C3 Corvette Power Steering Control Valve Removal, Installation & Adjustment
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video I will show you how to remove, replace and adjust your C3 Corvette power steering control valve. Once completed, I will take it for a test drive and make sure it's not leaking or pulling to one side.
Thanks for watching!
33 Mile Garage
#corvette #powersteering #corvettepowersteeringcontrolvalve #33milegarage
Yeah great video,would love to see the rebuild on control valve and possibly ram cylinder cheers mate
Thanks for watching and the feed back. I have it on my list of videos to make.
Great video. Thanks for good camera work and no silly music. Adding the complete rebuild video would be fantastic.
Thanks for the response and the compliment.
Excellent video, in the morning, I know the tools and steps, and am ready to replace my steering control valve correctly, on my 79 C3, which I know it will be fun riding once again down the road
Good luck with your project. It should drive a lot better and get ride of any pulling to one side. Thanks for watching and the comment. Appreciated!
@33milegarage34 I would have quit, when I got to the pickle fork, if not for the great advice about , do not be afraid to hit it hard, and I did have to use a bigger hammer. I was using a jack, and Jake stands laying on my side. I owe you. The corvette drove perfect again
Adjusted my control valve like you just did and it fixed my slight pull to the right. Thank you very much for making this video, i really appreciate it.
You’re welcome! So glad the video helped with your project! Thanks for watching!
One of the best end to end car videos I've seen.
Thanks for watching it. Trying to get better with every video I make.
I have seen many videos on this subject, yours is really the easiest to understand, and the one that best explains that it is not difficult to do at all. Thanks .
I try to put some good detail in my videos. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Well done video. Very clear and easy to follow. And I like your humorous touches. Now I feel more confident in replacing my control valve.
Thanks for the great compliment. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck on your project!
The alternator belt comment made me laugh
Great explanation and extremely helpful. Would like to see more videos on the Vette as I am rebuilding my 69! Thanks again.
Thanks. 1968-1970 are my favorite, but I like them all, I will be posting more corvette videos soon and good luck on the corvette project!
Get rid of that horrible power steering. I converted my C3 to full manual and the car feels like a true machine to drive now. Night and day difference. I used a Bilstein 5100 series steering damper in place of the hydraulic ram. Very smooth responsive steering with ZERO vibration/oscillation. But then again, to each his own. Cheers! 😊
That sounds like a great set up. Is it fairly hard to turn into tight parking? I haven’t considered that option because of the tight space we park in and my wife and both daughters drive it. But it sounds like a big pay off for the money. Thanks for watching and the great information!
@@33milegarage34 Hey man and howdy. Ok here is the skinny on this. It is somewhat more difficult to steer at parking/rolling speeds. In that however, I found that I naturally developed a technique that allows me to maneuver my C3 at those slow rolling speeds effortlessly. Not to be rude, my Corvette is NOT a beginner's car whatsoever. In other words, it is a pistol hot road machine not for the faint of heart. It was built to be the ultimate MANUAL driving machine. Pure exhilaration and adrenalin surge on an empty freeway early in the morning is a memorable experience to say the least. The way my Stingray Corvette responds along with the feedback I receive from the car with my steering setup is in my opinion the ONLY way it should be configured. The complete set is Borgeson's brand new stock type 16:1 ratio steering box and stainless-steel billet joint. And a Bilstein 5100 Series steering damper in place of the hydraulic ram. I fabricated my own bracket for the anchor point on the frame rail. The geometry is the same and everything clears all other vital components. And it looks bad ass as well. After all, said and done, in my opinion this is the ONLY way that these cars should have their steering configured for maximum driver and car feedback and road feel. Cheers! 😊
Sorry for the late response. Thanks for the manual steering run down. I have the stock set up dialed in but it’s 50+ year old technology so it’s not great by today’s standards. So that might be an option. Rude never! This is the place to share ideas, tech, builds and the best build description I have read in awhile. Nice job man! I felt the adrenaline reading your reply!
ßviking hey are you still alive a year later? Sounds like danger lurks around you. Bu5 if your still with us what is the best rack and pimion conversion for the c3?
@@tatertots-n-soup Howdy, I haven't any decent advice nor idea regarding a 'rack' setup for the C3/C2 Stingray Corvettes. From my experience, the stock setup, steering wheel -----> to steering box -----> to relay rod ------> to the rest of the steering assembly is a reliable and safe way to go. All manual of course. The coupling mechanism for an extremely safe and reliable aspect should be a GM or aftermarket 'rag-joint' assembly. With that you won't have a direct 'feel' of the steering/road as [it] is a compromise, so to speak. But with that setup, your Corvette has an engineered safety factor. With the billet joint setup, your Corvette will have a very responsive and direct feel for the road, however, you as an operator have to inspect and monitor the joint regularly to maintain safety. Never make an assumption that [it] is ready to go, as a failure at that point in the steering system will be a catastrophic and dangerous situation. One of which [you] may not walk away from. The system I installed in my opinion, offers a true vintage driving experience with these wonderful 'antique' cars. A true machine, all mechanical. I hope this helps and good luck. Cheers!
P.S.
Install the 'bump steer' blocks on the outside location points for the tie-rod ends. Makes a world of difference. Cheers!
Great job in this instructional video. Ill be tackling this job soon.
Thanks good luck on the project. Hope the video helps you out! Let me know how it goes.
Much appreciated as I have my 1971 LS6 apart for freshening up.
Wow! LS6 nice. Hope the refresh goes smoothly and your back on the road soon.
Awesome Video sir, I believe this will probably be my next project on my 76
Thanks for commenting and hope this helps you out when you start your control valve project!
Great video. Thanks for putting this together. Good length with helpful tips.
Thanks for watching and the compliment.
Looks I’ll be using this video as a guide when I go to replace mine :)
Thanks for commenting. Hope the video helps & good luck with your project!
Excellent clear demo. Thanks!
We’re trying really hard to make easy to follow videos that are enjoyable to watch. Thanks for watching!
@@33milegarage34 You're welcome. You have a beautiful C3 by the way. I have a 76 w the leaky steering components. I had them replaced (by a shop (was a bit nervous to try this at home) and now she's A-OK!
@@christophergordon6593 Thanks, Had this Vette for about 20 years with an engine and transmission swap over the last few years. It's a blast to drive! Good to see your power steering issue is resolved and back on the road.
Great video. Thank you for posting. I’m about to do my 1980 Vette.
Thanks for watching, let me know how the project goes.
Great video since manuals don't tell you about the proportioning valve adjustment.
Glad it helped you out! Thanks for watching and the feedback!
Awesome video, great to see the replacement in action! I am only replacing the control valve (with a rebuild from lone star caliper) on my 72 . Question: How critical is the alignment of the pitman arm and the control valve? I did not take any precautions and have moved the steering linkage during disassembly....
The pitman arm is keyed in location. Just make sure the steering wheel is straight and you should be good. Thanks for watching and the comment.
Excellent job and I thank you.
Thanks for watching and commenting.
Great video. This is extremely helpful as I am about to undertake a power steering fix on my ‘75. Although it’s one of my hoses that is leaking I think I’m gonna go ahead and just replace the valve and the hoses as you did. Question: what is that row of red-lit toggle switches on the top of your center console? Looks pretty cool. Thanks again
Thanks, I hope your project goes smooth. The red lights are from an equalizer, we removed the panel with corvette script and replaced it with a new aluminum one fabricated with the EQ mounted in it.
Nice camera work!!!
Thanks for watching my videos ... I'm trying
Great video! What type of mufflers are you running? I have a '71 with Flowmasters... yours sound better!
Thanks for commenting. The exhaust system is a Flowmaster Force 2 set up with an X pipe and Doug’s headers. It’s a great sound and not to crazy loud. Enjoy that 71.
1979 corvette power steering valve adjustment
Hope the video helped you out. Thanks for watching.
Hello Sir, I discovered your channel and this video is particularly relevant for me because I have the same problem on my C3. At the beginning of your video I see that you place your jack under the front of the car... do you lean on the engine cradle to do this? For my part, I only have a bottle jack at the moment and do you think that lifting the car on one side at a time can pose a problem for the fiberglass? I ask you all this because I own this car recently and I don't have much experience with it. Anyway, thank you for this very informative video.
I typically place the jack under the center of the front cradle to lift and would recommend that method, (with jack stands) but have placed the jack under the frame rails behind the front tire to lift one side for tire changes without issue but you take a risk closing up the door gap. Be careful with a bottle jack on uneven surfaces as the can slip out. Thanks for watching, good luck with your project and hit me up with any questions
@@33milegarage34 Thank you very much Sir for your return and as you kindly offer it to me, I will not hesitate to ask you about my questions and to discuss with you about this beautiful car.
Always use jack stands. They will support the wieght evenly and only be jacked up wonky briefly. But it is always better to jack up any two wheels simultaniously(even).
Truck jackstands are little higher. Rarely onsale at harbor frieght as they are right now for the dollar days sale. But thier floor jacks always have one or another on sale.
If nothing else jack up each side only a few inches. Set it on a jaxk stand and goto the other sode and jack it up 3 inches higher. Keep going back and forth until you are at the needed hieght. It shouldnt hurt anything if you keep it as even as you can. My exgirl friends dad was crushed under a car could yell for help because it was crushing his lungs. He was a lifetime mechanic and har the tire under it with a railroad tie block, but it failed.. He failed to use correct safty that time and it cost everyone he knew dearly. Please always block up the car correctly.
Great video... did you jack the car from the engine center mount? I've only had my 71 Vette for a year and everyone says you need to jack the car like it's an eggshell or be careful to jack from the designated jacking points on the frame. Thx.
Thank you! I use the front center cross member as a Jack point. But My car is a driver and not a high end restoration, you can dent the cross member as mine does have dents in it from my jack. Thanks for watching!
@@33milegarage34 Okay...my cross member has a few dings in it, too.. Ill use a 2x6 under the jack puck to spread out the load a bit when I change out my front brake calipers. Thx for the quick reply.
thank you sir
Thanks. Any questions let me know.
Thank you so much for this very informative video,i have a question
i am planning to rebuild a control valve of 59 Mercury, however i am not sure what the correct rebuild kit to order as there is only (Bendix) stamped on it?
How easy is it to turn the steering wheel on a stationary car not moving? Because in my case it's very difficult to turn the steering when the car is parked, however once it starts moving it gets really easy to steer you can steer with a pinky finger.
I typically purchase the rebuild kits by the year, make, and model; but in your case the front end may have been switched out with late model steering components so that may not apply. As far as turning the steering wheel in a stationary position, my car is noticeably harder to turn but not at a level of very difficult. Also, if the steering wheel was changed to a smaller diameter, they can be very difficult to steer at a low speed or in a static position. Thanks for watching and for the great questions. Good luck with the 59 Merc!
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@@33milegarage34 thanks for the quick response.
You should never ever turn the steeringwheel without the car rolling. It will cost you in premature parts cost like you wont even believe it.
What about the wheel bearing dust cap?
Good catch… yea don’t forget the dust cover. Thanks for watching an dad the comment!
is it necessary to remove the ramshaft from the bracket or is it more of a safety concern?
Thanks for the question. The drag link must be removed to unscrew the control valve but it’s not required to remove the power steering extend/retract cylinder or bracket. Hope that helps you out. Thanks you watching!
@@33milegarage34 I've rebuilt my valve and put it all together and turned it on and it turned to the left by itself so I will just need to adjust it
I have leaky power steering control valve that I am gonna have replaced in the next 2 weeks. I noticed my car swerving to the right. What are the chances this is a non adjusted valve and not an alignment issue???
If the control valve is out of adjustment the car can pull to one side or the other. Quick way to check, start the car and listen for a whine from the power steering pump. If the pump is whining that’s an indicator the control valve needs to be adjusted. In most cases it’s likely an alignment issue and not the control valve. Thanks
I have a new valve and I’m noticing I have too much play where the ball joint goes into the valve. I understand it needs to move to activate the valving but mine moves almost a 1/4 inch . It seems to cause a vague, sloppy feel on the highway. You feel like you are suggesting a lane change and then correcting it once it starts going over. I’m wondering if there is shims or something to tighten up that ball joint movement. Everything else is new on the front and rear suspension. All bushings and joints are new and this is the only spot that has play.
Update; it’s not too much play, something is hanging up
If remember correctly the ball joint in the valve fit snugly with no play. If the play is all in the new valve will the supplier replace it with a new one? I also found my steering box to be loose over years of driving. The box can be adjusted by the screw and jam nut on top. If the steering box requires adjustment, make it 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time as not to over tighten it. Hope this helps you out. Let me know what you find.
@@33milegarage34 thanks for the reply. The steer box is tight. I just did some research and I see there is these spiral 🌀 springs that go on each side of the ball joint to center it , in the valve. I’m thinking these new aftermarket springs aren’t as stiff as the stock springs. Where did you get your rebuild kit from? I still have the stock valve. I think I’ll rebuild it and see if it’s any better than what I have now. I used to get all my stuff from Wilcox but if you have a preference, I would like to hear it. Thanks again 👍🏻
I purchased my last rebuild kit from Corvette Central but I think they all get parts from the same supplier and Willcoc customer service is pretty good. But with that said Willcox website might be down right now. Thanks for watching and hope you get the parts need to fix the steering play issue.
Is it all the time or just on some roads as the car is trying to hook in the ruts of the common cars on poorly maintained roads?
On the cotter pin can I use the same one or do i need to buy a new one? thanks,
I always replace cotter pins with new pins. Not worth messing with a used pin they can break or be weakened. Thanks for watching!
@@33milegarage34 Quick question. I own a 76 corvette. How many gallons of radiator fluid/antifreeze does a radiator take to fill to full capacity? thanks.
The professional mechanics shop rule and manfacturers recomdation is. If it has any cracks in the bend or is broken off shorter it must be replaced. It is designed to be malleable so you can reuse it.
What if lines were crossed on cylinder?
Good question… it would probably make it very difficult to turn. Thanks for watching.
Probably blow fluid out the seals or force it out the powersteering cap
Where do you place you stands?
Thanks for the question. For this project I place the jack stands under the lower control arms at the shock mount location, the valley of the jack stands fit nicely.
Mine feels funny. Like it is twitchy
Could be the hydraulic cylinder or seals are bad, letting air into the system making it feel twitchy. Feels like it moves easily then stops and gets easily again? Thanks for watching and the question.