i have the power steering that has the control valve and the ram cylinder on a 1970 mustang. problem is that the pivot ball, which connects to the pitman arm, is sloppy in the control valve. is there a way of fixing this or do i need a whole new control valve assembly. thanks for any input on this.

 

Define "Sloppy in the control valve"--The ball stud is held in the center position by two springs. The movement or lack of movement left and right is what determines how much assist you get. The higher the resistance of the wheels against the steering wheel effort, such as standing still and pulling the steering wheel full left or right the further the ball stud moves which in uurn moves the control valve furthur off it's center which increases the assist pressure.

Thisportion of the valve seldom goes bad if properly lubed but there iare kits available, or at least there used to be.

 

Yep, they make repair kits. go to NPD or your prefered vendor. $ 35 bucks for the std and 25 bucks for the socket at California mustang.

 

the slop is in the pivot ball. when my wife turns the wheel i can watch the pivot ball move back and forth quite a bit. i don't suppose it would be advise able to try and tighten the thing up. i can get the control valve and rod from checker for $238.00. problem is that i have never greased it, didn't know about it needing grease. the car has about 130,000 miles on it. everything else has been replaced, tie rods, lower a arms, upper and lower ball joints and idler arm. i don't know how long these units are suppose to last and the wife drives it to work every day, 50 miles round trip.