Road Racing - Turn One Power Steering Pump

I've been autox since Dec and have noticed my stock power steering pump whining and spewing a little fluid from the cap. I don't have a power steering cooler, although I hear those just cause problems and contaminate your coolant. Anyway, I've read up on the turn one PS pump in GM high performance and was curious if anyone has installed one with their pulley? If so, how was the install and is it a noticeable improvement? Thanks!

I have a TO pump on my road race car (LT1) and do so, because I installed one on my old street/track day car.

When you idle the car around the grid or parking lot, the steering is a bit "heavy" and even notchy. But any RPM off idle makes it smooth out as if it were stock.

There is a local (local to DFW) steering component builder that refubs stock pumps to perform like Turn One pumps. They specialize in mud trucks, rock crawlers and monster truck builds and do a few pumps for sprint car, Modifieds, ARCA and NASCAR truck teams.

But a GM Saginaw pump is a Saginaw pump. We have 4 of them on customer cars (3 LSx cars and 1 LT1 car) and we are hearing of no complaints.

They aren't a sponsor here, so I can't Put Someone's Contact information in here without them being a sponsor.

For an LSx car, the pulley makes life so much easier getting the pump on and off.

Have the Turn One pump with Gibbs racing fluid, yes it feels a bit heavy at idle, but has not boiled over yet.

i just got one, going to install it today. my pump has been whining for a year now

Cool - let us know how the install went. I'm probably going to go with their pulley as well. The shop manual recommends a mity vac for bleeding whereas the Haynes recommends turning the pully backwards with the engine off to remove bubbles, then start the car with the front off the ground and turn the wheel lock to lock until the fluid level stabalizes. I have a mityvac but not a cap that will fit over the PS cap...

i did it today. dont bother with a vacuum. and you need to take your stock pulley off to remove the pump anyway, so getting the pulley isnt a big time saver. i took off a line at the lowest point i could, in the rack, and let it drain first. i had an old coolant tester, the kind with a tube, clear plastic case, and turkey baster bulb that i used to suck out the rest of the can.

my manual says to drain the coolant, but i dont see why. i did have to disconnect the power steering cooler though. dont know if your Z28 has one stock, but WS6s did. once you get into it, youll see why and where you have to disconnect it. that was the hardest part.

before you start, regardless if you have the new pulley or not, you will need a pulley remover AND installer. i found that out the hard way, and had to return a tool and buy another set. i found a very nice set for $30 at autozone. comes with a standard puller, and attachments for installing pulleys on different make cars. well worth the buy, even if you only use it once or twice. made by OEM, which is a better quality chinese import.

theres no way of getting the long bolts out of the pump housing without removing the pulley first: ergo you need to have the pulley off to get them back in. so i wouldnt bother buying the pulley. either way, if you dont have it, youll need a $30 tool for the job. save the money on the pulley for the tool.

I'm curious to see how many events the stock pump takes.

I'm running a stock cooler, but I think the ASP underdrive pulley helps too. I attended an event this past weekend and it was hot as shit out....

The stock pump and cooler are holding up for now.

I'm also running red line water wetter, I think thats a must in south tx!

I'll be flushing the PS fluid with redline in another few events.

If you buy the TO pulley, it has holes in it...no need to remove it to access the pump mounting bolt.

I've been running mine w/ Amsoil ATF since 2004, at least 8 road course track days on it with no boil-overs or issues. We measured the fluid temp right off the road course at Memphis last Summer and it was consistently between 170-180degF. No aux cooler, either.

If you buy the TO pulley, it has holes in it...no need to remove it to access the pump mounting bolt.

you think theyd tell you that or put it on their website so people could know?? if i knew that i would have bought the pulley.

you think theyd tell you that or put it on their website so people could know?? if i knew that i would have bought the pulley.

They do, right there on the pulley page....

http://www.turnone-steering.com/pulley.html

the first time i looked at the page, months ago, they didnt even have a seperate pulley page.

FYI the turn 1 pump is not legal for ESP or F-Stock.

FYI the turn 1 pump is not legal for ESP or F-Stock.

Take off the sticker and use a stock pulley, how would you be able to tell?

what pulley remover did you guys use to remove
the power steering pulley?

Take off the sticker and use a stock pulley, how would you be able to tell?

exactly. i could care less what SCCA thinks of my car. i have never, nor do i ever plan on running SCCA, and if i do, itll be a once in a blue moon thing. i bought my car brand new, and i dont care what a rulebook says. im going to do whatever i want with my car. if you want to hide it......take the sticker off any no one knows anything.

what pulley remover did you guys use to remove
the power steering pulley?

i went to autozone. first the guy (who was totally clueless) brought out their loan-a-tool set, which had most of the threads already stripped and boogered up. he said it was $30 to rent it. i asked about buying, and they had the exact same set, brand new, for $30. so of course i bought it.

its made by OEM, which is a better quality chink brand. the remover part looked and felt exactly the same as the first one i bought which was just the remover, and made by performance tool. the OEM also comes with attachments and different thread sizes for installing the pulley. for only $30 its worth it, as you can do other brand cars and different type pulleys.

exactly. i could care less what SCCA thinks of my car

What you dont want a trophy? :P

I feel the same way...but running it out there is the perfect place to learn how to drive, tune the car and have fun doing it safely!!!!!!

it's fun as shit...to compete with other cars who post similar times:)

what pulley remover did you guys use to remove
the power steering pulley?

Rented the pulley puller kit from AutoZone.

What you dont want a trophy? :P

I feel the same way...but running it out there is the perfect place to learn how to drive, tune the car and have fun doing it safely!!!!!!

it's fun as shit...to compete with other cars who post similar times:)

meh ... driving around and then getting out to find out who won is ... well, boring.

Now THIS is fun ...
http://vimeo.com/5177704

From races on Sunday ... the chase car is a Fox Mustang and I'm in the #9 white Firebird

:D

Yea that sure is more fun! NICE! NICE!

Sick Stuff.....! I'm jealous! haha

What you dont want a trophy? :P

I feel the same way...but running it out there is the perfect place to learn how to drive, tune the car and have fun doing it safely!!!!!!

it's fun as shit...to compete with other cars who post similar times:)

there are other organizations that run autoxs

I just now had time to watch all of it....mitch nice overtake on the stang! it looks like you all almost bumped a little!

Almost? Let's just say we exchanged insurance information post race. ;)

Nothing significant. I got a little tire mark and he got a swatch of white on his door. When every one is going the same direction and about the same speed, contact really doesn't do a lot of damage.

That was a bonehead move on my part. I was fixated on the red/white Camaro ahead and wanted as much angle for turn-in to turn one as I could get to go catch him.

Chris, the mustang owner was not happy with me post race. But, I made a point of finding him and we worked it out.

I need to invest in this

i did and had my first track day with it. my old pump whined so loud you could hear it over the exhaust, and thats really saying something. not a squeak out of the new turn one.

I had Turn one rebuild my rack and pump, honesly didn't notice much of a difference at low speeds

Echo - I've been trying to get a hold of Turn One for questions, but I have a few questions:

- What is needed in replacing the stock unit that I would need to purchase from Turn One? (Im assuming just the pump but I wanted to make sure there isn't anything else...planning on purchasing the pulley as well for ease in future endeavors. )

- How long did the install take you?

- Anything to be extra careful on?

I plan on getting the pulley remover/installer from autozone like you suggested.

FYI, I blew a leak in my stock pump from one road course day at Roebling Road in my LS swapped 240sx...Boiled, and then has been leaking ever since.

I'm not EM, but ....

Make sure you tell TO that you are using the stock hoses so that they can install the correct fittings in the pump.

It takes a couple hours ... mostly getting the stock pump off.

Its very straightforward.

If you get the TO pulley, it is "spoked". So have them install it on the pump. It comes safety wired. You can get to the pump mounting bolt heads through the spokes.

Getting the old pump off is an exercise is patience. There is one bolt that is extremely tough to get to. Its on the upper left side. Do it last and as you loosen it, pull the pump towards you to maintain some clearance to get to the bolt head. You basically get to turn the bolt one flat at a time with an open end wrench.

Or, being as you will never use that plastic pulley ever again, drill a hole in it to gain access to the bolt head.

Thanks! Do you happen to know the cost of pulley and pump? Im assuming its much more durable and able to handle the heat right?

Thanks again

When I first started using TO pumps 10 years ago, they were over $300 with the pulley. We found them because the LSx motor used to be a spec motor in ASA racing. Not sure the price is today.

We have since discovered Power Steering Components, a company that specializes in hydraulic systems for Trophy Trucks, rock crawlers and monster trucks.

Send them your pump and ~$100 and you get the same rebuild and valving as the TO pump. They have been turning them around in a day for us. They'll even swap the pulley for you or sell you one, if you prefer.

We now have of these PSC pumps in cars that race with us. There seems to be a little more audible whine with their pump at tidle when the fluid gets hot. But there is no degraded performance.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

We now have of these PSC pumps in cars that race with us. There seems to be a little more audible whine with their pump at tidle when the fluid gets hot. But there is no degraded performance.


What fluid are you running?

Redline

I just installed my turn one pump (install was easy) and pulley and ran it at the local autocross today - the steering feels more responsive at speed, and it didn't vent all over the alternator after 5 runs in mid 90s Texas heat. It's also really nice to hear the exhaust again - no more PS pump whine!!! I should have done this long ago - well worth it!