Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - Did our cars come with a power steering cooler?

I've heard from one source that all the ls1 fbodys came with a power steering cooler, then another said only ws6 cars got a power steering cooler. Which is it?

Just brought home an 2001 Formula (Non WS6) this evening that has a Power Steering Cooler. I have a 2000 WS6 Formula that has one and my brother's 02 SS is equipped with one as well. But the 1999 Formula (Non WS6) in my signature doesn't have one. This leads me to believe it doesn't matter whether the car is a WS6 or not.

Many guys choose to delete them, due to the fact that they are prone to failure. When they do fail, you end up with Power Steering Fluid in your Radiator and Antifreeze in your Power Steering Reservoir. Not good. My brother and I plan to eliminate them from his SS and my WS6 for this very reason.

The SS's and WS6's came with them; later during production, not sure when, I believe all V8 F body's came with the coolers. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

In this first pic is the factory "cooler" your speaking of,
if you have one like this (the long tube looking part connecting the two top rad hoses) take it out ASAP and avoid much misery and p/s fluid mixxed with your coolant.
Do a search and see how many fail...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L4mr72pEYEo/TrJ2gNY6_2I/AAAAAAAAF8w/P1Rum_CexTY/s800/mcnordta%252520011.jpg

And then spend $50 on parts, add one like this and you will truly have a p/s cooler...
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-35dTS_DvnHw/Tmuk6QSQivI/AAAAAAAAFLw/h5Y9WGUATpQ/s1024/IMG_0990.JPG

Much info on this subject on this forum, search. :usa:

^^^ Mine doesn't have that tube on the radiator hose so I guess I don't have the cooler. What parts are required to add a power steering cooler? I'm tired of having fluid boil out of my reservoir.

Ya just need a trans type cooler like shown and some extra p/s hose, maybe a few fittings, nothing major...

^^^ Can I ask you what are the dimensions of the cooler you used? And what kind of clips are those holding it in?

^^^ Can I ask you what are the dimensions of the cooler you used? And what kind of clips are those holding it in?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000C39C86

the mother of all fbody ls1tech power steering cooler info threads...

http://ls1tech.com/forums/general-maintenance-repairs/1343182-power-steering-cooling-success.html

^^^ Wow, I never saw that thread. Thank you very much for the links and info.

My '99 TA did not come with the POS cooler...er, I mean the PS cooler. Thankfully.

Wait a minute. Based on where the stock cooler is located how is that supposed to cool the fluid?

agree with cajun , i had hell with mine

Wait a minute. Based on where the stock cooler is located how is that supposed to cool the fluid?

It works just like the stock transmission cooler.

Wait a minute. Based on where the stock cooler is located how is that supposed to cool the fluid?

Like a lot of things on our cars that factory POS may have actually heated up the fluid more then it did cool it...:mad: I can tell you this, when I installed my new cooler, I layed under the car for at least 20 mins checking for leaks and was amazed how hot the tubes on the new cooler got just idling in the garage....:nod:

My 01 didn't have one.

My 99 t/a, came with a cooler. Honestly I talked to a couple different stealerships and it all depended on who speced out the RPO codes for the car. So if they wanted the cooler it was an extra charge/option.

RPO V12 (COOLING SYSTEM,POWER STEERING FLUID P/S CLG SYS(V12)) was originally installed (as standard equipment) only on SS and WS6 cars in '98, then it became a option on cars other than the SS and WS6s in '99-'01, then all LS1 F-bods got them in '02.

my 2000 WS6 has it...

Hmm I bet I could use my old stock trans cooler for a powersteering cooler

I also got rid of the factory cooler and mounted a new one in front of the radiator.
http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n602/cpop98ws6/117.jpg