Hey fellas, Installed power steering in my SL a whil back and have put up a guide as what i did.... Well here goes..... Well this is what i have done to put the power steering setup into my VL SL.. (1) Find a full setup 2nd hand (dont go to a wreckers cos they will charge you around $500-600) like me for around $170 (what i paid).. on eBay P.S picture does not show all parts such as power stering bottle but i got all that for $170 (2) Make sure you get a new air con belt so it runs to its best capability and make sure there is no leakin seals.. in the rack itself.. cos its a pain in the poo hole to fix etc (3) Get new tie rod ends which was about $30 i think... and they were brand new items and this is because second hand ones are usually screwed due to the rubbers wearing out.. (4) Then i fitted it all up which took about 6 hours or so.. (which is really not that long at all) and seeing that i didnt know what i was really doing i took this long to fit it.. [robably take some of you guys not long at all. (5) NOW... when you start undoing all the old rack and all the bolts... youll notice that youll haveo t take off teh steering wheel and get under the car and try to stick the steering column bit up into where teh orignal rack went behind the brake booster.... it was a paint in the ass and took a lot of time to do it... I eventually got it to fit and managed NOT taking off the brake booster. (6) So once i worked out how to fit it and all.. i got it wheel aligned to suit... which cost about $50..(probably get ti cheaper) P.S..... As you all know is that all SL's dont sually come with mounting battery bracket thingo... so go out to the wreckers and spray it and rust proof it etc.. and weld it on.. mine came up real flush in the end and it looks FACTORY! SO all up it only cost me around $300 with me obviously doing the labour... expect at least $600 with labour from a mechanic.. So $300 is cheap for a **** load of difference to a VL... VL's SL's handling characteristics are bad enough... so without the power steering its soo heavy to turn... especially in city areas.. SO worth every penny fellas Cheers, Brenton (BAD-45S) Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

some people have PM'd me saying "How did i get it soo cheap" and "i thought it was gonna cost alot more then that.." Well the answer is simple.. look around and youll pick one up for real cheap..! AND.. i have done about 50,000kms since i have done it about 2 years ago.. and i have never had a problem at all..!! Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

hey m8 got a vL sl wagon and im prety sure my power steering racks leaking around the seals in the rack where the steering rod conects. you wouldnt know how hard it is to replace those seals by and chance would ya? Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

wreckers do wanna charge alot for power steering kits, i ended up get mine for 100 bucks and that included it being fitted.... best money spent i say, 2nd to converting to 5 speed, which i got real cheap aswell Cheers Larry Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

yeah very true about the manual bit.. Lazza, Youll have to take it back off the column and buy a new seal.. prob wouldnt cost anymore then say five bucks ot fix.. Otherwise im not quite sure hw to exactly get it off!

Ya don,t need power steer on a VL unless ya girlfriend drives it,good tech article but.

hah yeh man.. my muscles have shrunk ever since ive put the p/steering setup in lol Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

haha, you definately don't need power steering, but if you like to turn with a drink in your hand and park at the same time.. it would definately help. I'm in. I've seen parts go for as little as 50 dollars and 70 dollars on these forums.. Keep an eye out for a wreck and grab them.

Thanks beejay, i've been thinking of doing this since i bought the car almost 4 years ago and now my current non-powered steering is dying in the ass so it might force me to upgrade. And ya don't need power steering unless you like milking the cows all day, which i don't. And my girlfriend does whinge a fair bit about it when she drives the car...

I just drilled 4 holes and used small nuts and bolts to attach plate which holds bottle, power steering is ok, you lose some of the turning circle and you don't feel the road as much, it's fairly loud and it always leaks, I heard nearly every power steering unit leaks because the oil is so thin, it's a common problem with the VL's and probably other models as well.

You lose some turning circle? Why?? I don't wanna lose anymore it'll take me 50m to turn around.

Does this only work for VL's? Or could i grab a similar power steering setup and use this article?

no revelry. id stick with something that is made for the car! Quote: it's fairly loud and it always leaks, I heard nearly every power steering unit leaks because the oil is so thin, it's a common problem with the VL's and probably other models as well. haha... mine doesnt leak or is loud.. and my oil is not thin at all.. i use auto transmission fluid and its quite thick.... AND its not a common problem unless its not maintained properly... mostly its just a seal anyway! EDIT: is that better?

nice typing

Quote: Originally Posted by revelry Does this only work for VL's? Or could i grab a similar power steering setup and use this article? Yeah, I was wondering that as well. More specifically, if I could use a VK power steering setup on a VL. Be nice, cause I think I'll be wrecking my VK which has power steering.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dexn Yeah, I was wondering that as well. More specifically, if I could use a VK power steering setup on a VL. Be nice, cause I think I'll be wrecking my VK which has power steering. The VK power steering rack will not fit into a VL. The bolt holes on the VK rack will not line up where u have to bolt it up on the VL engine frame. You might have some luck with the power steering pump but. I belive the one in the VK is the same as the one used in series 1 VL's. Not 100% sure on that but. If u have a choice on what power steering setup to get, get the series 2 one. It uses a multi-ribbed belt instead of the V belt.

Thanks Pastical, I honestly didn't think anyone would know if it'd work or not Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

I have been given a great price to do the whole front end in the VL. I have shopped around and Pedders were the best price for what I wanted done. Im not sure about the K frame myself, but I would have thought they were the same too. Im going to look in the VL sercive manuals to see if there is any mention on possible differences between the two

Quote: Originally Posted by Sixes350 I have been given a great price to do the whole front end in the VL. I have shopped around and Pedders were the best price for what I wanted done. Im not sure about the K frame myself, but I would have thought they were the same too. Im going to look in the VL sercive manuals to see if there is any mention on possible differences between the two who cares if their different. the p/s rack bolts up perfectly.

Hey mate, nice article. I just did mine about last week, and the one problem I came into was the rods at the end of the steering column. Where the steering rack connects onto that long piece of steel with your steering wheel on the end (if that makes sense). little arm piece Anyway, I found out the clips on the end of those little arms, are different from power steering to non power steering. The arm isn't as long, etc. The clips on the end are different. So anyone reading this, double check and make sure your steering column has the right arm length to reach your new power steering rack. Other than that top article, I did almost the exact same thing as you did on there (installing, heat shield, etc to mount power steering bottle). Definately a 2 man job. Wish I'd bloody read the article before I'd done it!, lol, it was trial and error mate.