Suzuki 4x4 Club™

[dean05]

hi all i was wondering i have an 89 suzuki vitara i was wanting to put on powersteering for those whom have done this is there any issues or can it be done without drama if anyone could enlighten me this would be great thanks ......Dean

[Google]

[Mike GT]

It is quite simple really, the hardest part is releasing the old steering pump from the steering joint. I had to chop mine off with an angle grinder.


If you can source the parts locally ( or we sell our vitara as a full car ) here is the parts you will need:

Power pump, reseviour & mounting bracket, pipes, new O ring/seals,  twin pulley ( but most vitaras have these fitted anyway ), drive belt, fluid, steering shaft ( comes in 2 parts ) you need the second section from the new power pump to the linkage, engine mounting bracket & bolts.

Look at my project thread titled...............the wifes show car in progress.....................as i put some photo's of my conversion on there!!

But it is a simple job, once you take out the radiator & cowling & disconnected the radiator pipes ( although i had to completely strip down the radiator assembly to take it out and gain access ).

1) Remove the radiator and rad assembly.

2) Attach the new pump and bracket to the right, bottom of the engine bay as you look into it, just above the sump............the holes are already there, but don't tighten fully.

3) Assuming you already have the twin pully, attach the drive belt, again dont tighten, and dont drop any fluids or oil onto it as it it will slip, and squeal when tightened up.

4) Attach the power steering reseviour bracket ( if you have one ) and mount the reseviour bottle.........NOTE we never got one so i made a simple bracket and attached it to the side of the radiator.

5) Now undo the steering linkgage that runs into the old pump ( which is mounted on the left side as you look in the engine bay and move it out the way. This linkage is in 2 pieces......1st piece is from the bulk head to a UJ (universal joint ) then from the UJ to the old existing pump.......it's on a splined shaft so you will have to give it a tug. You need to undo the UJ to pump section.

6) The trickey one. As you look into the engine bay you can see the steering rods, your existing pump is connected to this via a ball joint with a castle nut and a split pin. If you can, remove the split pin, grab yourself a mate and some mole grips, plus a socket big enough ( think it was either a 15 or 17mm ). One of you needs to undo the nut, whilst the other grips the ball joint shaft with the mole grips ( just above the grease sack ). If this fails like mine did ( but i was doing it on my own, lol  ) then take an angle grinder and grind the actual old pumps arm off, then remove the castle............be very carefull not to damage the nut, it can be done, but be paitent.....again the is a pic of our project thread showing this.

7) If you have succesfully done this without swearing, ripping gouges into your hands & losing the odd knuckle, blaming your mate for it doing wrong,  slagging of suzuki for not putting power steering on all models, or smoking 300 lambert & butlers, your doing great and it's easy from here on in. lol

8) Next up is the main big existing pump. This is mounted on the inner chassis wall with 4 bolts, undo these bolts and take out, it it quite heavy, so be careful!!

9) Job done. all is left to do is re-fit in a backwards order..........BUT make sure you tighten ALL the nuts and bolts back up properly.

10) Refit the radiator and fan assembly, but not the rad hoses just yet as they just get in the way.

11) Start with the main pump, steering shaft, then move to the other pump & bracket ( the one you mounted to the side of the engine, but dont tighten up the belt just yet...just the brackets main bolts to the engine wall). Now position or attach the power steering pipes. These run from the top of the new main pump, down the left side of the radiator and under it, across to the right hand side of the and should be in the right area to mount to the pump on the engine wall, remember to use new seals, or rubber O rings!! ( the pipes do clip to the bottom of the radiator, but if the clips are damaged then just use some cable/tie wraps to secure).

12) With everything nice and tightened up ( except the drive belt ). Top up the fluid reseviour bottle, and drop the wheels onto the ground, now tighten the drive belt up ( not too tight though) if it's too slack it won't turn the pump over or it will squeal....I used a strong screwdriver as a lever and a socket with a little tension.

13) Re-fill the radiator with freash anti-freeze, and leave the rad cap OFF. You can bleed ( release the air both at the same time here from the radiator and the power steering bottle ).
Now fire up the engine and leave it running ( it needs to get to optimum tempreture ) ie, when your radiator fans would normally kick in and open the thermostat, to circulate the water/anti-freeze.

14) With the engine running and heading towards the right tempreture, monitor the fluid levels of the both the radiator and power fluid bottle........leaving the caps off these forces the air out the system and reduces the risk of air locks. Top up as needed. NOTE: You can help the power steering fluid circulate faster by turing the front wheels slowly left and right NOTE to full lock, hold for a second either way, then switch back ( second person needed here also to watch the fluid level ), when the air is being pushed out the fluid levels will drop, just refill ( to the mark ) and keep turning those wheels untill the fluid level stabalises.

15) When the fluid levels in both the radiator and the power steering have settled, grab a cup of tea, pat yourself on the back for a job well done, all is left to do is double check all the nuts, bolts, washers, seals etc for lose play or leaks. And road test it ( travel somewhere where you can use the new power steering to its fullest potential ).
re-check your fluids, top up if needed after your road trip AND after the engine has cooled down. Job done and congats to you!!!

This write up may sound a long process but if you are handy with a socket set,, it's roughly a 2 hour job ( if all goes to plan, and you don't get dragged out by the missus to the supermarket for a loaf of bread that then takes 3 hours because she wants to go " window " shopping somewhere else now that she has got you away from the car. lol...

Hope this helps you, but don't be put off. It really is a simple job. Just make sure you ask for the ENTIRE POWER STEERING KIT from the breakers/suppliers!!! bolts & pipes & brackets included.


Couple of pics for you.
Mike