This is an informative little tale for those who have not had the pleasure of working on the Avanti II power steering system. I’m sure many of you know this, but I’d like to help those who don’t from repeating some of my mistakes!
I’ve faced a few challenges in the short time I’ve owned my Avanti, starting with the heater core on day one. Most of the work has been preventative maintenance, and this sort of falls into that category except the fact that my pump was leaking and had been for some time.
The first mistake I made (although I had done a lot of research in advance) was to assume that the power steering pump was a generic GM Saginaw pump. Actually the pump is, but the reservoir is NOT! I was having trouble getting my 40 year old return hose to release it’s grip on the nipple, and after glancing at where that hose went, I decided I didn’t want to change it just yet.... So I cut the nipple off the pump. DO NOT do this! The return line on most GM pumps comes from the front of the car, not the rear. The early Corvette’s have a tube that heads straight down, and that would work except for the fact that the tube exits from the middle of the reservoir, which won’t work with my car.
After trying to modify a junk yard reservoir (we cut the nipple off and brazed a straight fitting on the end), I finally found one that will work! A 1974 Buick Apollo with a 6 cylinder. I got one from O’Rielly’s for $46. I’m not sure if the V8 is the same, or other years. I was just happy to find one that was similar to my original one. It might even be better since it has a 90 degree angle away from the motor.
After looking my hoses over during this time, I decided that as long as I was there I should change the hoses. After all, they’ve been there for 40 years. I bought the set from Jon Myer’s and the bends in the lines seem to be just about right. One of the mechanics at work came over and helped me this past weekend, and I’m glad he did. If you don’t have good line wrenches, stubby wrenches and crows foot ratchets, good luck. The return line was the toughest to get off and a crows foot from behind the control valve with a mirror is my advice on that one!
Hopefully this will be a help to someone out there!
I’ve faced a few challenges in the short time I’ve owned my Avanti, starting with the heater core on day one. Most of the work has been preventative maintenance, and this sort of falls into that category except the fact that my pump was leaking and had been for some time.
The first mistake I made (although I had done a lot of research in advance) was to assume that the power steering pump was a generic GM Saginaw pump. Actually the pump is, but the reservoir is NOT! I was having trouble getting my 40 year old return hose to release it’s grip on the nipple, and after glancing at where that hose went, I decided I didn’t want to change it just yet.... So I cut the nipple off the pump. DO NOT do this! The return line on most GM pumps comes from the front of the car, not the rear. The early Corvette’s have a tube that heads straight down, and that would work except for the fact that the tube exits from the middle of the reservoir, which won’t work with my car.
After trying to modify a junk yard reservoir (we cut the nipple off and brazed a straight fitting on the end), I finally found one that will work! A 1974 Buick Apollo with a 6 cylinder. I got one from O’Rielly’s for $46. I’m not sure if the V8 is the same, or other years. I was just happy to find one that was similar to my original one. It might even be better since it has a 90 degree angle away from the motor.
After looking my hoses over during this time, I decided that as long as I was there I should change the hoses. After all, they’ve been there for 40 years. I bought the set from Jon Myer’s and the bends in the lines seem to be just about right. One of the mechanics at work came over and helped me this past weekend, and I’m glad he did. If you don’t have good line wrenches, stubby wrenches and crows foot ratchets, good luck. The return line was the toughest to get off and a crows foot from behind the control valve with a mirror is my advice on that one!
Hopefully this will be a help to someone out there!
Attached Files
Much appreciated.
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