Power Steering Box Replacement on the El Camino

Steering that keeps the fluid where it's supposed to and makes the car turn off kind of important even if it's a drag car and goes in a straight line. My power steering box sprung a leak and needs to be fixed before it gets on the track. I've replaced the power steering pump previously, so it made sense to keep going and replace the box too. Here's his I did this repair in the pits at Firebird Raceway on my G Body El Camino. This process is the same on all the other Gbodies like the Malibu, Monte Carlo, Cutlass, Regal and Grand Prix.
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[@deltabravo5719]

Nice job mentioning the keyway spline on the pitman arm! That will help more than just me.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

That's one of those things that tripped me up many years ago and I've looked for ever since.

[@AndreS_-df2nw]

Great job!

[@wacoldestv1704]

Thanks you so much brother! This helped me bigg time once again! Your channel is very helpful and informative!

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

Glad to help!

[@MrZubor]

Nice track side fix!

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

I left home knowing I had to do this before it got on the track. Easy to do.

[@drprick7432]

Thanks for this. Just need to get mine off for some fine tuning. Curious…did you line the marker spline back up? Looks like your steering wheel is off when you’re driving straight.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

The steering wheel is off a little, I need to pull off the rag joint coupler on the steering box side. I thought I had lined it up right at the time of filming. Apparently, I'm a little off. This could easily be a spline or 2 off and not hurt anything.

[@kylesimerly5366]

Hey I’ve got an 87 chevy elco and I cannot find a dash mat anywhere! One that looks like your but a tan color option . Any info on that? Thanks for the helpful video btw !

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

Try this! www.covercraft.com/us/en/product/dashmat-custom-dash-cover.DMC

[@MrComanche87]

Well done tutorial. Can I ask who made the replacement box and are you satisfied with it ? I always seem to run into too much play in the steering when I use a re-mfg box.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

That's a normal replacement part from Rock Auto, I don't remember what brand. It does steer well and is slightly heavier on the feel than the one it replaced. In hindsight, I should have swapped to a manual set up since this is on my drag car, but those are much less common and I don't have all the parts gathered yet.

[@Chevyy_rollin47]

Hey brother , question when you were putting the pitman arm back up did you bolt it up all the way to cover the entire spline ?

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

The splines on the output of the steering box are tapered so the arm can really only go up so far. There is a torque spec that I don't remember off the top of my head for the big nut. As long as the splines are engaged and you hit the torque spec, you'll be in good shape.

[@dan43213]

I have a 80 Malibu, manual steering box. Can I just buy a power steering box and pump, lines and go?

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

A guy like me would do a lot to have a manual box since El Camino is mostly on a drag strip! You'll need the brackets for the power steering pump, the pump, lines, steering box and I believe there you'll need a different pitman arm from a power steering car. I spent more than I wanted to getting my power steering fixed. I should have spent it on getting the manual parts instead of fixing my power steering.

[@dan43213]

@@SnowFamilyRacing yeah, mine is a cruiser. I want easy steering lol.

[@slingcharger69]

Wait, is that aftermarket? I don't remember the El Camino having power steering or ABS.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

ABS wasn't a thing until the early 90's, no ABS here. You may be thinking the hydroboost, which was a power steering pump driven brake booster. That was on the Turbo Buicks and diesel cars. Most of the G bodies had power steering, rare is the manual steering box, which I would love to have a manual steering set up on this car as it's mostly a drag car. I think you'll find far more have power steering than ones that don't.

[@slingcharger69]

@@SnowFamilyRacing but power steering was never a factory option on the El Camino. They must all be aftermarket.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

I think you'll find power steering is a very common factory option. I've never heard the claim the power steering was aftermarket. This car came from the factory with power steering.

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

I've got 3 other Gbody El Caminos. They all have factory power steering.

[@mistamuthafuka]

My 78 has power steering no ABS.

[@FJB-522]

Good show old boy! Steering wheel crooked and squeely belt sound. But hey I learned whick line is the return and the high pressure side.

[@FJB-522]

Thank you sir!

[@SnowFamilyRacing]

All minor things to fix, really. I still haven't fixed my steering wheel being a spline or 2 off! This one took it sweet time to bleed the system.

[@MountedMontersMagazine]

Why tf y’all be skipping steps you gotta assume the viewer is a noob 👎