Power steering pump seal problems
 

I have a 05 corvette power steering pump on my ls2 and the seal on the shaft just started poring after a hard run. I did have to put a smaller pulley on the shaft to clear the upper a frame. I do turn this engine at 7000 rpm and with the smaller pulley it turns faster than with the stock pulley. I am running the stock gear box on my 67 camaro. My question is , is this a fluke or did I blow the seal out. Is it more than it can stand with the smaller pulley. Also I would not mind reducing the pressure if any of you think it would help. Any input would be great.

It is possilbe that the higher engine rpm and the smaller puller might have caused the seal to fail. Have you also considered using a under/smaller crank blanacer/pully ?. That would help lower the belt and pully speeds.

BC

I had concidered that. I was not sure if that would hirt my engine temps at stop and go traffic at 90+ degrees. I do street drive more than track. I do take it to the track about 3 times a year just to play.

I was just unsure if this is a common problem with the corvette pumps. It was a new pump , but it did sit on the shelf for about 3 years before it was installed. I have now about 100 miles on it since install. It has several 7000 rpm cycles on it.

When you say "cycles" do you mean down the drag strip or 20 minute road racing sessions?

Andrew

It would be drag strip equivalent runs. Also was only driven enough to warm the engine an then back home . So not much time for the fluid to get hot. I am doing some test and tune on timing and carb.

Not much response on this so maybe its just a fluke my shaft seal went bad on my new pump. I suppose I will get a seal from gm and replace it and see what happens without changing anything on the pump pressure .If it does it again I will know it is a problem with my set up. I just did not know if anyone had this same problem and had success fixing it.

Seal failures maybe associated with over pressure
Some rack and pinion set ups are limited to the pressure it can handle
I have a DSE rack (1100 psi max) per art morrison chassis
Corvette p/s pump is 1200 psi
There is a company that makes a kit to lower p/s press
Borgenson supplies a kit ,I got mine thru jegs performance for < $20
Dropped pressure to 800 psi to start with
Steve

There is no ill symptoms with my oem stock steering box . Everything is smooth with no noise. Just blew the shaft seal. Borgenson is a good suggestion. I will call them and see if they have an input and a product that may help me. Thanks

Try to get a temp read on the fluid. A cheapo "stick type" thermometer should do it. Hi psi, combined w/ higher gpm, can cause the fluid to boil.
That WILL cook the seal.
Turbo Buicks, [86/7], had that issue. It was solved w/ a resevior from another model Buick.

At this point I cant run it. It pours out of the shaft seal. So it has to come apart first. I would like to make any adjustments I need to while it is off. So you are saying if I lowered the pressure and restrict the flow and if I have good feel of the steering that making those changes would help.

There is a thread here that details the various pump pressures of a host of the popular pumps. The same thread also details the method of altering pump output. I am using a late S10 pump with a different reservoir housing and the Grand Cherokee steering box. I reduced pump pressure which gave much better steering input and reduced fluid temp.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...truck-etc.html

Heat is generated from
1. P/S usage in turning ,especially going from lock to lock
2. Engine compartment heat
Do not believe heat is your enemy
Fix leak and drop pressure
Using kit by Borgenson stack washers to get pressure you need
I am starting at 800 psi and waiting to see how it feels on the road
Changing pressures is a simple fix

I think this is the route I am going to take while I have it off. I think you may be right. I am going to order the kit from borgenson and give it a try. If the steering feels good after the change and the seal holds up I will be good. I dont mind a firm steering in this car. If its too firm I will up it a little untill it gets tolerable. Maybe I can find that everything is happy spot. Thanks for the help.