steering system rebuild

Getting ready to dive into the steering on the car. Thinking that will solve some wander/wheel floating issues currently while driving. Have additional suspension parts available but at the dealership a couple weeks ago, they said everything was solid after a once around. That said, I'm prepared for bear but thing squirrel shot is all that needed. Meaning, steering pump, lines, knuckle, pitman arm, rag coupler and an inline filter is all I'm doin.

Advice, warnings, wisdom, even pokes are all welcome here. Try and provide some pics. Sure wish I had picked up those shorties from Stangaholics. Now would be the best time but the budget wasn't even ready for this.

Later!

Edit:

Okay, getting ready to start the pwr steering system replacement and had a few important questions for anyone that has attempted this in their home garage (iow, on a creeper).
Staring with removing the rag joint so, does the steering column need to be removed or loosened in any way to remove this piece and then reinstall with the new steering gearbox?

Need help desperately to solve the High pressure hose problem for the power steering. Build date is before May 1972 so I have the long hose but it wasn't on the car when I purchased it. The new hose is the correct hose but the routing and connection is posing an issue. The fitting that attaches the hose to the pump is missing and need a replacement. We've already installed the hoses on the gear box so, how is this handled and what exactly is the hose route? Thank you
Edit: Found this in another post so I need the line (circled) that connects the hose to the pump.

Try NPD. I believe they now have a repop of that "S" tube.
You can't see the S tube in this pic, but this is what the long hose install should look like.

Like Geoff said, NPD has them

https://www.npdlink.com/product/tub...e576-1b&top_parent=200001&year=1972&year=1972

Outstanding! Thank you both for the info. Now to find the bracket. I found the insulator and a bracket on a couple different sites, but the mount is different or it's for the Shelby. If only putting that part on would make it a Shelby, then all this added #$$@@%& would be worth something right now. Feel like I'm dealing with Sammael here; Eliminate one and two take its place! But then again, that's the life of a classic car owner.

Edit: For what it's worth, now I remember the dang clamp was on the car when we bought it but yours truly here didn't realize it would be needed down the road. Kinda like everything else we get rid of and find a need for it later in life, it bites the arse hard and deep.

California 72 said:

Outstanding! Thank you both for the info. Now to find the bracket. I found the insulator and a bracket on a couple different sites, but the mount is different or it's for the Shelby. If only putting that part on would make it a Shelby, then all this added #$$@@%& would be worth something right now. Feel like I'm dealing with Sammael here; Eliminate one and two take its place! But then again, that's the life of a classic car owner.

Edit: For what it's worth, now I remember the dang clamp was on the car when we bought it but yours truly here didn't realize it would be needed down the road. Kinda like everything else we get rid of and find a need for it later in life, it bites the arse hard and deep.

Click to expand...

You could swap in the short hose that is late 72 and 73. That way you don't have to deal with the top hose bracket. Of course that is more expense to buy another hose.
By the way, make sure the hose connection to the PS box is TIGHT! Use flair wrenches or if the box is on the car now, flair crow-foot wrenches and an 18" long extension, 3/8" drive will do it. They're a bit*h to get tight otherwise.
Not meaning to be condescending, but sometimes the obvious escapes us.

I've run the short hose forever. Any car that had the long hose, it went in the trash and was replaced with the short hose.

Thanks again. Switching back to the short hose was a thought but the replacement was already installed on the steering box. Believe it's as tight as I can get it and why it was installed prior to the gearbox going in. The rag joint was also installed before placing the box. FWIW, it slid right in and almost at exact dead center too. We couldn't believe it went that easy and the pressure hose dilemma would be why. Nothing goes that easy without something else happening. LOL. Just need to move the steering wheel a spline or two but waiting until we get the car off the jackstands. Can't do anything until I finish getting the carb installed and the power system bled.

Here are some pictures of how I routed my power steering hoses, hopefully it helps some.

California 72 said:

Thanks again. Switching back to the short hose was a thought but the replacement was already installed on the steering box. Believe it's as tight as I can get it and why it was installed prior to the gearbox going in. The rag joint was also installed before placing the box. FWIW, it slid right in and almost at exact dead center too. We couldn't believe it went that easy and the pressure hose dilemma would be why. Nothing goes that easy without something else happening. LOL. Just need to move the steering wheel a spline or two but waiting until we get the car off the jackstands. Can't do anything until I finish getting the carb installed and the power system bled.

Click to expand...

Don't forget, the steering may need to be aligned if not already done. You might find the s wheel will be corrected after the alignment. If not them pull it and re-set it. Glad the install went ok. It's a bugger working on jack stands, but for some of us, that's all we got.

Stanglover makes a good suggestion. If you do not have enough positive Caster Angle the vehicle will wander all over. The Caster angle provide directional stability, but do not go past specification as this is definitely a case where too much is definitely too much. I would set the left wheel Caster angle about 1/4 positive degree more than the right wheel positive Caster angle, to help offset for the tendency of having road crown drifting.

Now then, just a Heads Up for you. I (also) had some drift on our 1969 Shelby GT500, with only 87,000 miles on it at the time (now 88,000 original miles). I had the alignment checked. The prior owner had replaced all the suspension parts during its restoration, as a matter of course. The steering shaft Rag Coupler was in good shape. I tried to adjust the steering gear to reduce any lash. But, the wandering persisted. I ended up replacing the steering gear, and the problem went away. I purchased my steering gear from Flaming River (https://www.flamingriver.com/). I am very pleased with the result of the replacement unit (rebuilt by them).

Going down the alignment rabbit hole, these are the specs Open Tracker suggest for the 71-73 Mustang.
On mine, I currently have 3 degrees castor, but to get to 4, I'll need to add shims, which is normal practice. That's something on the to-do list.
Other improvements include a rebuilt PS box, i.e. rebuilt with replaced larger worm gear balls, new bearings and seals and with correct pre-load on the worm gear and sector shaft. All this is vital for correct steering input and a car that can be driven at 70 mph, no hands.......... not that I recommend doing that!!

tpj71mach said:

Here are some pictures of how I routed my power steering hoses, hopefully it helps some.

Click to expand...

Get that gas filter off of that motor they crack/leak and motor catches fire. Do a search here you will hear hear some stories.

California 72 said:

Outstanding! Thank you both for the info. Now to find the bracket. I found the insulator and a bracket on a couple different sites, but the mount is different or it's for the Shelby. If only putting that part on would make it a Shelby, then all this added #$$@@%& would be worth something right now. Feel like I'm dealing with Sammael here; Eliminate one and two take its place! But then again, that's the life of a classic car owner.

Edit: For what it's worth, now I remember the dang clamp was on the car when we bought it but yours truly here didn't realize it would be needed down the road. Kinda like everything else we get rid of and find a need for it later in life, it bites the arse hard and deep.

Click to expand...

California, Power steering pump flair tubes are also available from the fine people at "Chockostang".

Used the link to NPD, purchased the tube, found myself also getting the bracket w/insulating gromet, and a set of the high-tension hood springs. Assembled everything (along with the new Holley Street Avenger 500cfm 2v) and after foaming the fluid and then letting it all settle down, took it for a test drive. What a difference but I believe it still has some air. I did upgrade to the Lares QR power box, and it has a quirky over-steer off center (both directions). Did find a thread about the "twitchiness" of the QR so I'm not sure if that's what I'm experiencing instead.

Edit: Thought I'd share a pic of the finished effort. The bracket was actually the one used on the lower hose mount of the 69-70 and just abandoned the mounting portion. The remaining peices fit the area just perfectly so viola! I had some good pipe insulation somewhere, but it's gone AWOL with a ton of other things that haven't been unpacked since our move, almost 2 years ago now. (We're short on a shed so it's all crammed in the garage.) Anyhow, the cover installed is what was shipped from CJ's in the order. Figured it would be good until I found the insulation. And yes, that is the return hose you see on the right making it's way up over the shock tower. Just made sense to route it that way given the length of the hose. Actually it worked out well having added the filter. I'm thinking the horn won't bother it but then again, with some of the drivers out there, it is used a bit more than I care to admit.

California 72 said:

Need help desperately to solve the High pressure hose problem for the power steering. Build date is before May 1972 so I have the long hose but it wasn't on the car when I purchased it. The new hose is the correct hose but the routing and connection is posing an issue. The fitting that attaches the hose to the pump is missing and need a replacement. We've already installed the hoses on the gear box so, how is this handled and what exactly is the hose route? Thank you
Edit: Found this in another post so I need the line (circled) that connects the hose to the pump.
View attachment 73199

Click to expand...

TUBE, PRESSURE LINE TO PUMP
#3E576-1B National Parts Depot NPD
Looked for this forever and it was in the catalog all along if you knew what it was saying. Now it has its own picture.

Trying to figure the benefit of and/or thinking behind the longer pressure hose being on the '71 and early model '72's. The thoughts that come to mind are the mindset of the times was to still have H.P. so a bigger block size (wasn't there a comment once about fitting it with the Boss 429?) or adding headers. The other thought is they just had too many of them in inventory at the factory and it took until May 1972 to deplete.

Personally, I'd like to look at it as being headers. That comes from not liking the clearance experienced with the shorter hoses installed before the new work/change and past experiences with my '66. By no means is my '72 as tight as was my '66 with the 351 Windsor but regardless of it all, I appreciate the extra hose given they definitely won't interfere when I do add headers.

California 72 said:

Trying to figure the benefit of and/or thinking behind the longer pressure hose being on the '71 and early model '72's. The thoughts that come to mind are the mindset of the times was to still have H.P. so a bigger block size (wasn't there a comment once about fitting it with the Boss 429?) or adding headers. The other thought is they just had too many of them in inventory at the factory and it took until May 1972 to deplete.

Personally, I'd like to look at it as being headers. That comes from not liking the clearance experienced with the shorter hoses installed before the new work/change and past experiences with my '66. By no means is my '72 as tight as was my '66 with the 351 Windsor but regardless of it all, I appreciate the extra hose given they definitely won't interfere when I do add headers.

Click to expand...

Long PS hose makes getting to the spark plugs a bit easier also.

I have been through it all too. Rebuilt box, all new suspension, new alignment, good tires, rebuilt column.

Mine wanders a little at center. Feels like I can oversteer at any time on a 2 lane road. I found play when I twist on the rag joint, so I am going to replace/rebuild that. I am blessed enough to have tilt steering to help drive my restoration costs up for no real benefit. So I have one of the handful of unreproduced parts in the rag joint that is unique to the tilt column. I think that will solve the wandering problem though.

kcmash

Something I found out when I was learning to rebuild PS boxes. Early on, I had way too much free movement in the steering wheel, like over 2" total. So, I did what many think is a way to reduce that, I tightened down the sector shaft adjustment allen screw. That's when it got scary and the car wanted to twitch left, then right. I promptly backed off the sector shaft screw and lived with free play until I found the correct way to remove s/wheel free play. With the new worm screw balls and pre-loads I put into that PS box, I can literally drive at 70 mph no hands and it goes dead straight. Not that I want to do that too much!