1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

General technical discussion and troubleshooting
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redcloud
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1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

Post by redcloud »

Hello -

I have a rather nice 1989 4.3L with only 60K on it. I bought with 20K a few years back.

last year, the two bolts that hold the power steering bracket on snapped & i had to extract them from the engine block. unfortunately, the bracket is pretty badly cracked now & I need to replace it.

does anyone know the best source? what are my options? i haven't even found the part number yet.

thanks
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Mmusicman
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Re: 1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

Post by Mmusicman »

Early Gen 1's were notorious for bracket failure and snapping of bolts! Some kind of really bad design flaw, with way too much load on them. This problem was apparently resolved in the later model Gen 1's. Not sure which model your's is, but I'm assuming the older version?

If you stay with that bracket setup... you may consider installing a larger and heavier grade stud, in place of the bolts. I'm not sure how accessible it is. I assume the bolts are 3/8"... but you could probably upgrade to 7/16" stud like I did on my alternator side. I really don't know the depth issues on the PS side, but I would at least look into it.

As far as replacing the bracket itself... looks like a visit to the junkyard may be an option. Did it actually break?

Here's a few photos of me retrofitting an older set of stock V8 heads (that only had 1 PS accessory hole) to work with my V6 brackets!

There was NO hole here (1st photo below)... so I drilled it and tapped it for 7/16 studs, and enlarged the other existing hole too. The fact that I hit a water-jacket was completely irrelevant... since water-pump bolts are actually in the water-jacket too. You simply use Teflon tape or other sealer on the threads. I assume the same would be true if you hit an oil passage too. Needless to say... these WON'T break!!! I went a little over-kill since this particular bracket would now only be held by 2 studs, rather than 3 bolts. It has worked flawlessly for me!!!

The only possible issue is that the bracket may not be easily removable if need be later on. But the studs I used had an allen-wrench cut-out for installing them. These pictures do not directly compare to your setup.. but may be helpful anyway?

Image

Image

These were actually 4.350" ARP cylinder head studs, made from 8740 chromoly steel with 190,000 psi tensile strength.. thread-rolled to Mil-S-8879 specs... and I figured they should be way MORE than adequate for the job! ... Plus they were the perfect length for my application!

Here's a photo of my 92 Gen 1 brackets on my V8:
The left bracket using only 2 modified 7/16 studs
The right bracket still using 3 stock 3/8 bolts:

Image

Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Last edited by Mmusicman on Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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redcloud
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Re: 1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

Post by redcloud »

Wow - excellent project & beautiful work!

I heard there are some steel brackets out there & I would love to get my hands on one.. But man, I love owning an american van as I was able to buy a brand new bracket on Amazon for around $100. ACDelco # 14102081

I use to own a sweet '87 Toyota Van Wagon & those parts were incredibly hard to find - even in the yards.

You make a good point of considering an upgrade on the bolts to studs.. I was happy to see the bolts that I had put on last year were holding up & I'm thankful they didn't snap again. Extracting them from the block wasn't the most fun I've had.

Right now the bracket is just severely cracked.. I heard belt squeal & wanted to check out those bolts.. Bracket is mangled. Bent & cracked.
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Re: 1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

Post by doyoulikeithere »

Hi. My 87 has a steel horseshoe kinda shaped bracket for all of the accessories. Just Like the Delco 14102081. Those steel ones are known to crack, ESPECIALLY, if the 2 support bars supporting it from the back side are missing. One is behind the alternator doing down to the intake manifold by the TBI. The PS pump sits low on the bracket, so may not be as effected by those support gusset bars, but if the frame cracks the whole thing is buggered as you know. For sure, use the bigger bolts if you like, but be sure to support it top rearside, or it will break again. Here is a weird picture of the 2 gusset bars, in blue , behind the alternator and just backing up the bracket itself on the left. All of my 90 and up vans used aluminum brackets like Mmusicman shows in his last pic. The aluminum bracket in my 95 broke, but all my steel ones are still good.
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redcloud
I am merely driving my van
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Re: 1st Gen Power Steering Bracket - Help with Replacement

Post by redcloud »

Nice work! thanks for the photo.

I am curious why the bracket is bent, cracked & mangled now. Maybe it was slightly cracked from the incident last year or maybe the screws worked their way out again slightly.. or perhaps I am missing some supports like what you mentioned. I guess I'll be finding out.

I am pretty excited that I am at least getting a new bracket instead of one from the yard that could be ready to break too.
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