CS130 & Power Steering Bracket Mod 87' Trucks

[RanchWelder]

Several people have commented lately about how aggravating it can be to mount a CS130 and power steering in the very odd year 1987 Trucks.

For those of you with older heads and belt systems, this thread will only aply if you upgrade to the L31 Vortec engine or use the much stronger serpentine alternator belt designed into the hybrid 1987 front engine pulleys.

In this example my A/C system has been removed. The inner most V-Belt on the Power Steering and crankshaft pulleys, will not be used.

This is the solution, not some hack.

If you have $800-$1200 for the redesigned March System, you can stop reading here. This will save you a lot of money and I don't want anyone to do that if they don't want to.

The L31 Vortec Heads have the extra 3/8" accessory bolt holes facing the front of the engine and facing back.
The heads are interchangeable, when installing. All three sets of 87' heads I have owned also had these holes too.

In my case, where I live gets about 2-3 weeks of 80 degree weather, max.

My goal is delete the added expense of A/C, avoid retro-fitting headers for the A/C brackets and remove the condenser coil so my transmission super-cooler have a place to live.

Your build may not include any of these goals, however these brackets will still work.

Let's start with the CS130.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

As you can see, with a small metal bracket and a $25 2-1/2" stainless end joint turn buckle, you can space the stock lower tube and make yourself a simple and effective mounting solution.

If you lengthen the bracket just right, it ends up vertical after everything is tightened up.

I'll show more pics with the pulley alignment in the next post.

The bolt on top of the CS130 is metric.
You'll need to source one longer than what comes with most aftermarket alternators.

You will be deleting the large radius bracket your old alternator used which attaches to the intake manifold.

What you see here is the PowerMaster high output alternator. Made in USA.

This unit is specially designed with a three position switch on the back of the unit, that allows you to select the charge amperage between lead acid, AGM Glass Mat or Lithium.

Each battery has a specific charge rate by design. Over-Charging or using the wrong charge cycle rate will destroy both AGM and Lithium Batteries.

The more expensive they are the easier they become a brick.

Please do nat start arguing you have been charging AGM off the standard circuits nonsense in this thread.

In the next post I'll complete the CS130 picture for the lower primary bracket and start on the PS pump bracket.

 

[RanchWelder]

Here's the lower OEM Alternator bracket:

You must be registered for see images attach

This bracket works great.
There's no need to risk cheap parts from the internet just to hold your alternator up. The OEM hardware is better than what you get in the ghetto kits.

The PowerMaster does not require the exciter circuit to run. It has been designed to work as a 1-wire alternator, just like the old number 12 you are replacing.

Read the pdf documentation before buying pigtails to re-wire it.

The 2-wire connector from the stock harness, with a fusible link to the starter, can be deleted.

You'll have to learn how to re-rout the circuits safely with fuses and protection.
That is for another thread.

You will have to use an impact gun to blast the bolt off your new alternator and source the correct pulley for the pulley sizes you have.

Do the math and buy the correct pulley the first time. Don't lose the nut.
If you don't use an impact on the nut when you install, you WILL lose the nut.

You can send a signal to the dash light or use an LED off the L or "Lamp" wire. There's other threads on wiring the CS130, so I'll move on.

_______________________________

The Power Steering fix took a long time to resolve. It started with a large collection of GM and Ferd steering pumps, tanks, pulleys and plumbing fittings.

(Yes Ferd uses Saginaw steering pumps too).

Look closely at the tank and the lower return line.

The gold bracket you see is new.

The steel plate against the engine is a custom 1/4" steel plate fabricated in my shop.

The belt is the only solution before you have to buy a custom belt in 7/16".
It fits. It's just right. Any tighter the tank will rub the O'Reiley's water pump.

The fittings for the older SAE Saginaw system are universal swap for the Metric fittings your 1987 Truck steering box is fabricated with.

Not talking about aftermarket hose adapters. GM uses metric o-ring fittings that screw into the tank housing and compression fittings that are SAE on the threaded pulley alternators.

Don't get confused with aluminum adapters. They are not needed here.

Using adaptors can lead to leaks unless you buy the expensive Earl's or other quality fittings that are engineered to match GM threads exactly.

Earl's will work, yet you can avoid buying them by using junk yard P/S pumps and save a fortune rebuilding yourself.

Have not found a HQ aftermarket pump tank that works for this mod.

The return line in the pictures must be shaped downwards to work.

The O-Ring metric Saginaw hose design is superior to the old compression fitting system.

If your steering box has O-Ring hose fittings, you'll be able to swap and re-use them with this mod.

Other solutions do not offer ways to keep your existing hoses and fittings.

Many kits re made for the SAE older style pumps. You'll find they will not work at all or require significant modification to kinda work.


You'll be locating the pump with the return line like the picture (or similar style) and replacing the SAE fittings in the tank with the Saginaw Metric fittings and pressure valve.

You'll need to source the plugs for the tank that do not have a stud on them or grind the stud off to clear the back bracket and the pump tank housing.

Grinding any metal, while on the tank will immediately melt the seals underneath and ruin your o-rings.

The tank rebuild kit is $20.

The valve can be modified and drilled out for improved power. I'm not getting into that in this thread.

Yes, the metric threads for the o-ring hoses and the bolts on the back of the tank, DO indeed have SAE threads to screw into the Saginaw cast iron pump housing.

The angle of the four bolts on the front of this housing is the key to making the special gold bracket work with the custom 1/4" plate.

As you see, there are no shims required. Everything lines up square and the belts are aligned.

Rebuilding the pump, replacing the bushing, press in a new one, new seals, tank O-Rings, new washers at the tank fittings, a good cleaning of the internal vanes and recirculation system are in order.

With any luck, your old pump from a bone yard can be cleaned and rebuilt.

You'll be installing the central shaft and several parts from your old 87' pump, so don't throw anything away just yet.

The threaded style pulleys will not work with this design. The shaft is different, and they interchange just like the other threaded pump hardware. You'll be using the press on style pulley from your 87'.

You'll need a press or get very lucky with a deep socket to push the new bushing in without fragging it on the way in. Getting the old one out is exhilarating. Getting the socket un-stuck is not.

Use a magnet around the canes and internal parts to keep everything from flying. You'll find the factory gave you one, when you pull the tank apart.
It will be dirty with metal bits.

There are well written threads restricting the flow rates of the various valve configurations for Saginaw pumps out there.

Do your homework and read about pump mods if you have special requirements.

Take pictures as you disassemble and don't lose the springs, vanes, screens and check-ball.

The OTC pulley remover/installer works flawlessly. Use a screw style hose clamp instead of the steel ring the kit comes with. It falls off all the time.

Without three hands, you want the hose clamp mod. It works for most of these kits. (Barely fits in the storage box.)

You must be registered for see images attach

You can see the inner A/C V-belt is not being used. It would be great if an exact belt sized for only the crankshaft and P/S unit could work here, as an emergency backup for P/S steering off the crank.

If you lose the water pump v-belt you lose steering pump but the serpentine hybrid belt on the alternator keeps you running.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

The last photo shows you the pivot point where the bracket rotates and is adjusted.

You'll have to tap and modify the water pump casting hole to use a longer than stock bolt.
The aftermarket clockwise rotation pumps have a boss cast into the pump housing. This is the pivot.

You will not be using the inner plate mount on the inner side of the gold bracket. It is not required to have a stabilized P/S pump, with the head plate installed. There is no flex or bending. It will be solid.

As you can see, a shim in there is not required.

The belt is just right.

When you are installed, you'll have a complete comprehension of your steering pump, the various tanks they used over the years and a remanufactured steering system.

If you have something to trade for the secret recipe and parts, email through the forum email system and we'll work something out.

Please do not put your personal email address in this thread. You must be a forum member for a while to send emails, so sign up and get your membership waiting period over with.

As you can see, with zero leaks, new steering box, C3500 steering shaft, you can make it better than OEM and it will work well on a budget.

You must be registered for see images attach

If you have OEM hybrid 87' pulleys laying around, you can easily sell them with the fabricated parts and OEM hardware as a complete kit.

They are worth a lot of money, on any L31, when deleting the newer style serpentine A/C and aluminum frame for the reverse water pump and idler pulley system.

This will work modifying any engine into a hybrid 5.7L pulley system.

There must be hundreds of these pulleys abandoned by forum members, because aftermarket solutions require you to alter everything including the pulley style to retrofit.

It's not as pretty as March Aluminum.
No doubt.

It works using what Saginaw and The General gave us to work with.

Hours of research and alignment / mis-alignment scenarios, seen them all.

There is no kit on the market that competes with this solution for the money, if you already have the hybrid pulleys.

Anyone can install the CS130 with that small scrap of steel, drill press and a little weld.

If I missed a typo I'll fix it later.

Good luck!