Project V8 RX-7: Part 10 – Power Steering

,

The E-ROD kit comes with the Y-body offset which means the back of the pump to the middle rib of the serpentine belt measures 3.295″.  The LS2 (from the GTO), LS3 and LS7 all share this same offset but your old F-body LS1’s do not.

Another solution would have been to retain the pump we got with the accessory drive kit and use an inline adjustable power steering valve like that made by HEIDTS to regulate the power steering pump pressure and flow to the pump.

The HEIDTS adjustable power steering valve has a little knob controlling a needle valve that allows you to bleed off pressure from the high pressure power steering line side back into the low (return) side line, so you can fine tune the assist to your liking.

At $85 plus the cost of hose and fittings, the HEIDTS valve is probably the least expensive route to getting our power steering back, but our vanity is rearing its pretty head again and now that we’ve got those snazzy Holley valve covers that big ugly stock pump and pulley have got to go!  We need a whole new pump! Turnone makes a power steering pump specifically for RX-7’s with LS1 conversions (not sure about LS3) for a fraction of the price of a top of the line pump like a KRC Racing pump, but ever since we saw one on Dai Yoshihara’s drift car we had to have one!  True, it’s just a power steering pump, but it’s right there on the front of the engine—the first thing you see when you pop the hood!

We spent a long time on the phone and exchanging emails with Norm Frame, one of the brains behind KRC power steering systems and after a few weeks and a number of photos, measurements, engine operating parameters and so forth exchanged, Norm knew exactly which pump we needed and what flow valve it should have.  The only problem was, that pump was a brand new product still in preproduction…

Our first glimpse of KRC’s new Pro Series power steering pump for the LS3 came at the 2011 PRI show in Orlando.  It would still be 3 more months ’til we got one of our own!

 

Our KRC Pro Series pump with bolt-on tank, 6″ Pro Series pulley and mounting bracket that bolts to the driver’s side cylinder head.  The aluminum spacers in the center are used to make up for the offset difference between the F-body/Y-body applications so the same pump kit can be used for both.  The spacers are required for the F-body setups.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*
*