How Necessary is a Power Steering Cooler and WHERE to Find one for 5/8 inch hose?

[Gerald Morris]

As a followup to an earlier question about 1959-66 TRW pumps and systems with them, I now ask the Learned Elders,

1.) How vital is a cooler for the power steering system?

and

2.) if the answer to 1.) above is "significantly" or more, then WHERE should I look for a cooler meant for 5/8 inch hose?

This latter issue bugs me! I stupidly ordered a cheap shop branded cooler from Retard Auto Parts, got a cheap little Hayden meant for '67 and more recent stuff with 11/32 inch hose to go with the cheap little cooler. 11/32 inch is 9/32 inches SMALLER than 5/8" and given that area functions as the SQUARE of radius, thats quite a drop! I DON'T WANT to CONSTRICT my return hose, even if it is at RELATIVE LOW pressure! BAD IDEA I SAY!

So, given the rarity of SMALL oil coolers meant to take even 1/2 inch connections, let alone 5/8 inch stuff, should I let my new reman pump run as the undersized little 4 5/8" pump the former owner cribbed onto the bracket to get the hulk to steer at all, that is, with NO cooler BUT good return flow, or am I better off contriving some small (read cheap) stacked plate cooler with 1/2" NPT threads which I can screw hose barbs into?

OR, should I go buy a bit of 5/8" copper tubing and make my own cooler? I sort of LIKE this idea, come to think of it....

Respectfully, your opinions are sought.

 

[detmatt]

I’m trying to think of a circumstance where any of our cars would require a power steering fluid cooler. The way that they are driven today, even if daily it’s not warranted IMO..

 

[mrfury68]

In my understanding, power steering coolers where meant for “severe service” such as police cars and taxis. Vehicles that spend a lot of time with their engines running.

 

[bronze turbine]

My grandfather's 1971 Mercury Marquis had a factory power steering fluid cooler. Maybe you could locate one of those and make it work somehow. I have to agree though that if it didn't come factory stock on the car back in the day I doubt you would need it now.

 

[polara71]

I’m trying to think of a circumstance where any of our cars would require a power steering fluid cooler. The way that they are driven today, even if daily it’s not warranted IMO..

Agreed! I've looked under a lot of hoods from the Era and only have ever seen a few. Something else to go wrong IMO.

 

[Polara_500]

I have one from a 65 Monaco, factory issue on all them I believe. They mount in front of the radiator.

 

[Big_John]

As a followup to an earlier question about 1959-66 TRW pumps and systems with them, I now ask the Learned Elders,

1.) How vital is a cooler for the power steering system?

and

2.) if the answer to 1.) above is "significantly" or more, then WHERE should I look for a cooler meant for 5/8 inch hose?

This latter issue bugs me! I stupidly ordered a cheap shop branded cooler from Retard Auto Parts, got a cheap little Hayden meant for '67 and more recent stuff with 11/32 inch hose to go with the cheap little cooler. 11/32 inch is 9/32 inches SMALLER than 5/8" and given that area functions as the SQUARE of radius, thats quite a drop! I DON'T WANT to CONSTRICT my return hose, even if it is at RELATIVE LOW pressure! BAD IDEA I SAY!

So, given the rarity of SMALL oil coolers meant to take even 1/2 inch connections, let alone 5/8 inch stuff, should I let my new reman pump run as the undersized little 4 5/8" pump the former owner cribbed onto the bracket to get the hulk to steer at all, that is, with NO cooler BUT good return flow, or am I better off contriving some small (read cheap) stacked plate cooler with 1/2" NPT threads which I can screw hose barbs into?

OR, should I go buy a bit of 5/8" copper tubing and make my own cooler? I sort of LIKE this idea, come to think of it....

Respectfully, your opinions are sought.

You're an electronics guy... You'll get the analogy... It's all about the flow.

So, what if you put another cheap cooler in parallel?

Just some food for thought.

 

[CBODY67]

In my understanding, power steering coolers where meant for “severe service” such as police cars and taxis. Vehicles that spend a lot of time with their engines running.

The police cars were the first place I saw Chrysler used power steering coolers. Maybe in the mid-70s on police and trailer packages (as the trailer packages seemed to have some of the same things as the police packages did). Maybe on some of the HEMI B-bodies?

Given how small they seemed to be, in comparison to the a/c condenser, for example, I got the impression that their function might have been more marginal in nature than a "real" cooler. Even though they were placed right in the 180 degree F air flow of the radiator. Rather then "out front" like a trans cooler.

One thought . . . IF they had really been effective or the ps fluid heat really needed to be decreased, GM would have been putting them on their larger carlines (which generally had a few hundred more total psi) and NOT on Chevrolets. NOW, what GM DID do in more recent times was to take a length of bare tubing (unpainted naked) and snake it around the fwd cradle on the front side for a "power steering cooler". Which, possibly have been a way to mask some harmonic in the ps fluid system? Or to make up for the fact that they needed more fluid in the system for better rack longevity?

BUT on the Slabs, probably better to find some semi-syn fluid and change it every couple of years in your climate? OR some OEM-branded fluid and just plan on changing it when it changes color.

Just some thoughts,
CBODY67

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

I thought the power steering cooler was added for cars that idled for long periods of time, cop/taxi cars.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Gerald - I have a factory one, but you'll need to fab up mounting brackets. I have pictures etc. PM me.

 

[CBODY67]

Borgeson has an add-on cooler kit. A double-U rather than a single-U.

 

[Sport Fury 67]

Here are a couple of pics of the PS cooler on my 1978 NY, built with the towing package.
This bad boy glows red hot during parallel parking - docking maneuvers ; )

 

[413]

I have blown out 2 high pressure PS hoses. Both were while on long road trips in hot weather going down the freeway. Both cars had 3.55 gears and 14” tires. The cars were original and hoses were old but looked good.

 

[Gerald Morris]

I have one from a 65 Monaco, factory issue on all them I believe. They mount in front of the radiator.

I was aware of 1965 C body cars with them. Does yours use a 5/8 inch return hose? Which pump? I can try the IDIOTIC COMPUTER DATABASES as references, but thus far, they have been WRONG w.r.t. a Chrysler of any sort from 1965. I referenced 1965 in hope somebody might at least have 5/8" hose diameter in reference, but NOOOOOO!

Muchas gracias!

 

[Gerald Morris]

Here are a couple of pics of the PS cooler on my 1978 NY, built with the towing package.
This bad boy glows red hot during parallel parking - docking maneuvers ; )

View attachment 459620 View attachment 459621 View attachment 459622

I BET it DOES! Pity a '78 uses a Saginaw pump. I have a TRW and plan to keep it, for the next few years anyway, God-willing.

 

[Dan Scully]

A 64 880 wagon I had , was equipped with a factory one . It was a 9 pass with a/c . I have one around ,will have to dig it out if you want a pic of it.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

My 2 cents.
Switch to a Saginaw
Make a cooler with more tubing the size you want even put it in airflow out front. BTU expulsion rate is not a huge concern on a stock vehicle (tall rear gear), high rpm is the reasoning behind Chrysler's use of cooler. I understand your reasoning being in your hot climate. Big John's suggestion is viable also, not with 2, 11/32 coolers, you will have to get a pair of 3/8.

 

[Gerald Morris]

I’m trying to think of a circumstance where any of our cars would require a power steering fluid cooler. The way that they are driven today, even if daily it’s not warranted IMO..

I certainly did OhhhhKaaaay without one for the past 5 years, using an undersize, used pump sealed up w RTV by the former owner at that. Be this as it may, hydraulic pumps normally last longer if the working oil is cooler. I'm thinking of the steering gear box as much as the pump in this regard.

The FSM shows a simple U bolted in front of the AC condenser as the PS cooler. Hell! I can do better with 5/8" Cu tubing, but am likely to try what Ross offers 1st....

 

[Gerald Morris]

Borgeson has an add-on cooler kit. A double-U rather than a single-U.

Good 2 know! Tube diameter will be a major consideration here. THX!

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Try junkyards by grafting something from a new car. Rack and pinion steering uses higher pressure than our old cars so there is a lot of new cars with PS coolers.
Very new cars use electric assist so don't go too new.