Power steering on non power steering truck

[Ken O.]

So my 67 GMC K10 did not originally come with power steering. Someone added it at some later time. And did a bad job of it like a lot of other things. The pump doesn’t fit properly against the frame and they drilled new holes to make it fit. I plan on welding a plate to the inside of the frame to reinforce it but I still need to get the pump to mount properly. Is there an adapter kit to do this? I could use spacers I guess but I want to do it right.

[RustyPile]

Your description isn't exactly clear.. Not sure what you mean about mounting the pump to the "frame"??? The pump doesn't mount to the frame.. There is a system of brackets bolted to the front of the engine and the pump mounts to this bracket system... The brackets also have slotted holes that allow the pump "angle" to be adjusted for belt tension.. The steering gear is bolted rigidly to the truck's frame..

K series trucks often suffer from frame cracking in the steering gear mounting area.. Could this be what you're taking about.. There are kits to repair and/or prevent frame cracking.. Some pictures would clarify all this..

[Ken O.]

Originally Posted by RustyPile

Your description isn't exactly clear.. Not sure what you mean about mounting the pump to the "frame"??? The pump doesn't mount to the frame.. There is a system of brackets bolted to the front of the engine and the pump mounts to this bracket system... The brackets also have slotted holes that allow the pump "angle" to be adjusted for belt tension.. The steering gear is bolted rigidly to the truck's frame..

K series trucks often suffer from frame cracking in the steering gear mounting area.. Could this be what you're taking about.. There are kits to repair and/or prevent frame cracking.. Some pictures would clarify all this..

Sorry! sorry! I just replaced the power steering pump and That's all right. I'm looking at the power steering gear (gearbox). This truck has been a nightmare of crazy previous owner stuff that I'm working through.

[Bigdav160]

I think you'll find everything you wanted know if you did a search.

67-68 4x4 trucks with power steering are a mythical unicorn. There's a pic or two suggesting it was offered but I am not sure. So the frame wasn't formed to accept the 2WD power box.

That said, we don't know what's on your truck now. There are conversion brackets that can be used. Some people have modified their frame to accept a power box.

It's hard to make suggestions until we see what you have.

[Ken O.]

Ok, I'll get some pictures this weekend and see what you guys think. I think it was a non power steering truck that was converted to power steering and they just threw a regular gearbox on it. It doesn't mount properly at all. This is just the latest in a long list of things I've found that make you go "What the $#!@". Slowly getting there.

['68OrangeSunshine]

I used to run a '67 K/10 Suburban with a 454 and TH350/NP205/12-Bolt 3:73 set up. Then I got a P/S gearbox and pump from a guy with a '69 C/10 Panel.
I had a brake shop install the P/S box and pump. Pump was no problem, bolted right on the BBC.
The OEM '67 steering sector runs fore-and-aft. The '69-and later geometry runs Left-Right. I found out much later that GM did offer 'Power Assisted Steering' for this model year [and earlier maybe], but it's also used for space reasons on vintage Corvettes. So any Ram Assisted Steering actuators and other parts are spun from pure gold and then marked up for the Corvette Collector market.
Anyway we tried to hack '69 P/S on a '67 K/10. The drag link had to be cut shorter and welded to its new size. Spacers [1/2'' - 5/8''] were tacked to the drivers side frame rail.
Problems commenced immediately. Bump steered. It would not turn as tight. In fact to make a U-turn, I had to [illegally] start from the middle Southbound lane to land in the Northbound berm lane. Or execute a 3-point jacknife -- like a locomotive.
Low Power was not the issue. It would snap off Grade-8 bolts from the frame mountings. Leaked terribly.
When I finally decided to restore it back to manual steering, I still had problems. A bead of JB Weld on the bottom crack of the manual Saginaw gearbox was no problem, but when we tried to re-use the hacked drag link, my steering geometry was still way off. A new drag link did not restore it to status-quo-ante.

If you were thinking of converting to P/S on a '67 K/10, I would talk you out of it. If you bought one that some PO hacked, you have my sympathy.

For me the only solution would have been to mount a '69-or later Blazer type front end. Changing the '67-'68 closed knuckle drum brake axle for a later dana 44 Open knuckle with power steering and power disc brakes would kill a couple of issues. '67-only front drums are rare and costly. The Blazer front end has good P/S and good brakes. Braking was always a problem with that Sub -- heavy body and heavy engine. I pretty much had to select the softest target to hit. Especially if some jerk cut in front of me and rabbit-stopped. My 5-to-7 car length stopping distance lead was tempting to any driver who thinks he's hot, so I understood. But it still annoyed me.
Since I later had an engine fire in that truck, I've sidelined it for 20 years.
But when I resurrect it, I'll be looking for a 3.73 Dana 44 front.
Sorry if this was not what you wanted to hear.