Power steering gearbox - what thread/flare size?

[shifty]

I am trying to find a 90 degree elbow-to-nipple for the low pressure side of my power steering gearbox, but I don't have a clue what thread and flare the low pressure side and high pressure side are.

Can anyone clarify on this? I wanted to find something online or at a local store ASAP. My low pressure line is almost the only thing standing between me and having a complete working power steering setup for firing up my engine in a week or two. THANKS!

[shifty]

ttt

[grayw0lf]

I'm not sure (I've put the lines on my power steering gearbox but haven't installed it yet), but I think the two connections are both 3/8". One is 3/8" flare & the other is 3/8" NPT.

I'm very curious to know for sure. I don't know if I'll get to it this weekend or not.

Please let me know your results if you beat me to it.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by shifty

I am trying to find a 90 degree elbow-to-nipple for the low pressure side of my power steering gearbox, but I don't have a clue what thread and flare the low pressure side and high pressure side are.

Can anyone clarify on this? I wanted to find something online or at a local store ASAP. My low pressure line is almost the only thing standing between me and having a complete working power steering setup for firing up my engine in a week or two. THANKS!

Hey shifty, whenever I have a problem like this, I take the part to napa or another part store. They are usually pretty helpful, or at the very least you can try a bunch of fittings to make sure you have the right ones. I've bought enough wrong parts over the years that I now bring the broken part or a part that needs something to work with it with me to the store. The hour it will take to remove/reinstall the PS box might be quicker than multiple trips to the store.

Just a thought. Good luck! I want to see some video when that thing is running!!!

[shifty]

therein lie the problem - i don't have the part at least - i have the part, but it's well secured to the truck

[67ChevyRedneck]

4 bolts, 2 nuts, and a pitman arm? Can't be that hard to take off

[john]

Shifty heres a pic of the lines on the box. The return is the one to the outside and the hose clamps on after it crosses the frame rail. Both lines are 3/8 steel tube , but I would check the hole size in the box. Something in the back of my head is the fitting is a little larger on return. I may be wrong an that. Both fittings are inverted flare. The pressure side is standard 3/8 inverted flare. LMC does have a return tube in their catalog.

[shifty]

Thanks!

I would love to just use a 90º 3/8 NPT flared (or whatever it may be) to a tap. I guess my big question was what kind of flare it was and if it was 37deg or 45 deg flare. It's not very clear when looking inside the hole. It looks like one would be flared and the other wouldn't

I bought a kit at the store - but they only list the pressure-side hose and NOT the low pressure hose.

[Shane]

you need an INVERTED flare - standard 37 & 45 degree external flared fittings won't work

[bretcopsey]

How about something like this? It should be pretty easy to find a female 90* nipple that would then attach to this.


http://detroitspeed.com/productpages...gs_us_prod.htm

[bretcopsey]

Maybe with this 90* fitting??

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/xq/asp...qx/Product.htm

[shifty]

Originally Posted by Shane

you need an INVERTED flare - standard 37 & 45 degree external flared fittings won't work

Right - but are all inverted flares flared at the same angle?

I was at Summit's big store today and looked at their replacement box for our trucks. Both high pressure and low pressure side use an inverted flare, but the low pressure side appears to be a smaller line. one looks to be 3/8 (high) and the other 5/16 (low)

[shifty]

Ah, So I just read more on the whole AN flare thing. I guess they are always 37º - but I remember seeing a lot of 45º inverted flares when I initially started looking at replacing my lines. Lots of stuff I didn't know in this PDF:

http://www.parker.com/tfd/fittingsol...ANFITTINGS.pdf

Lots of good info here:
http://www.durexpowersteering.com/techtips.html

That same company makes rebuild gearbox parts for our trucks and older trucks!

I guess what I don't really get is whether you can use an SAE inverted flare in place of an AN inverted flare? They both seem to be flared at 37º....talk about confusing crap.

[shifty]

This is essentially the piece i am looking for:

http://midamerica.thomasnet.com/view...bow?&forward=1

Sorry for the triple post.

[Shane]

The .pdf link you posted comes from the company that I worked for for almost 10 years ... Parker Hannifin.

We made 37 degree fittings by the gazillions in all shapes, sizes, materials, and configurations.

As far as inverted flares being at the same angle ... yes, as long as you specify a 37 degree inverted flared fitting. The adapter fittings for brake lines are made this way. The inverted flare goes towards the brake line (flared brake line against the inverted flare makes the seal) and the AN fitting is on the opposing end for the connection of the braided line.

There ARE some 45 degree fittings ... but they are application specific and most times for very high pressure hydraulic connections. Not normally seen in automotive applications.

[shifty]

So, would it be safe to say that if I'm looking at Ace hardware or some other similar place, I won't be finding any fittings w/45º inverted flares?

Between trying to find this 90º swivel inverted 3/8-to-barb nipple power steering adapter and a 7/16-14 2.5" carriage bolt....

What a pain in the ass.

Thanks for the info, Shane.

[Shane]

chances are you aren't gonna find automotive grade fittings at a place like Ace Hardware anyway, 45 OR 37 degree ... if you do happen to find fittings there at all, they will probably be made from brass and intended for natural and/or LP gas applications (low pressure).

I would continue to check with the automotive guys for a fitting that is designed for petroleum based fluids as well as higher pressures.

Let me ask you this ... are you trying to put braided lines on your power steering setup? If so, these are already available (premade with fittings) from RB's Obsolete.

http://www.rbsobsolete.com/product.a...duct_id=166155

I could have sworn I saw some on CPP's site as well, I was gonna post a link, but can't find them now. Sorry.

[shifty]

I'm almost tempted to go braided, but that isn't what I want - and I would rather put $50-100 towards a new steering column than a low pressure power steering line.

This is my dilemma: I have no low pressure hose right now. I hae a modified high pressure hose to adapt to the LS1 though. For the low pressure line I need a fitting of unknown size (if it was AN, it would be at least one step larger than -6 AN) to a 3/8" nipple so I can run 3/8" hose to the PS return nipple.

Every LAPS (local auto parts store) chain has my low pressure hose for our trucks listed as just that - a hose ... no fittings, nothing, no way to screw into the box. The high pressure line is correct, but the high pressure line looks (and I think it was) too large to fit in the low pressure side or I would use it ... well, i think it uses larger than 3/8 rubber line also.

So, basically...I need an adapter for my low pressure side and I have no clue what size or thread it should be. I want a 90º swivel with male inverted flare on one side (to the gearbox) and a barb or nipple on the other. Kinda like what I linke in my last post.

It's been a bear to find one also - I have a male-to-male fitting that screws into the pump, but I do not know how to determine what size it is or the thread count, so ... I've been stuck on square one with this for months ... ok, well, I haven't really screwed with it in months. But now that I'm less than 3-4 weeks from firing up and being able to drive, man ... I need to get this done!

[dougs69c10]

go visit napa, and tell them you need to look through their weatherhead, we have over 300 different brass pieces and then over 20 differenent sizes in those 300 different pieces, if napa cant get you the right brass piece, it probably isnt made

[shifty]

is their "weatherhead" the catalog bible they have? doesn't do me a lick of good to look at books - I need to know what size the dang fitting to the gearbox is suppose to be first.

again - i've been looking at catalogs for three days now by everyone from aeroquip to earl's to eaton and i have seen several parts that "look" correct, but nothing i've bought locally (wasted $20 already) "fits" correct.

should i just go to Napa and buy another $50 worth of adapters that may not work?

it gets frustrating after a while.

[shifty]

Ok, McGaughy's sells both lines together as a pair - http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/mcg63159-d3.html

I guess I can call them and see if they only offer the low pressure line. Will do that tomorrow.

[john]

Shifty this looks like what you want.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/0114.html

[shifty]

Thanks, John. I looked in the LMC catalog and must have totally missed that. I emailed two board vendors about it also ... forgot to check my email today.

I gotta go to a hydraulics shop tomorrow to get a fitting so I can mount a fuel pressure line to my fuel rails (via schrader valve), so I'm going to bring in a fitting that screws into the box and see if they have something similar for $5, rather than paying $20 at LMC

[dougs69c10]

Originally Posted by shifty

is their "weatherhead" the catalog bible they have? doesn't do me a lick of good to look at books - I need to know what size the dang fitting to the gearbox is suppose to be first.

again - i've been looking at catalogs for three days now by everyone from aeroquip to earl's to eaton and i have seen several parts that "look" correct, but nothing i've bought locally (wasted $20 already) "fits" correct.

should i just go to Napa and buy another $50 worth of adapters that may not work?

it gets frustrating after a while.

weatherhead is out line of brass fittings, from 8000psi hydrolic couplers to 1/8th compression fittings, most stores have a room or a wall of nothing but the weatherhead brass, so just start opening the drawers and look

[TP from Cntl PA]

Shifty, I know the feeling...............I needed couplings to adapt the powersteering fitting to 3/8 NPT. NOBODY had what I needed and ended up rigging up my own, because I did not want to buy a million dollars worth of fittings and the setup didn't work. Now since the Hydroboost/powersteering/pump works, I got to go back and make it right. Which should be a challenge .