# power steering help!



## p1squally (Apr 7, 2011)

New owner of a 68 Lemans
PO claimed to of installed a 400 in it, not sure from what or what year

*warning* im a complete n00b sometimes

So it looks like i already got the ps box which was just abandoned

now i need a pump butt which one? and wheres my mount?

someone help me out cuz im doing this :willy:

thanks!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

You're going to need a power steering pump looks like the PS bracket is there. You have the pressure hose exiting the steering box and entering the box,:willy: the return hose is missing. Everything you need for PS is missing except for the steering box and the PS bracket. The pump will have the pulley affixed to it and it gets mounted on that bracket. Hook the pressure hose to the back of the pump, thread the PS belt on the pulley on the pump to the other pulleys the return hose will go on the side of the pump.


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## p1squally (Apr 7, 2011)

Cool so what pump do i need? Just a generic pump er what? Lol
Thanks a bunch!


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## freethinker (Nov 14, 2009)

p1squally said:


> Cool so what pump do i need? Just a generic pump er what? Lol
> Thanks a bunch!


junkyard search. many years should work. i am guessing 66-70 pontiac would 
work. most of the gm pumps from those years are the same but you need the pontiac brackets.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

You can get aftermarket pumps for not too expensive if you don't mind them being Pontiac correct or being refurbished. Many places have them. For example Rockland Auto has them for under 50.00. NAPA has them too. If you find junkyard ones I'd advise getting it rebuilt. Ya don't wanna install it twice. There are gasket kits you can get for 20.00 or so but if its junkyard you are better off rebuilding it.


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## pontiac (Mar 6, 2011)

be sure parts house pump has reservoir. Also you will still need to get a pulley as well. Rebuilt pumps have neither usually.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

p1squally said:


> now i need a pump butt which one? and wheres my mount?


You've got part of the bracket, but not all of it. There's a stud on the back side of the pump that fits into that long vertical slot. You can sort of see it in this photo. The front part of the bracket consists of two flat pieces, one that bolts to the front of the pump itself and has an arc'ed slot for adjusting belt tension, the other is sort of a dog-leg looking piece.  This photo shows how it works as well as any I have.

Looking at your photos again, it appears you have the dog-leg part of the bracket but not the piece that bolts to the front of the pump,

There are also a couple of spacers that go between the larger of those two brackets and the face of the water pump. They make the bracket "square" with the pump axis.

Bear


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

You should be able to find most everything you need from e-bay. If you can't find it right now, keep checking back as new items are listed all the time.
1968 lemans power steering | eBay


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## 6tee7 (Feb 24, 2011)

I think Year One has a re manufactured one.


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## p1squally (Apr 7, 2011)

sooo before i blow cash on the wrong stuff
i need these correct?

pump with a resoviour
CARDONE INDUSTRIES 20-6117 Power Steering Pump | eBay

pulley 
1969 1970 GTO LeMans Water Pump Pulley V8 2 Groove New on eBay!

this part of the bracket
1967,68,69 FIIREBIRD GTO, POWER STEERING PUMP BRACKET on eBay!

and some mounting bolts
66 67 68 69 GTO Judge Firebird TA Power Steering Bolts on eBay!


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

p1squally said:


> sooo before i blow cash on the wrong stuff
> i need these correct?
> 
> pump with a resoviour
> CARDONE INDUSTRIES 20-6117 Power Steering Pump | eBay


These pumps were used on "everything" - I'd bet you can still get them from NAPA.






> pulley
> 1969 1970 GTO LeMans Water Pump Pulley V8 2 Groove New on eBay!


If your current pulley doesn't have two belt grooves, then yes - you'll need one of these. Also, if you don't already have a two-groove crank pulley you'll need that too. The belts for the alternator and the power steering pump both go around the water pump pulley and the crankshaft pulley. Also there's something else that can "happen" to you - it did to me. Long about that time for a brief period Pontiac used water pumps with two different lengths on the snout. As far as I know, the only one that's available now is the "long" snout pump. If your car originally had the "short" snout pump as mine did, and you replace it, then none of your belts are going to line up properly until you engineer a way to move all the accessories about 1/2" forward as well as replacing the crank pulley "stack" with a set from a "big car" Pontiac.






> this part of the bracket
> 1967,68,69 FIIREBIRD GTO, POWER STEERING PUMP BRACKET on eBay!


I don't think so --- this to me looks like the bracket you already have on your engine - the one that bolts to the head and goes behind the pump. What you need is the flat plate that bolts to the front side of the pump.







> and some mounting bolts
> 66 67 68 69 GTO Judge Firebird TA Power Steering Bolts on eBay!


There's nothing magic about the bolts themselves, you can use standard bollts as long as you get the correct length. The only "special" parts you need are the spacers that go on two of the bolts, between the pump body and the front pump bracket plate. In a pinch you could make your own by cutting pieces of thick-walled tubing or by stacking washers. The key is getting the bracket to be square to the pump shaft so that the belt runs "true" in the pulley groove. If you were to lay the pump flat on its back on a bench with the shaft sticking up, then look at it "edge-wise" on, you'd see that one of the bolt bosses on the front of the pump is "taller" than the other two. The spacers go on those two shorter bosses.

Bear


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## freethinker (Nov 14, 2009)

you are still missing the steel brackets. here is one.
1968,69,70,71,72,73,74,75 pontiac power steering pump | eBay


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pont...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item230facf3da


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## p1squally (Apr 7, 2011)

Kay just to bump update
Got the pump + hoses + belts

Everything's rigged up
Seems to be pumping
But no power steering....

Also seems to be a minor leak on the ps box

Quick question, is it possible I have the lines switched on the box between the pressure + return?


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## Instg8ter (Sep 28, 2010)

the one i have they are two different size fittings so you cannot switch them, but yes one is high pressure.


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## p1squally (Apr 7, 2011)

ok got it pumping through the system
and flushed it all out

now i have weak powered steering
but i also have a wine i believe coming from the pump
still a small drip leakage from the ps box

and when i check the fluid its all bubbly
which leads me to believe i have an air leak somewhere
and possibly the pump needs a rebuild.

would you advise looking into the leak in the ps box first?
or rebuilding the pump?


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

p1squally said:


> ok got it pumping through the system
> and flushed it all out
> 
> now i have weak powered steering
> ...


Make sure your fittings are "good n tight" on the box in case that's your leak. Bubbly fluid and noise sounds like you still may not have all the air purged out of the system and/or may not have it full yet. It can take several iterations of running it, working the steering a little, shutting it off and letting it sit awhile, refilling, etc. to get it to settle down.

Bear


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