Power Steering Conversion - Real Time Help

[Texascruisin]

I hate to hear the hell your going through with this. My conversion was pretty straight forward. Don’t give up it’s so nice driving it now. This might be wrong, but I had to add an Oring to my flare fitting high pressure line. My duralast 7023 pump leaked until I added one between the back of the flare and the nut threads.

 

[Two Buck]

Done. Again. But really this time. (I hope.)

I had a new high pressure hose that hadn't been mounted yet since I buggered up the original one with my first failed install, so I ended up taking that to a local shop to have them cut off the metric fitting and replace it with one that exactly matches the fitting on the pump. It took them 10 minutes and cost me $5. Georg swears the hose's metric fitting works with the pump's standard fitting -- he says it's snug but it works and he does it all the time -- but I just couldn't make it work. The new fitting went on nice and snug with the only struggle being working in a cramped space. Now it's tight, I trust that it's tight, and it's not leaking. My advice to anyone who asks is to get a new fitting put on the line instead of trying to make the mismatched threads work.

The shop I went to was Orme Brothers, Inc in Northridge. Good people. Worth it at 10x the price.

Edit: Another word of advice: watch the routing of your low pressure hose. Mine ended up touching the exhaust header when it was under pressure. Fortunately, I caught it before it burned a hole in it and zip-tied it out of harm's way.

 

[NMfjCruiser]

Pump that works with the Saginaw conversion kit:

Autozone's Volvo 242 pump:

I'm starting to think that's what I'm going to have to do.

I got my 242 pump at Napa and it looks exactly like the one in the above picture.

 

[NMfjCruiser]

Done. Again. But really this time. (I hope.)

I had a new high pressure hose that hadn't been mounted yet since I buggered up the original one with my first failed install, so I ended up taking that to a local shop to have them cut off the metric fitting and replace it with one that exactly matches the fitting on the pump. It took them 10 minutes and cost me $5. Georg swears the hose's metric fitting works with the pump's standard fitting -- he says it's snug but it works and he does it all the time -- but I just couldn't make it work. The new fitting went on nice and snug with the only struggle being working in a cramped space. Now it's tight, I trust that it's tight, and it's not leaking. My advice to anyone who asks is to get a new fitting put on the line instead of trying to make the mismatched threads work.

The shop I went to was Orme Brothers, Inc in Northridge. Good people. Worth it at 10x the price.

Edit: Another word of advice: watch the routing of your low pressure hose. Mine ended up touching the exhaust header when it was under pressure. Fortunately, I caught it before it burned a hole in it and zip-tied it out of harm's way.


View attachment 1692703

Looks like it was worth the trouble, looks good in there.

 

[SteveH]

Looks good. I learned the hard way that there are MANY variations of the 'canned ham' GM pump, and you may not have what you think you have, the fittings may differ, the clocking of the pump may differ (just enough that you have to modify the bracket), etc. Never assume anything when you order one or take it out of the box.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

So now it's sitting on my workbench, mocking me.

Don’t pull your manifolds, they too will mock you many times over.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Nope. Volvo 242 is a different pump. Trust me, I just spent 30 minute at Autozone having them go through all the 70s-80s Volvo 242 pumps and they’re all wrong.

What do you need for the Volvo? I have one here that I took out and replaced w/ a used stock pump. Lmk if I can help.

 

[Rusto]

Okay, I don't consider this a thread hijack. It's more @Two Buck is passing the baton to me.
I have the 5/8-18 brass fitting that should mate up with the new, standard-fitting pump.

Now, how do I get the old one off and the new one on? Do I have to cut the brass pipe and then re-flare it? It looks like I could take the pipe out of the rubber where it connects, slide the old one off backwards, the put the new one on the pipe and push the pipe back into the rubber.

Can I? would prefer to have to cut and re-flare if I don't have to do so.

Damn thing is leaking like a sieve.

 

[Rusto]

I went out and looked again. It does not appear as though I can "cut the hose" as it doesn't appear to be a hose..

I'm going to rent a flaring tool from O"Reilly's and start cutting $#!T up and flaring it out.
Wish me luck....

 

[Two Buck]

I will GLADLY pass the baton on this one, and I'm sorry you have to take it. Here's a diagram I just rigged up showing how I had my fitting replaced. Hope it helps...

 

[Two Buck]

Status update: Everything looks good. I bled the system this afternoon and have been driving it around for the last hour. No PS leaks anywhere, which was the whole point of this conversion, so I'll call it a success.

I'm getting some very slight moaning from the pump as I approach full lock to the right, but I don't think I'd notice it if I weren't really listening. The steering is maybe a little easier than it was before, but it was never bad to begin with. For me, the whole reason for doing this conversion was to stop leaking fluid all over my motor. So far it looks like I've solved that.

If I had it all to do over again (for the third time), I'd get the pump I ordered (Autozone 7023) but I would modify my HP hose to put a fitting on it that matches the pump. That stupid fitting is what caused all my heartburn, so I would eliminate that from the jump. Otherwise, it's a pretty straightforward process.

For me, the hardest parts were

1. Getting the OEM pump out. Protip: back the bolt that hits the exhaust out as far as you can, then lift the pump straight up)
2. Getting the old pump out and new pump into position around the smog pump adjuster. Protip: loosen it all the way and flopit over to the side. Also, rotate the smog pump as far to the left sidewall as you can to give you room to work.
3. Getting the bolts to thread on when mounting the new bracket/pump. Protip: the "middle" bolt is probably easiest to start with. Hang the pump off the stud at the front of the motor and wiggle wiggle wiggle until that bolt catches. Once you've got one, the other two will follow)
4. Getting the HP line to bolt onto the HP outlet on the pump. My flare wrench was just too sloppy to trust with this (especially when I was trying to scren a metric fitting into a standard one). I ended up using a 16mm open ended wrench for this and was really wishing I could find my stubby one.

Honestly, once I figured out the metric/standard fittings mismatch, everything made sense again and it became just another job where you just didn't have room to work in. Piece of cake!

Good luck with yours, @Rusto !

 

[Rusto]

Nice write up. I'm doing mine for the same reason. Stop the leaks.

I was able to get the brass hose off easily and cut the flare off the tip.

But the 5/8" - 18s ID is too small. The threads are perfect, but i can't get it on the line.

I'm thinking of getting a drill bit that won't fit in the new fitting, but will in the old one and drilling it out oh so slightly.

Don't know if that will compromise the fitting. Probably make it more prone to leaks, but i don't know what else to do at this point.

Off to sleep.

 

[FJACS]

I was able to get the brass hose off easily and cut the flare off the tip.

But the 5/8" - 18s ID is too small. The threads are perfect, but i can't get it on the line.

Don’t drill the fitting. Did you deburr the hard line after you cut it? Clean the cut in your hard line up with some Emory cloth and a small file. You should also run a tapered ream in the ID of the metal hose as well before you flare it.

 

[Rusto]

It's smooth as a baby's butt. No burrs or amything.

The fitting just has a smaller ID, like it's the standard version rather than metric.

I have a couple of hours today to spend on it. Well see how it goes

 

[Two Buck]

I don't know about the ID of your new fitting. I didn't even consider that could be a potential problem. I don't know what mine is since the shop put it on for me. I just told the guy what I needed, he took my line into the back and did whatever magic happens back there, and it was all back together again when he came back. Good luck...

 

[Rusto]

and i'm baaaaack...

I did end up drilling out the fitting. used a 25/64 in bit. Could have even used a 13/32 I think, as the fitting was still very tight.
Once I had that on, I couldn't get it too far down the brass line, so I had trouble flaring out the line as much as I think I should have.
but I did get it flared out.
Put everything back together, I was able to get it tight.

And it still leaks from somewhere and now I have absolutely no power steering. I tried the easy flush of just sucking the ATF out of the reservoir with a turkey baster, hoping to clear up any air in the line, and I don't think the fluid is moving through the pump. Seems like their is blockage as sucking out the fluid from the reservoir didn't pull too much nasty stuff out. I may have mashed the line some when I was I was flaring it a little bit. It was open, of course, but perhaps a wee bit constricted. Could that be the trouble?

At this point, my thoughts -

1. Do a real flush, pulling the return line and see if any fluid comes out. If it doesn't, I have blockage. If it does, then hopefully the flush will work.
2. pull both lines and make sure they are clear.
3. cut and reflare the line again (have it done by a pro this time)
4. hopefully that works, but I guess the pump could be bad at this point, of fouled somewhere in the pump.
5. If four is true, then I get to do all of this again!

Right now, I'm wishing i would have just spent the money on a new from Toyota stock pump.

 

[Two Buck]

Oh man. I feel your pain. If there's no power steering at all then that means the fluid isn't flowing. The HP line could be the problem, depending on how much you bent the line when flaring it, or maybe a blockage somewhere else. I'd start with #1 and #2. If after that you know you're moving fluid and the new fitting isn't leaking, then I'd say #3 isn't necessary and I'd go to #4 and I'd get really creative about figuring out how to pull the pump without pulling the bracket.

FWIW, mine is still leaking too. Just a very small amount, and I can't figure out from where -- but I know it's not the pump. My buddy who owns a shop is going to wash my engine bay out for me tonight, so it'll be easier to find the leak without 30 years of crud in there.

Good luck!

 

[Rusto]

It's a miracle! Got in the Cruiser today to run some errands, as I was working from home and lo and behold I HAVE POWER STEERING AGAIN. It must have been air in the lines, or perhaps a blockage that came free, but it feels so much better. There is still a very small leak, but for now I can live with it - at least until I figure out where it's coming from, especially now that the PS is back to silky smooth.

i'll monitor it closely for the next few days, checking the fluid and for leaks, and we'll see how it goes.

now, for what I've learned.

• Do your best to get a Saginaw pump with the right METRIC fittings if at all possible. Not sure how to best identify that, but it would prevent a lot of headaches. I'd go so far as to taking the Toyota high pressure line when you visit your local autoparts store.
• Barring the ability to get a metric pump, get the 5/8" - 18 fitting or whatever your new pump requires.
• By an aftermarket high pressure hose from O'reillys or somewhere and don't cut up your NLA Toyota high pressure line. I should have went this route and saved my original. The replacement part is $30 bucks and I'd have an original for if I ever wanted to return to OEM. I'm definitely keeping the OEM fitting.
• When the new fitting is put on, make sure the flare is done well. I still think that will be a point of failure for my set up at some point. So much so that I'm thinking of taking my newly acquired O'reilly's line and fitting to a pro to get the line flared 100% correctly.
• Make sure you include all the o-rings. I did, but knowing not having them could lead to leaks and frustration it's an easy thing to make sure you do.
• Do a proper bleed of your system after the install.
• Use ATF, not PS Fluid per the FSM. PO looks like he used Power Steering fluid, which probably contributed to the leaks in the first place.

I agree with @Two Buck - getting the fitting correct right out of the gate would have prevented so much of the negative experience. Should be mentioned in every Saginaw Pump upgrade thread.

If I can get the leak to stop 100% and keep the smoothness of the upgrade, I'll be completely satisfied with the spend and go forward product (corp speak oozing into this - ewww). I'm very close, but I'm going to just enjoy the improved steering for the time being before I mess with it any more.

 

[FJACS]

It’s very likely that the original Toyota HP line has a metric sized metal hard line. The replacement hose from O’Reily’s or Rock Auto is probably made with standard hard line - which is why the standard fitting slides on without drilling.

 

[Sacto60]

Wow, what a thread. Nice work everyone.