power steering too powerful
 

this is gonna sounds really weird to some of you but I'm actually thinking of taking out my power steering. At speeds of over 45mph I find steering to be a little squirrely and you lose tension not really able to feel how the truck is pulling. Plus, the PO installed a smaller diameter cheapo "GT" steering wheel that just doesnt feel like your holding on to much. I've been considering replacing that with a larger and more authentic 15" wheel but am afraid that might make steering even worse. Hence the idea to just get a bigger wheel and take out the PS.

Has anyone wrestled with this in the past?

Re: power steering too powerful
 

I did on my 71 4wd Gmc and went to a larger wheel, thought it would make it worse but actually made it feel better, not as jumpy as the to small wheel. Could always find a pump with a larger pulley on it which would turn slower being a larger circle and slow down the steering a bit, but need longer belt.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

Interesting that with a larger wheel you thought it felt better. I may start with that and see where it leads me. I like your idea of finding a PS with a larger pulley but damn that probably falls pretty low on my truck priority list :lol:

Re: power steering too powerful
 

Easy to find a used pump, different years have different sized pulleys just stay close in year so the hose ends are the same, hard to find a poor Chevy ps pump, usually pretty tough.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

This has been debated in detail in other posts. To summarize, in order for you to keep your power steering and increase the effort to turn (which increases road feel) you need to swap out the high pressure valve. The valve reduces the pressure (which can be between 900 and 1200 psi) essentially reducing how much power assist the pump is offering.

I tried using the shim kit which is also available and found that it doesn't decrease the power assist enough to warrant doing the modification. All the shim kit did was significantly reduce the high squeel that occurs when the wheel is turned to either lock.

The concensus is, the power steering assist you are feeling is indeed the way the factory intended it to feel.

Best of luck with your choice.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

I would replace the steering box before removing my power steering. That will reduce the play you feel and tighten the steering more than anything else. Power steering on these trucks is very responsive and takes some getting used to.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

You may also have some other factors that are causing your problem as well.

Did you just add this power steering set up after driving with manual steering? That alone will give you a false sensation until you get use to it.

How much free play is in your steering box? Have you adjusted it? How is the rest of the front suspension as far as wear? How wide are the front tires?

Has the front end been aligned recently? If alignment is out of spec, that can cause a "squirrely" feeling.

Hope this helps,

Take care,
Tom

Re: power steering too powerful
 

With all parts in good working order these trucks steer perfectly fine. They do not feel like a newer vehicle. They are not a newer vehicle. They take getting used to. Humans are have proven to be be very adaptable throughout or history :cool:

Re: power steering too powerful
 

Fyi to all the young C10 owners. Super easy power steering was the norm in the sixties by design. Chrysler/plymouth had some of the easiest steering of any of the car makes back then.
As far as the twitchiness is concerned that sounds more like worn steering components or alignment out or bad tires.
Be carefull trying to adjust the steering sector. I don't recommend that. If significant wear is found in the sector to cause loosness it should be replaced. They aren't that expensive.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

It all the years I have been buying and selling these truck, I have had several trucks that had overly easy power steering. There was a thread about this a while back. I have no idea why some of these truck have the overly easy power steering. I just had a low mile 3/4 ton last year like that. I would try putting the original wheel back on it.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

What is your total turns lock to lock?

I just upgraded from manual to power and the steering box I got at autozone is 3.3 turns lock to lock and from what I understand from reading threads here, that means it's a "progressive" or "variable" gearbox, that steers less at first, and progressively faster as you turn the wheel farther. It seems very stable at center wheel with no squirrely feeling, and corners with ease.

Another thing I've wondered about is whether a "steering stabilizer kit" from LMC would help. I know it's more for stopping bump steer in trucks with oversized tires, but it seems like adding a shock absorber to the steering would HAVE to increase steering resistance.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

I cant speak much for these trucks with stabilizers but with my jeep grand cherokee there was no real increase in steering effort or resistance between no stabilzer and having one. The stabilizers really arnt that hard to move back and forth, id be willing to bet the difference seen is negligible.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

This has all been really good feedback and food for thought, folks. I do in fact need to refresh a lot of my steering and handling components (ball joints, tie rods, control arms, shocks, body mounts). Basically a lot of pieces that effect the overall feel and drive. I'm going to start there and replace the steering wheel with a 15" wheel and see where we are after that.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

Too steep a caster setting on the front end alignment can cause the 'squirrelly' or 'nervous' steering feel. If you're going to go through the front end, you'll need to realign it anyway, so get it set right. The caster angle may be one of many factors involved.

Re: power steering too powerful
 

Larger diameter steering wheel equals more leverage. Ease of steering is dictated by the spool valve inside the steering box! I pulled a used box from a 1985 c10 with variable ratio (stated on the glove box lid) and got 3 1/2 turn lock to lock. Best saginaw box made in my opinion, about 17/1 slower reacting ratio in the center position and after turning about 1/2 turn it quickens up to about 12/1. This was designed in response to corvettes at high speed with a quick box were twitchy and over-reacted in the 60's. If you really want to get into the details the variable ratio box has a sector shaft with a longer center tooth, hence variable ratio. This is obvious if you remove the 4 bolt cover on top and look inside. I don't recommend this if it's not your cup of tea as things can get messed up. I still remember reading about this box during my auto schooling during the late 70's. Welcome aboard and good luck, Brian F.