may have too much pressure and that may be causing your problem.
Fred