Power Steering

[Rick Andersen]

Chris Wills writes - V8 Corvairs often have wide tires and this can make a vehicle difficult to respond to driver input because the steering ratio for a manual rack is necessarily slow, or if a fast ratio rack is used it requires a fair amount of strength to turn fast. I prefer a fast ratio and my current V8 has a two-turn lock-to-lock rack. This requires power assist to be driveable at lower speeds.

I have Corvette C5 suspension and a Mustang II power rack and pinion which is close to the perfect width for minimal bump steer.
Running hydraulic lines and finding space for an engine-driven pump is not practical. The Volvo S40 uses an electric power steering pump that adjusts output pressure to reduce steering assist at highway speeds, but this pump can be used in the limp-home mode to power a rack and pinion (or a power steering gearbox, if substituted for a manual Corvair box). This pump will operate in the limp-home mode if not connected to the Volvo PCU, but in this mode it still produces enough pressure to operate the rack and pinion satisfactorily.

The pump can be mounted with simple brackets. I used a 2005 Volvo S40 pressure hose (Rockauto). The pressure line was modified using an AN line fitting and a special AN fitting from the rack to the hose fitting and shortened as needed to fit. The return hose was standard low pressure power steering hose. The pump requires a 12 volt constant hot and a good ground using 10 gauge stranded wire and a 40 Amp fuse at the battery. In the limp-home mode it pulls about 20 Amps.

To turn on the pump a 14 or 16 gauge wire is needed from the ignition switch so the pump turns on when the car is started, or it can be routed through a switch so it can be turned on/off. This wire operates an internal electronic relay.
This pump can be found on line (Ebay) or in a junkyard. Try to get the electrical connectors if possible as this simplifies the electrical connections.The 16 gauge wire is connected to the terminal nearest the power connector (green wire in the connector) and the ground wire is the terminal nearest it with the power wire next to it.

About $150 will get you reliable power steering.

Chris Wills
Redwood City, California
https://www.v8registry.com/chris-wills---redwood-city-ca.html
chris.wille18@gmail.com