Saginaw Power Steering Pump Conversion

[DPDISXR4Ti]

It stopped the "morning sickness" on my Scorpio p/s ~long time ago.

Thanks for validating my point. The Scorpio uses a Saginaw pump! In fact, I'm wondering if the Scorpio was the first passenger car from Ford to use one. I believe the E-series vans got them first.

[Ed Lijewski]

Validation? The Scorp Saginaw whined; my two XR's pumps never whined. QED.

So if quieting XR p/s whine is the quest the Occam's Razor cure is a dose of ~$7 LubeGard additive.

YMMV

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Lots of links out there about modifying the Saginaw pump for pressure and/or volume. Here's one...

http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/ ... eringmods/

Alternatively, you don't actually have to make the modifications yourself, but can just raid pumps at the junkyard for the different spec fittings. "Yes, I am a junkyard terrorist."

[my8950]

Lots of links out there about modifying the Saginaw pump for pressure and/or volume. Here's one...

http://www.gmtruckcentral.com/articles/ ... eringmods/

Alternatively, you don't actually have to make the modifications yourself, but can just raid pumps at the junkyard for the different spec fittings. "Yes, I am a junkyard terrorist."

I wish there were yards here that we could really go to and wander. There are a few, but an hour one way for me, and they're kind of a pain at times when checking out. If I had the time to tinker with the stuff that I could get at yards my car would be much further ahead...

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I wish there were yards here that we could really go to and wander. There are a few, but an hour one way for me

The closest U-Pull-It for me is 1.5 hours each way, and that's a smaller one. The ones I prefer are about 2 hours away. So if I go, I make a day of it. Bonus points for them changing to Summer hours on April 1st - arriving at 9AM and leaving at 7PM makes for a long day.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Been digging back into this project (hope to have done by Carlisle), and found that I had stowed away a ~2001 Saab 9-3 power steering pump (p/n 5061841). This is type II pump which uses flow/pressure fittings which are compatible with the P-series pumps. The orifice on the flow fitting is ~3/32", a bit smaller than even the Cavalier pump often mentioned as a donor. The overall length of the pressure relief valve is 1.382" vs. 1.375" for the P-series pump out of the Chevy Astro. I'm going to give this a try and see how it works out.

Now I just need to see if either a 41.5" or 49.5" stretch belt exists. The 49.5" would be used if I loop around both the water pump and crank pulleys.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I went junkyard shopping for pulleys yesterday, after discovering that the pulley I had from a 2001 GMC Jimmy V6 was the wrong offset. First I stumbled across a '99 S-10 4-cyl truck. It could have worked but my puller didn't fit around the neck of the pulley center hub, so there was no way it was coming off. Then I found a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer with the 4.2L straight-6, the last straight-6 from an American manufacturer. There were several to pick from, and plenty of room in the engine bay, so it was an easy pull. Pic of engine below for reference...


I can see now, this was the pulley used in the aforementioned project where the guy put the Saginaw pump in his Mustang, so I'm back on track. Better get moving, else the Carlisle train will run me over!

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Saginaw-Fitment-1.JPG (1.15 MiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fitment-2.JPG (1.04 MiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fitment-3.JPG (1.07 MiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fitment-4.JPG (985.45 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

[DPDISXR4Ti]

As mentioned earlier, the nice thing about the Saginaw pumps is the interchangeability of the fittings between different spec pumps. Here's some pics with details. The Saab spec pressure fitting uses a 7/8" wrench rather than 1", but the thread size/pitch are otherwise identical.

Saginaw-Fittings-1.JPG (968.53 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fittings-2.JPG (962.89 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fittings-3.JPG (914.28 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fittings-4.JPG (967.08 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

Saginaw-Fittings-5.JPG (1007.03 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Now I just need to see if either a 41.5" or 49.5" stretch belt exists. The 49.5" would be used if I loop around both the water pump and crank pulleys.

From what I've been able to figure out, currently the longest stretch belt is 41.4", as used on the '11 - '14 Fiesta 1.6L (Motorcraft p/n JK6-414-A). I've just ordered one - hopefully it will work out.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

It works! And it works well! i.e. Not whiny, and not too much assist, which is something I was concerned about since GM power steering is often too over-assisted, so you loose road feel. I think it was the Saab 9-3 volume regulator (with the smaller orifice and slightly longer length) that helped the most in that regard. Before I forget everything, here's what the build consists of (listed in one place).

XR4Ti power steering pump bracket, clearanced for Saginaw pump and adapter horseshoe (alternator mount optionally removed)
~2000 Chevy Astro power steering pump $15
~2005 Chevy Trailerblazer 4.3 pulley
Edelman Power steering pump rebuild kit (p/n 7918) $10
PSC Saginaw pump adapter bracket (p/n PSC-MB03K) $30
Saab 9-3 Pump Volume and pressure fittings (only)
XR4Ti Hi-pressure hose - bottom half
Saab 9-3 Hi-pressure hose - upper half
3/8" barbed fitting to create new hose $5
40.7" / 1035mm Microgroove belt (p/n's 6PK1035, 407K6MK , 5060407, 407K6) Technically NOT a stretch belt, but I was able to maneuver it on
Volvo Power steering reservoir (small, square black unit)
Volvo reservoir bracket #1359805 (not sure of the OEM application - something from the 90's)

[DPDISXR4Ti]

One last little gotcha was the fact that I realized I had two 3/8" return line fittings - one on the Astro reservoir, and one on the Volvo reservoir. For now I plumbed back to the Volvo reservoir and plugged the fitting on the back of the pump with a 3/8" blue vacuum cap from an Audi 200. In hindsight, it's probably cleaner to do it the other way as the return hose would be largely out of sight.

[Ed Lijewski]

Haha. LubeGard power steering additive is only ~$7.00.

YMMV

[John Brennan]

Haha. LubeGard power steering additive is only ~$7.00.

As the kids all say these days, "Right??!!"

These pumps are ubiquitous, and cheap as chips. When the thing wears out, swap another one in there, and off you go.

I admire all the work you've done on this, Brad, especially the exquisite documentation. I wish I had that kind of spare time.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I admire all the work you've done on this, Brad, especially the exquisite documentation. I wish I had that kind of spare time.

Thanks John. It took me over a year from when I first started, so clearly it wasn't a heads-down, get it done, project. No doubt the stock pumps are cheap, readily available, and easy to replace. This was never about saving money. It was about putting a better pump in with lots of available options for "tuning" flow and pressure.