power steering cooler

[mudsurfv6]

is it worth putting a cooler on my power steering?

vzn185 surf, supercharged 3.4 v6. SAS, 80 series steering box, cross over steering, 35" tyres.

got to make new hoses anyway.

will put vents in bonnet. trans already has a cooler. thought since we are building a front bar nows the time to add a cooler if its worth it. trying to reduce heat.

on the return hose? or the main?

[kbushnz]

Cooler is normally on the return... No pressure just flow.
I would use a tube like one and not a bar and fin style.
We have one on our winch truck and keep blowing power steering pumps... We believe its the cooler so are moving to the tube type.
So it flows.....

[mudsurfv6]

so

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or

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not

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[mudlva]

Cooler is normally on the return... No pressure just flow.
I would use a tube like one and not a bar and fin style.
We have one on our winch truck and keep blowing power steering pumps... We believe its the cooler so are moving to the tube type.
So it flows.....

How and why?

[mudlva]

Continueing on...
Fluid is returning from the box to the pump or resovoir

Only thing i can see is it may allow the pil to foam as it passes into the cooler

[tweake]

tube style cool less and can be inefficient. but power steering doesn't make a lot of heat so that won't be an issue. try to get one with the in and out apart from each other.
bar and fin style can get airlocked. tube ones its not an issue.

[Big]

I run a fin style along side the tube in my winch truck and the thing that I have noticed.. is that if ya fan is not working to cool it then you will boil the oil and then stuff the power steering pump, Since I have swapped mine for a good one and lowered my temp ceiling on engine the fan kicks in earlier , thus cooling the power steering earlier which has worked great.. I don't think it matters which type you use as long as it gets air to cool frequently But im now going to change a few things so will try to keep it the same if I can

[kbushnz]

Cooler is normally on the return... No pressure just flow.
I would use a tube like one and not a bar and fin style.
We have one on our winch truck and keep blowing power steering pumps... We believe its the cooler so are moving to the tube type.
So it flows.....

How and why?

We have trashed 3 pumps now.... one was tricked out by a pump guru and we still trashed it.....
Its a 3.8 holden in a 70 series Toyota.
First one just went..... No cooler.
Thought it was getting too hot so put in a cooler.
Then it went again. Lasted a bit longer but not much.
Then got told about a guru who tricks up power steering pumps for race cars etc etc. He said the pump and steering box should work just fine.
Then we did 1 and a half comps and it blew again...
So now we are thinking the cooler is restricting the return .....
So its going and we are putting in a simple tube style one....

[kbushnz]

Funny thing is I run a Playdoh and it uses the same steering box.... It has a simple tube which doubles back on itself along the front cross member.
Never had any issues.... Even doing a 24 hr challenge, running 35's and negotiating trees all the time...
So can only surmise its the cooler.
The cooler is in the return line, lower than the reservoir.

[diogenese]

I wouldn't bother with an actual cooler, just run a loop of steel pipe like the second pic. I run a loop around the outside of my rad on my fj40 which is running legacy rack and pinion and 35's. The return oil is hot but I haven't boiled it or had a pump fail. There is about 1.5 meters of 10mm bundy tube on the return.

[mudsurfv6]

just run a loop of steel pipe like the second pic. I run a loop around the outside of my rad

There is about 1.5 meters of 10mm bundy tube on the return.

thinking that would be the cheapest option too.