- Joined
- Oct 29, 2022
- Messages
- 134
So I just picked up the power steering pump master kit from wild horses. Got it all together but not without some headache. Wanted to post here about my experience, not to dissuade anybody but to inform others of some of the things you may run into. First, when I went to install the pulleys, there was a small variance (probably rust) in the inner diameter size so I had to use the bolts to pull the crank pulley onto the engine. The water pump pulley went on great. I am running a 1 wire aftermarket alternator and when I put the pulleys on, my belt was extremely loose, I had to go down 2 inches to get it snug and I’m still at the end of my adjustment. Installing the brackets for the power steering caused my water pump to weep some coolant from the back, but once I got the bracket on it sealed right back up. When I went to install the power steering belt provided, it is so tight, I had rotated the fan to get it pulled onto the pulley on the smallest adjustment. The pump includes a spacer and washers to even out the pulleys. I had to use all of them plus a few extra washer to get the belt in line. A bit frustrating to figure out, but doable. When I went to install the steering gear, I was fighting it. I could get one lower bolt installed but none of the others lined up. The steering gear was hitting the body mount bracket with the unused hole on the gear. After a few hours on the phone with wild horses, we decided it would be best to cut off the unused hole (even though in the instructions it is suggested to drill that hole and use it as a 4th mounting location). This steering gear box has a huge pitman arm nut on it, bigger than the 1-1/2” socket that is the largest in my set, not complaining but something to be aware of as well. When I went to install the steering shaft after cutting it down and grinding the double D slots into it, it is a pain to push the spring for it down and tighten the clamp on it. This isn’t mentioned in the instructions and a second person makes this part much easier, or maybe a ratchet strap to compress the spring. All of this made for an eventful install but we are there. It’s. As belt setup so it’s hard to compare it to the power steering on my ls swapped full size bronco. But feels much better than the manual steering with the 37s. Hoping it does well on the rocks. Much of this is probably due to the inconsistencies in a 50 year old truck that was mostly built by hand. Friday truck vs Monday truck, etc. Some of it you may never run into, but I wanted to put up a current post about installing one of the power steering kits in case anybody was interested.
All in all, I recommend making sure you have a second person to lend a hand, double checking the pitman nut size before getting started and being prepared to cut your brand new steering gear to get it to fit. Be prepared to possibly loose a little coolant when installing the brackets. Be prepared to need to buy different belts. (I swapped my alternator belt to an #7395) And don’t get too overzealous with your power steering fluid. I have a mess to clean up now haha.
All in all, I recommend making sure you have a second person to lend a hand, double checking the pitman nut size before getting started and being prepared to cut your brand new steering gear to get it to fit. Be prepared to possibly loose a little coolant when installing the brackets. Be prepared to need to buy different belts. (I swapped my alternator belt to an #7395) And don’t get too overzealous with your power steering fluid. I have a mess to clean up now haha.
