Power steering control valve issue

I have had two control valves replaced on my 60 Chevy. I don't know exactly how it works, but I do know when it's not working right.
The wagon wants to wander, and the alignment can change if you hit bumps a certain way. Also, if you jack up one side and work the wheel as though turning left or right, there is play. This valve has a ball pin in the middle and the power steering lines go in/out of the valve, to the damper.
This is not my area of expertise. A little help.....

 

You're not going to get around eliminating the play. Once you deal with that, everything should be fine

 

I don't remember what the Chevy system looked like, but if it was like the Ford system of the same period, it's adjustable. The Ford has 2 cupped bronze bushings that the ball rides in. On the end was a pin that could be removed and there was a threaded piece that could be turned to take up the slack. I think I still have a bushing kit left from my 59 Ford to rebuild the Ford one.

 

Here is a shot of the system. The control valve is on the right, near the pump. When you jack up the passenger side tire and move the wheel, the pivot arm moves upward and the drag link sort of twist. A new control valve remedies the problem for a few thousand miles...The inner/outter tie rods are new and the pivot arm.

 

Nope, different setup than Ford.

 

I crawled under there today and see that the bushing on the end of the damper is busted. I can't say why...maybe it was old. With new inner/outer tie rods, pivot arm and control valve, I have several hundred invested in the current set-up. I did some surfing for a rack and pinion conversion and that'll cost two grand. I really hate throwing good money after bad...
I'd like to fix the system that's there, but safety has no price...

 

If you could find a buyer for the parts you've invested in, you could at least recuperate some of the loss and then invest it in a rack

Do you mean the bushing within this?



Or this?

 

It could also be that wear in your steering box itself could be contributing to the problem. There is an adjustment for that too to compensate for wear. Also, it is possible that the sector shaft bushing is worn too. I had a 67 Chevy tow truck when I first went into business. You could be going down the road and hit a bump and the front wheels would begin to shake violently. You could barely hang on to the steering wheel. You had to slow down for it to stop. It drove us crazy until we discovered a small amount of slop in that bushing. A new bushing and seal kit solved that problem.

 

On the first picture the damper is the shock looking component. Here is a picture of the end where the bushing busted. BTW the valve above is for a manual steering wagon.

 

I ordered new bushing from Ecklers. They should be here Tuesday

 

Success! The steering is restored. Still some bump steer, but I don't think that can be eliminated. Gonna put the Rack and Pinion project on the back burner and move the LS 6 swap to the front burner.

 

BTW, the bushing, washers and sleeve that "Doghead" posted earlier was the fix. It appears that the previous owner used incorrect bushings as a temporary fix.

 

Hey Paladin, not to hijack your thread, but is there something about the TV show "Have Gun, Will Travel" that has 'Paladin' in everyone's conscience these days?