Sixpactogo
Well-Known Member
I would pull it back up and move it at least two teeth to the right and try it again. Once you get it right, mark it with a center punch so you don't have to guess again next time.
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Borgeson steering box
- Thread starter stushug
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The Pitman arm has 4 notches to it, meaning it fits 4 different ways on the steering box (out of the car) but only works one way with the steering box bolted in.
You can't just clock it a few degrees.
There have been instances where the steering box had to be shimmed to get the proper angle. The steering wheel itself can be removed and clocked, right? I have an aftermarket wheel so it is a LOT easier.
You can't just clock it a few degrees.
There have been instances where the steering box had to be shimmed to get the proper angle. The steering wheel itself can be removed and clocked, right? I have an aftermarket wheel so it is a LOT easier.
Sixpactogo
Well-Known Member
I think we are talking about the Borgeson coupler. That and the spine on the gear is the only thing not clocked. I had to move mine a couple times to get it right. A stock steering wheel and the shaft are clocked also.
stushug
Well-Known Member
I have a stock woodgrain steering wheel with three spokes. The last time I took it off was many years ago, and I think Sixpack is right, it is clocked. The pitman arm is mounted correctly(I'm 99% sure of that). The way it's indexed, if I tried to change it, it would be waaaay off. My thought is to hopefully slip the Bergman coupler off the input shaft, make sure the wheels are straight, turn the steering wheel so the bottom spoke is as close to 6 o'clock as possible and re-attach the coupler to the input shaft on the steering box. Neither the Bergman coupler nor the steering gear are indexed so you can rotate the coupler any amount of splines in either direction. I followed the directions, and I thought I had the gear centered, but it obviously off, probably two splines. I'm hoping I can do that without the coupler coming apart again. That damn metal cover is a bitch to put back on.
It's not the angle, it's just not centered. My pitman has no numbers, so I don't know exactly which one I have, but it's worked fine for the time it's been there. Peter Bergman was very insistent that I did not shim the box, he claims his coupler is specifically designed to handle any offset. From center, the wheel turns almost exactly the same amount in either direction. It's off by essentially the amount it's off from the spoke centering at 6 o'clock.
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stushug
Well-Known Member
Got the steering wheel centered. It was just a matter of straightening the wheels, marking the pitman arm and steering gear, the slipping the coupler off, centering the steering wheel and re-attaching the coupler. Finally, something went as planned. Now, the a new steering pump has a 5 1/2" pulley while the old one was 4 3/4" my old belt won't fit anymore so I have to pick up a new belt.
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stushug
Well-Known Member
I re-installed the oil pump yesterday. Put some oil in a new filter, installed it, then filled the engine with oil. Today I'm filling the pump reservoir with PS fluid and refilling the radiator with coolant. If there's no immediate leaks, I'll being firing her up tomorrow!
stushug
Well-Known Member
Started the car today, didn't see any leaks. The oil pressure is now good, it must have been a problem with the old pump. The steering pump is squealing like a pig at either lock. BAD. The feel of the steering overall is much much better than the factory unit though, and the wild looseness is completely gone. I attached a video of the squeal. What do you guys think?
Toxic Orange 493
Well-Known Member
I am thinking it probably needs to be bleed some more. How is the fluid level?
that's similar to a squeal I would get if I had low fluid or a loose belt.
stushug
Well-Known Member
I think you may be right, it took less than 1 quart to fill the pump and it's supposed to hold approx 1 1/2 qts. Also, when I first fired it up, it was squealing like crazy as soon as I moved the wheel. That seemed to lessen as I worked the wheel back and forth. I'll leave it sit overnight with the cap off and see what happens.
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stushug
Well-Known Member
I agree, but the fluid is actually a bit too full, but I think there is a lot of air to bleed out. I sent Peter Bergman the video and he said it looks like the belt is too loose. He told me the belt should test at 130lbs at installation and after break-in 85-115lbs. I'll have the tester tomorrow and see what the tension is.
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You are supposed to have the wheels off the ground and turn slowly left to right, right to left a few times.
Are your pulleys glazed and shiny? If they are they won't hold the belt and will slip an squeal.
stushug
Well-Known Member
Yesterday I tightened the belts to spec on the PS/Crank/Water pump and AC/Alt./Crank. I also jacked up the front end, and slowly turned the wheel lock to lock a few times with the engine off. Today I had time to start the car and test the steering. No more squeal. I think it was a combination of the belts being a bit too loose and there was still a lot of air in the system that had been causing the squeal. Right now, everything seems cool.
Hey Kern, you are right about jacking up the car, I've already done this on my '77 Pontiac when I rebuilt the entire front end, including new ball joints, tie rod ends, center link, shocks, springs, idler arm, pitman arm, having my leaking steering box and worn out pump rebuilt by Steer & Gear in Columbus Ohio. I'm glad you reminded me, I had forgotten about that.
70ChargerRT
Well-Known Member
If it makes you feel better. Less than a thousand miles on my Borgeson and it’s leaking out the bottom seal by the pitman arm
That's no bueno! Let us know if you find out the cause.
(I wish the bottom right click icons had an exclamation point "!!!")
stushug
Well-Known Member
They say misery loves company, but I don't like hearing that your Borgeson is leaking! I hope you can fix it without too much trouble.
Jonas Nordstrom
Well-Known Member
What fluid are you using?
70ChargerRT
Well-Known Member
I tell you what sucks is after I got the complete Borgeson set up first in my car it didn’t want to turn at idle. So I had called Borgeson and talked to them. He told me to take some shims out of the pump. I found it weird that he told me some pumps have shims and some don’t. My pump had 3 shims and 1 washer so he told me to take out 2 shims and leave 1 and that would get me im thinking he told me at 1200 PSi and below the max limit of PSi. Put it back together and it started leaking but hey my car was now turning at idle lol. He told me my seal must have been bad from the get go and the higher pressure exposed it. He said my power steering fluid was good stuff and also said I can run any power steering fluid in it as long as it doesn’t have stop leak in it. I can fix it without taking the box out of the car.
OK, so
OK, so your original PS pump is leaking, not the actual Borgeson steering box, correct?
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