shadango
Well-Known Member
Happy new year to all! Starting off the new year, waking up early and cant get back to sleep because the mind starts chewing on things that need done. I apologize for the length of this post - been crafting it since 7am (its 830 now)... I know that turns some folks off.....but this is where my mind is...LOL
At the top of the list this morning --
My son's 1980 Volare has had a leaky power steering box for a while now.....
It has been on the "to do" list for some time. Leaks pretty good. He is a college student and finding time to do the swap out, let alone the money, is tough. It was planned for this past summer but that didnt work out....
In the meantime I told him to keep the fluid topped off, EVERY DRIVE. Used Lucas steering fluid for a while but that didnt help the leak. So the only way to fix this right is to remove and replace the box.
A lower seal kit is cheap at the parts stores ( we *think* that is where the leak is) but I assume that involves the same amount of work as just swapping the box out.....and in my experience getting the pitman arm off is ROUGH.....with a new box, you dont even need to do that....just use a new one....
But anyways, I want to encourage him to do it right.....replace the hoses and any other parts in the system...we replaced the pump several year ago because it was leaking......but everything else is old.....that means a project and more expense.....so I am just trying to think this all out and was hoping y'all would chime in and help me think it through for him.
A rock auto "BBB Industries" reman unit is only $134 plus $10 ground shipping.....but $50 core....so my guess is shipping the core BACK will be $$$ ( I do not get the shipping discounts that a big company would get)....
Rock has a "new" LARES brand #11031 that they list as "firm feel steering" for $364 and a CARDONE for $5 more (that one doesnt say firm feel steering)...$15 to ship those.....
But having dealt with Rock before on warranty and exchanges, I was leaning toward local parts store over rock....more $ -- Advance wants $162 plus $75 core.....but no shipping and if there is a problem it can be addressed in person locally.....
Oddly, O'Reiley lists a new "LARES" brand (with firm feel steering) for a WHOPPING $925!!!!! YIKES! The regular LARES reman unit they want $725!!! And both have $250 core charges! Who is LARES!?!? Why is their stuff so pricey??
O'Reiley's Master Pro brand reman box is $150....
But a google search seems to say that the parts store rebuilt ones are hit-and-miss.......
So I was suggesting a Firm Feel to him.....I know with them it will be the right piece and it will be quality.....but to add to the pain, Firm Feel says they are 3 months backordered and that is if we send them the box to rebuild. They have nothing on the shelf. $425 for a stage 2, $575 for a stage 3 (which is what I have in my Cuda and I love it) plus probably around $75 shipping both ways I would guess.
And it looks like we would also want to replace the rag joint AND the pot coupler guts -- cant seemto find THOSE parts anywhere yet.....along with the hoses, flush the pump and install an inline filter....hopefully the pump is still good.....
So it's a project.....with my garage queens its easy...start the project and it is finished when it is finished.
But he needs the car. We have next week (holiday break) but I am not sure we can pull the parts together in time and get it done in time for him to head back to school.
So I think it has to wait a while yet.....at least that gives us a chance to pull parts together so they are ready when he DOES have time. Ol' Dad will have to furnish the money for now I guess. LOL
But a couple questions....
First--- when you peer down into the power steering pump reservoir....if it looks empty, is there still "some" fluid left in the system or is it effectively dry? Reason I ask is that when I looked in there recently during some other work we were doing after he had a long drive home, I didnt see fluid. The steering still felt assisted and no obvious/loud noise from the pump (yet). I iknow if it runs dry it will start trashing itself...sending metal through the system.
Second - it has been years since I replaced one of these boxes, and that was on my 72 Cuda...
To do that one, I had to pull the steering column. And that meant getting that pin out of the pot coupler while it was in the car. It was fun but not impossible.
Looking around here on the forum, it looks like there is a rag joint at the firewall......? I have to look at the car because I hadn't noticed that....
So if we have the rag joint is it safe to assume that the steering column doesn't have to be touched? Just disconnect the rag joint, the pitman arm-to-steering link and the 3 frame bolts and it drops out?
Any trouble spots when replacing the box on an 80?
Does the rag joint typically offer any problem? Seems like that with the rag joint, at least then you can take the whole thing to the bench and do the pot coupler....I havent even tried to find THOSE parts yet.....
And this is a dumb question I know.....but should this college student "forget" and run it dry for too long --- aside from destroying the pump and sending metal through the hoses to the box...is there potential for immediate catastrophic failure or lockup? has anyone ever seen/experienced that?
Oye vey.......starting off the new year obsessing over a project....I guess its just like last year....LOL
Thanks for any feedback and whoever wants to chime in...
At the top of the list this morning --
My son's 1980 Volare has had a leaky power steering box for a while now.....
It has been on the "to do" list for some time. Leaks pretty good. He is a college student and finding time to do the swap out, let alone the money, is tough. It was planned for this past summer but that didnt work out....
In the meantime I told him to keep the fluid topped off, EVERY DRIVE. Used Lucas steering fluid for a while but that didnt help the leak. So the only way to fix this right is to remove and replace the box.
A lower seal kit is cheap at the parts stores ( we *think* that is where the leak is) but I assume that involves the same amount of work as just swapping the box out.....and in my experience getting the pitman arm off is ROUGH.....with a new box, you dont even need to do that....just use a new one....
But anyways, I want to encourage him to do it right.....replace the hoses and any other parts in the system...we replaced the pump several year ago because it was leaking......but everything else is old.....that means a project and more expense.....so I am just trying to think this all out and was hoping y'all would chime in and help me think it through for him.
A rock auto "BBB Industries" reman unit is only $134 plus $10 ground shipping.....but $50 core....so my guess is shipping the core BACK will be $$$ ( I do not get the shipping discounts that a big company would get)....
Rock has a "new" LARES brand #11031 that they list as "firm feel steering" for $364 and a CARDONE for $5 more (that one doesnt say firm feel steering)...$15 to ship those.....
But having dealt with Rock before on warranty and exchanges, I was leaning toward local parts store over rock....more $ -- Advance wants $162 plus $75 core.....but no shipping and if there is a problem it can be addressed in person locally.....
Oddly, O'Reiley lists a new "LARES" brand (with firm feel steering) for a WHOPPING $925!!!!! YIKES! The regular LARES reman unit they want $725!!! And both have $250 core charges! Who is LARES!?!? Why is their stuff so pricey??
O'Reiley's Master Pro brand reman box is $150....
But a google search seems to say that the parts store rebuilt ones are hit-and-miss.......
So I was suggesting a Firm Feel to him.....I know with them it will be the right piece and it will be quality.....but to add to the pain, Firm Feel says they are 3 months backordered and that is if we send them the box to rebuild. They have nothing on the shelf. $425 for a stage 2, $575 for a stage 3 (which is what I have in my Cuda and I love it) plus probably around $75 shipping both ways I would guess.
And it looks like we would also want to replace the rag joint AND the pot coupler guts -- cant seemto find THOSE parts anywhere yet.....along with the hoses, flush the pump and install an inline filter....hopefully the pump is still good.....
So it's a project.....with my garage queens its easy...start the project and it is finished when it is finished.
But he needs the car. We have next week (holiday break) but I am not sure we can pull the parts together in time and get it done in time for him to head back to school.
So I think it has to wait a while yet.....at least that gives us a chance to pull parts together so they are ready when he DOES have time. Ol' Dad will have to furnish the money for now I guess. LOL
But a couple questions....
First--- when you peer down into the power steering pump reservoir....if it looks empty, is there still "some" fluid left in the system or is it effectively dry? Reason I ask is that when I looked in there recently during some other work we were doing after he had a long drive home, I didnt see fluid. The steering still felt assisted and no obvious/loud noise from the pump (yet). I iknow if it runs dry it will start trashing itself...sending metal through the system.
Second - it has been years since I replaced one of these boxes, and that was on my 72 Cuda...
To do that one, I had to pull the steering column. And that meant getting that pin out of the pot coupler while it was in the car. It was fun but not impossible.
Looking around here on the forum, it looks like there is a rag joint at the firewall......? I have to look at the car because I hadn't noticed that....
So if we have the rag joint is it safe to assume that the steering column doesn't have to be touched? Just disconnect the rag joint, the pitman arm-to-steering link and the 3 frame bolts and it drops out?
Any trouble spots when replacing the box on an 80?
Does the rag joint typically offer any problem? Seems like that with the rag joint, at least then you can take the whole thing to the bench and do the pot coupler....I havent even tried to find THOSE parts yet.....
And this is a dumb question I know.....but should this college student "forget" and run it dry for too long --- aside from destroying the pump and sending metal through the hoses to the box...is there potential for immediate catastrophic failure or lockup? has anyone ever seen/experienced that?
Oye vey.......starting off the new year obsessing over a project....I guess its just like last year....LOL
Thanks for any feedback and whoever wants to chime in...
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