Astro Van PS

[zuksadmin]

Astro Van PS details/answers to questions.

What specific steering box?
The years for Astro Van Saginaw forward pointing pitman are mid 80s to early model 90. The steering shaft from firewall down to box is exposed. If you can't see it behind the plastic covering, it's the wrong year. 

What do I remove?
If you are going to fish plate and sleeve the frame take the three bolts going thru frame behind drive front tire. If you are using a bolt on plate keep:
The box, the pitman arm.
Cut the hoses keeping the fittings in the box for reference of threads.
Take not of which is reservoir return or pressure.
18 mm x 1.5 mm
16 mm x 1.5 mm
AVOID all wheel drive AWD Astro van boxes. They are a bigger PITA to mount than normal.

What power steering pumps and reservoirs?
Depending on the PS bracket you make or purchase there are pump choices. TC style or what ever you are inclined to make a custom bracket for.
Mid 1990s Jeep Cherokee 4.0 6 cylinder came with a TC style pump with attached reservoir  and a five rib serp pulley already attached with underdrive pulley. Rated at approximately 1100 psi this pump drives the box with locked 36" tires and below. Cut hoses, keep fittings.
There are name brands like PSC or Trail-Gear. Also small shops making high pressure TC style bolt pattern pumps. TC is basically a blot pattern copied from old Toyota pumps. Usually these pumps require additional costs for serpentine pulley. SERP pulleys have the ability to grip better. If you install the pulley, specialty tools are common and required.
The higher end pumps have separate reservoirs attached by hoses with various sizes, baffles and cost. A simple Sidekick/Tracker reservoir works fine.

Hoses and steering shaft adapters?
Upon request we will provide part numbers and contact information to make custom AN hoses rated at 3k psi. Or you can take the fittings into any corner auto parts store and buy a rubber hose with correct fittings on each end. We do not provide part numbers for those types of hoses. 

Use half the Astro van steering link and half the samurai steering link.
The samurai is a two piece, inner and outer. Drill thru the white plastic spots to separate the two pieces. Clamp inner in vise securely and pound off the outer.
The Astro uses a u-joint at the spline and a telescoping linkage. Cut the firewall U-joint and solid shaft off at the edge of the outer.
Once box linkage and samurai linkage are installed see where they intersect when telescoping shaft is pulled all the way towards samurai firewall.
Cut where some of the samurai will fit into the outer of the Astro and weld together on a straight line.  To keep the telescoping from drooping down and pulling the samurai linkage out of the cabin column side take a large washer and clamp in vise half exposed. Hammer into a ninety degree shape. Lay on telescoping shaft and tack weld the center so it will bust away in a head on collision.

Pulleys and belts?
Depending on your engine the crank will have different lower belt pulley bolt pattern. Most Samurai have four bolt, in the efi model/year it's five bolts. 
The center bolt doesn't hold the pulley on Suzuki 1.3/1.6 engines.
Trailtough.com sells both styles as well as companies that copied the pulley. You can get V belt/serp for fan-alternator V belt and SERP PS. A 1.6 commonly has a dbl row serpentine lower pulley. There are many different Suzuki factory pulleys. The worst to use is the V/V AC cast pulley for samurai. The PS pulley V is so small it is way under driving the pump.

[nrspence]

Do you have any pictures of a mounted Astro van box you could post up?

[Bonefizz]

Myron,

I'd like to do this upgrade, is the Astrovan PS box Model 82-00311R?  I've been researching, but there are so many variations, I don't want to buy the wrong one.