Power steering too slow?

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mibars

mibars

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Is it normal that the power steering is really slow in our trucks? Not weak, but slow? It makes maneuvering so slow.
What I mean is that going lock to lock quickly is not possible, at idle I can spin the wheel with minimal effort up to certain angular speed, but not faster. It's like the PS pump has too little flow at idle.

The system has no PS cooler, so I'm guessing it is designed to not pump too much fluid.

Has anyone have same issue like me?
 
squaredeal91

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No that's not normal to me. I'm surprised yours doesn't have a cooler. I mean most didn't till later but being a 1990 burb I figured it would. Sounds kinda like a weak pump maybe? Maybe fluid flush? Should have atf in it. I've personally never used power steering fluid and think the atf works better too and it saves from having to buy 2 kinds of fluids too.
 
TotalyHucked

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That's the box itself, not the pump. These steering boxes are like 20:1 or something slow, for ease of maneuvering. If you'd like to be able to steer faster, you'll need a faster box. The Borgeson 12.7:1 is a common upgrade, at least for 2wd trucks
 
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Ricko1966

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The power steering pump doesn't affect steering ratio,that is in the steering box. The boxes in our trucks are not a quick ratio box. The length of our trucks doesn't help much either,probably why GM played with 4 wheel steering for a while. Edit. Huck types faster than me.
 
squaredeal91

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Thanks guys I misunderstood the problem lol. I was thinking slow like if you go to fast the wheel stops in like a hydro bind Like if belt was slipping.
 
85K304SPD

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Hydro bind?? On my hydro system, the rpms have to be higher than idle to get the wheels to turn easily. I assume this is hydro bind. It seems like a larger diameter pulley would make the pump turn faster at idle and prevent this. I just have not found a larger pulley for my serpentine belt.
Maybe this is what the OP is referring to. On my vacuum assist truck, this does not happen.
 
TotalyHucked

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85K304SPD said:
Hydro bind?? On my hydro system, the rpms have to be higher than idle to get the wheels to turn easily. I assume this is hydro bind. It seems like a larger diameter pulley would make the pump turn faster at idle and prevent this. I just have not found a larger pulley for my serpentine belt.
Maybe this is what the OP is referring to. On my vacuum assist truck, this does not happen.
Click to expand...
Larger diameter pulley would slow the pump down, a smaller pulley would speed it up
 
mibars

mibars

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When engine is cold and RPMs are bit higher at idle I can spin the wheel faster.
Let's say that you attempt to enter a 190 cm / 6'3" parking lot with your 195 cm / 6'5" truck because surely there is some margin, but apparently there isn't and you need to back up and make a 9 point U turn on the entrance across the curbs, push some shrubs to fit and what not. That's obviously purely hypothetical scenario that never happened, but in such situation you may learn that it takes AGES to spin the wheel lock to lock and the traffic builds behind you quickly, something that I never encountered in any vehicle before.
 
TotalyHucked

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Totally normal. If you think about it, there's alot more friction/resistance the slower you go. So it makes sense the wheel is a little slower at slower speeds. It's just like manual steering, it's super hard and slow at parking lot speeds but at normal driving speeds, it's much easier and quicker to get the wheel to turn.

Also, the pump is spinning slower at idle than at higher engine speeds. Slower spinning pump = less flow.
 
mibars

mibars

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I get that pump spins slower, etc, but I've driven many cars with PS and never found a car where i'm able to spin the wheel faster than what power steering can assist. I recall that in one car I've seen a pressure switch in PS circuit which raised the engine speed when tuning wheel at idle. Similar to the raised idle when A/C switches on. I wonder if something like this was every used in Chevy trucks?
 
TotalyHucked

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Not that I'm aware of. I've had many of the NBS (99-07 classic) trucks and they do the same thing. Especially with bigger tires, sometimes you have to give it some gas and get it rolling before trying to turn the wheels.

No offense meant by this statement, but I think you're just overthinking this. It's just a characteristic of these old trucks. They were never meant to turn quickly or even remotely have good "driving dynamics". They were simply meant to be good at hauling loads and people.
 
mibars

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TotalyHucked said:
It's just a characteristic of these old trucks. They were never meant to turn quickly or even remotely have good "driving dynamics". They were simply meant to be good at hauling loads and people.
Click to expand...
I think you may be right. But that pressure switch got me thinking if maybe retrofitting it may be a solution. The functionality is there already, a light green wire from A/C pressure switch to ECU to bump the idle up.
 
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TotalyHucked

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mibars said:
I think you may be right. But that pressure switch got me thinking if maybe retrofitting it may be a solution. The functionality is there already, a light green wire from A/C pressure switch to ECU to bump the idle up.
Click to expand...
That may work, if the ECU has the capability. I have zero experience with TBI so idk
 
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TotalyHucked said:
That's the box itself, not the pump. These steering boxes are like 20:1 or something slow, for ease of maneuvering. If you'd like to be able to steer faster, you'll need a faster box. The Borgeson 12.7:1 is a common upgrade, at least for 2wd trucks
Click to expand...
I’d have to agree Detroit speed makes a pretty good one that’s also considerably lighter. Uses o-ring style hoses
 
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Dixie Pride

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Mine had a lot of slop in the steering Changed the power steering fluid and it made a world of difference. Hate to admit it but i have had my K20 for 40 years and i never changed the Power steering fluid only added to it all those years.
 
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