stoph0341

new here , first off hello , bought a project car to work on this winter and it had power steering that just has the pump , lines and piston cut out . Don't beleive theproper part or parts have been added but i am new toto car , 66 coupe , what should i be looking for any help would be great . thanx in advance

mySAVIOReigns

welcome to the forums!

so what exactly are you looking for? how to go to manual from power? replacement parts for power?

drewsky

powerassist is way better

plainsman1876

If it is the same as my 65 2+2 , all you have to do is take off the pump , and the end link off and replace with a manuel steering end link then your good to go . I did mine for under a hundred dollars , compared to 500 - 600 dollars to replace all of the power steering components .

Gun Jam

I did exactly what plainsman did but also added the flaming river manual steer gearbox (500).
I really like it a lot better than the old PS stuff. Nothing to go wrong and does not require an unreasonable amount of force to operate even in parking lots.

Gun

stoph0341

my savior- i am looking to find out if this was converted to manual steering properly

plainsman-if the power steering end link was replaced by the manual one would the controll valve still be on the car? or is there any other way of telling if it has been changed?

gun jam-if i put on the flaming river gear box is there anything else that needs to be replaced ? i think i would like the manual steering better.

thanx to all for answering so quick

Norm Peterson

Open the control valve up and see what's inside. It may be possible to make the control valve assembly operate as a solid link very cheaply and with no external evidence other than the removal of the hydraulic stuff.

Daily-driveable without the power assist, yes, and maybe even not unreasonable on a road course. But you probably wouldn't want to autocross it that way.


Norm

Starfury

Completely disagree. Classic power steering SUCKS. Period. Overboosted and almost no road feel at all. I drive my 67 around every day without p/s and I love it. Takes some quick hand work to parallel park but I get along just fine, and I'm even considering moving to the 16:1 gearbox.

Gun Jam

Stoph

If you decided to switch to the FR gearbox nothing else will need to be replaced its a direct bolt in. It does take a bit of work to get the old gear box out as its a very tight fit. I had to remove an engine mount jack the engine up and remove the oil pan.

The new gearbox is all bearing supported (no bushings) so it runs smoother than the stock gearbox and it should have less play in it. The FR gearbox once broken in has about .5 to .75" of play. There is a huge improvement in road feel like Starfury said.

Gun

stanger53

Stock factory Mustang steering boxes are all bearing supported. Ford changed their small steering boxes from bronze bushings to needle bearings with the 1963 Falcon.

The Argentine-built Flaming River box is better than a worn out or improperly built factory box, but it is not smoother or tighter than a properly built and adjusted factory box.