Power Steering Fluid Question

[cham]

My stock style steering box on my 69 camaro is getting hot and I believe making the fluid foam.

The power steering wasnt ever great but after putting on a set of headers that runs about 1/8" away from the steering box and adding a blower bringing up my header temps it was cutting out almost constant once the engine warmed up. Cold it works perfectly.

So, I put in some regular lucas oil P/S fluid and it made it a little better. Then I bought a heat shield and that made it better too. But the box is still getting pretty hot and will cut out on me off and on while cutting the wheels.

What I was thinking is, does anyone know of P/S fluid with a really high viscocity level or fluid that is designed for heat? Like hydrolic fluids, I know they can take certian levels of heat.

Good suggestions on a good method to flush the old stuff as much as possible (without tearing it down)?

[silver69camaro]

I've never really heard of this happening. Does your car do alot of idling? Most should be kept fairly cool by moving air while the vehicle is in motion. Can you wrap the header in that specific area?

As far as the fluid goes, use a top-quality fluid and think about adding a fluid cooler.

[6'9"Witha69]

FYI, trans fluid works in PS, but not the other way around.

Since Trans fluid deals with heat/Friction all the time would it work better? Anyone? Bueller?

[mpozzi]

You need to get the fluid away from the heat source and to do this, you should get a remote reservoir, hoses, and a transmission cooler that will serve as your P/S cooler. We adapted one to the '73 Camaro that we open track and have no power steering concerns at all. The fluid stays cool and there's plenty of it for the heat transfer process with the cooler and reservoir.

The remote reservoir was mounted on the inner fender panel just behind the left headlamp assembly. The hoses went from that to the cooler which is mounted in front of the radiator. I'll take some photos or check www.pozziracing.com (http://www.pozziracing.com) and click "Second Gen Camaro" for more information. One modification Dave made was to move the reservoir inlet and point it towards the inside of the tank tube so the fluid would swirl and not be forced downwards which would cause it to foam.

Good old thermodynamics at work and this should solve your power steering dilemmas.

[CarlC]

Exactly what Mary said.... There's also PS info on my website.

For fluid, the GM fluid, available at every GM dealer, is the best that I have used. It is specifically designed for the GM P-pump system.

[David Pozzi]

It would be really interesting to see how hot your present system is getting. If you don't have an infared thermometer, a candy thermometer may have enough range, just stick it in the reservoir with engine off of course.

[cham]

Thanks for the info guys, as far as how hot the steering box gets...its really hot.

It doesnt idle alot but the header coming off #1 runs the length of the box and 1/8" away from it. Then also #3 & #5 come off the heads and are somewhat close too. Being forced induction (10-12 lbs) those headers get really hot.

After 20 minutes of driving (FL heat too) the box cannot be touched. Now that I have the heat shield on you can touch it for a few seconds but it is still pretty hot.

I am suprised this hasent been covered before with a 69. The Hooker supercomp longtubes are really too close.

I will try and get some temp readings, I dont have a thermal guage but I know someone that does.

Thanks again.

[cham]

FYI, trans fluid works in PS, but not the other way around.

Since Trans fluid deals with heat/Friction all the time would it work better? Anyone? Bueller?

Good question, anyone know if it would work better?

[chicane67]

In the Corvette Challenge Series, that was known for killing steering systems, we found the use of a Delco PF883 filter (in the return line) and the use of RedLine PS fluid..... made roughly 75-80% of our problems just go away. It was way more temperature resilient than any oterh PS fluid I have ever used, even in the most demanding applications.

A 'good' syn trans fluid would be another choice...... but only if it is compatible with the steering system in consideration....... which would be DexIII. I have been using DexIII in the BMW's steering system for quite some time now with excellent results.

[David Pozzi]

I think I said it before but our 73 Camaro with a remote reservoir and a double pass 3/4" thick trans cooler in the return line was 85 deg after 20 mins on a road course. I could easily hold my hand on the reservoir. I know the Infared gun was reading 10 to 20 deg low because of the shiny reservoir but it's still way cool. Stock systems I've checked have been around 300 degees. You can hear a ps pump groaning at around 250 deg.