C3 Corvette Power Steering Control Valve Removal, Installation & Adjustment 

Good luck with your project. It should drive a lot better and get ride of any pulling to one side. Thanks for watching and the comment. Appreciated!

@33milegarage34 I would have quit, when I got to the pickle fork, if not for the great advice about , do not be afraid to hit it hard, and I did have to use a bigger hammer. I was using a jack, and Jake stands laying on my side. I owe you. The corvette drove perfect again

Thanks for the response and the compliment.

Thanks for watching it. Trying to get better with every video I make.

You’re welcome! So glad the video helped with your project! Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching and the feed back. I have it on my list of videos to make.

I try to put some good detail in my videos. Thanks for watching and commenting.

Thanks for the great compliment. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck on your project!

That sounds like a great set up. Is it fairly hard to turn into tight parking? I haven’t considered that option because of the tight space we park in and my wife and both daughters drive it. But it sounds like a big pay off for the money. Thanks for watching and the great information!

@@33milegarage34 Hey man and howdy. Ok here is the skinny on this. It is somewhat more difficult to steer at parking/rolling speeds. In that however, I found that I naturally developed a technique that allows me to maneuver my C3 at those slow rolling speeds effortlessly. Not to be rude, my Corvette is NOT a beginner's car whatsoever. In other words, it is a pistol hot road machine not for the faint of heart. It was built to be the ultimate MANUAL driving machine. Pure exhilaration and adrenalin surge on an empty freeway early in the morning is a memorable experience to say the least. The way my Stingray Corvette responds along with the feedback I receive from the car with my steering setup is in my opinion the ONLY way it should be configured. The complete set is Borgeson's brand new stock type 16:1 ratio steering box and stainless-steel billet joint. And a Bilstein 5100 Series steering damper in place of the hydraulic ram. I fabricated my own bracket for the anchor point on the frame rail. The geometry is the same and everything clears all other vital components. And it looks bad ass as well. After all, said and done, in my opinion this is the ONLY way that these cars should have their steering configured for maximum driver and car feedback and road feel. Cheers! 😊

Sorry for the late response. Thanks for the manual steering run down. I have the stock set up dialed in but it’s 50+ year old technology so it’s not great by today’s standards. So that might be an option. Rude never! This is the place to share ideas, tech, builds and the best build description I have read in awhile. Nice job man! I felt the adrenaline reading your reply!

Thanks. 1968-1970 are my favorite, but I like them all, I will be posting more corvette videos soon and good luck on the corvette project!

Wow! LS6 nice. Hope the refresh goes smoothly and your back on the road soon.

Thanks good luck on the project. Hope the video helps you out! Let me know how it goes.

Thanks for commenting. Hope the video helps & good luck with your project!

Thanks for commenting and hope this helps you out when you start your control valve project!

Thanks for watching and the compliment.

We’re trying really hard to make easy to follow videos that are enjoyable to watch. Thanks for watching!

@@33milegarage34 You're welcome. You have a beautiful C3 by the way. I have a 76 w the leaky steering components. I had them replaced (by a shop (was a bit nervous to try this at home) and now she's A-OK!

@@christophergordon6593 Thanks, Had this Vette for about 20 years with an engine and transmission swap over the last few years. It's a blast to drive! Good to see your power steering issue is resolved and back on the road.

Thanks for watching and commenting.

Thanks for watching, let me know how the project goes.

Thanks for watching my videos ... I'm trying

Glad it helped you out! Thanks for watching and the feedback!

Thanks. Any questions let me know.

The pitman arm is keyed in location. Just make sure the steering wheel is straight and you should be good. Thanks for watching and the comment.

Hope the video helped you out. Thanks for watching.

Thanks, I hope your project goes smooth. The red lights are from an equalizer, we removed the panel with corvette script and replaced it with a new aluminum one fabricated with the EQ mounted in it.

Good catch… yea don’t forget the dust cover. Thanks for watching an dad the comment!

I typically place the jack under the center of the front cradle to lift and would recommend that method, (with jack stands) but have placed the jack under the frame rails behind the front tire to lift one side for tire changes without issue but you take a risk closing up the door gap. Be careful with a bottle jack on uneven surfaces as the can slip out. Thanks for watching, good luck with your project and hit me up with any questions

@@33milegarage34 Thank you very much Sir for your return and as you kindly offer it to me, I will not hesitate to ask you about my questions and to discuss with you about this beautiful car.

Thanks for commenting. The exhaust system is a Flowmaster Force 2 set up with an X pipe and Doug’s headers. It’s a great sound and not to crazy loud. Enjoy that 71.

If remember correctly the ball joint in the valve fit snugly with no play. If the play is all in the new valve will the supplier replace it with a new one? I also found my steering box to be loose over years of driving. The box can be adjusted by the screw and jam nut on top. If the steering box requires adjustment, make it 1/8 to 1/4 turn at a time as not to over tighten it. Hope this helps you out. Let me know what you find.

@@33milegarage34 thanks for the reply. The steer box is tight. I just did some research and I see there is these spiral 🌀 springs that go on each side of the ball joint to center it , in the valve. I’m thinking these new aftermarket springs aren’t as stiff as the stock springs. Where did you get your rebuild kit from? I still have the stock valve. I think I’ll rebuild it and see if it’s any better than what I have now. I used to get all my stuff from Wilcox but if you have a preference, I would like to hear it. Thanks again 👍🏻

I purchased my last rebuild kit from Corvette Central but I think they all get parts from the same supplier and Willcoc customer service is pretty good. But with that said Willcox website might be down right now. Thanks for watching and hope you get the parts need to fix the steering play issue.

I typically purchase the rebuild kits by the year, make, and model; but in your case the front end may have been switched out with late model steering components so that may not apply. As far as turning the steering wheel in a stationary position, my car is noticeably harder to turn but not at a level of very difficult. Also, if the steering wheel was changed to a smaller diameter, they can be very difficult to steer at a low speed or in a static position. Thanks for watching and for the great questions. Good luck with the 59 Merc! .

@@33milegarage34 thanks for the quick response.

Thank you! I use the front center cross member as a Jack point. But My car is a driver and not a high end restoration, you can dent the cross member as mine does have dents in it from my jack. Thanks for watching!

@@33milegarage34 Okay...my cross member has a few dings in it, too.. Ill use a 2x6 under the jack puck to spread out the load a bit when I change out my front brake calipers. Thx for the quick reply.

If the control valve is out of adjustment the car can pull to one side or the other. Quick way to check, start the car and listen for a whine from the power steering pump. If the pump is whining that’s an indicator the control valve needs to be adjusted. In most cases it’s likely an alignment issue and not the control valve. Thanks

Good question… it would probably make it very difficult to turn. Thanks for watching.

Thanks for the question. The drag link must be removed to unscrew the control valve but it’s not required to remove the power steering extend/retract cylinder or bracket. Hope that helps you out. Thanks you watching!

@@33milegarage34 I've rebuilt my valve and put it all together and turned it on and it turned to the left by itself so I will just need to adjust it

I always replace cotter pins with new pins. Not worth messing with a used pin they can break or be weakened. Thanks for watching!

@@33milegarage34 Quick question. I own a 76 corvette. How many gallons of radiator fluid/antifreeze does a radiator take to fill to full capacity? thanks.

Thanks for the question. For this project I place the jack stands under the lower control arms at the shock mount location, the valley of the jack stands fit nicely.