Power steering help!! Way to easy

[nick7405]

Attached are some photos for assistance.

Have a blueprint engine and assuming they use the regular foxbody 5.0 power steering unit. However even when at a standstill the whee moves way to easy and scary to drive. Attached is a photo of the unit and next photos are of the next fitting that allows me to connect the hose to the rack. Inputs please173814173815173816173817173818

[Jeff Kleiner]

That is indeed a Ford OEM pump like was used on Fox Mustangs. What is your caster set to currently? With power steering we like to see 7-8 degrees positive. If you are running less than this your steering will be lighter…and you’ll not realize some of the benefits of P/S, namely straight line stability and steering wheel return to center. Also he sure that you’re set for toe in (I like 3/32”). If you are at zero or toe out it will be twitchy and not track straight. If you do have your caster set to the 7-8 range and find that the steering effort is too light you can trim the pressure relief spring to reduce the assist or install a Heidts valve to allow you to vary the assist.

Jeff

[Mustang Man]

Behind that fitting you removed from the pump is a valve and spring. Some cut the spring down to reduce the assist. You can also exchange the rack (you probably are running a 2.5-turn "Sport" rack) for the slower 4cyl Mustang rack. Lastly, there is the Heidt's adjustable power steering valve. It's additional plumbing and mounting of the billet valve, but it allows you to truly dial in the PS assist via a knob.

HTH!
Mark

[EZ$]

I trimmed the spring down per the thread from way back when, and it worked great. Not twitchy on the freeway, but easy to drive. Make sure you follow Jeff's recommendation on the settings for your alignment, it's key.

[nick7405]

Thanks for the inputs everybody. I’ll cut the spring then if that doesn’t do it I’ll get the heidts control valve

[CraigS]

I didn't care for the Heidts valve. Seemed that when I dialed it down to an assist level I liked when driving, once in a while in parking lots the assist would disappear. I also cut the spring in the pump. I found that if I cut it a little too much I could find a washer of similar OD and shim the spring.

[Avalanche325]

I also did the spring mod and it works great. Free is a pretty good price too.

[skidd]

I too have been unimpressed with my Heidts valve like CraigS. For the same reason . I mean it's not bad. But, not really good enough either.

[Jeff Kleiner]

Interesting. I’ve been running a Heidts valve on mine for 15 years with hundreds of autocross runs, track days and almost 30K street miles. I adjust it differently for each of these and have never experienced a loss of assist.

Jeff

[Blitzboy54]

I have a saginaw pump and used a reducer to bring down my high side pressure to 650 psi. This made my rack more user friendly. I did not use a OEM pump however so it might not be relevant