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

Hi,
I posted something about my power steering but now there is another issue. I have a 1965 chevy 10, I found out it does have the original power steering with the ram. A mechanic told me that the bigger hole port was the high pressure port, I found something online from a chevy website that says the high pressure port is the smaller port. Does anyone know for sure?

I have two holes, one is a 1/4th cpt and other other is a 3/8npt. I had the high pressure hooked to the 3/8th and my wheel would turn all the way left when I turned the truck on and it would not move. Has anyone heard of anything happening like that if the high pressure hose was hooked up to the return port.

Nathan,
Here is the best advice I can offer on this subject. I do not have a book for this era truck to refer to but I took a look at my friends 64 Impala which has this type of steering system. The Impala has the small line as the pressure side and the larger one as the return. GM is usually fairly consistent so it would lead me to beleive that the truck would be the same.
Once you install the lines in this manner it may or may not solve all of your problems. Depending on what pump you installed it's possible that you could have too much pressure to operate this system and could blow out seals in the control valve or ram. Also too much pressure could cause the steering to be erratic. You can reduce the pump pressure by installing washers in the control valve in the pump. The washer kits are available at most speed shops as it a common procedure when installing a Mustang II rack with a GM pump. You should find out what the operating pressure for this system is and modify the valve accordingly. The later pumps produce over 1300 PSI and your system probably operates at about 800-900 PSI. The shop manual should have this info.
Fred

It would be fundimental and common for a hydraulic system to have a larger return line than pressure line. it would also likely be an R4 (low prerssure-return)rated hose if it has markings. I wouldn't trust the mechanic who told you otherwise about anything now.