Orientation of power steering cooler

[DeeCee]

Am wondering if there is an issue if the power steering cooler is mounted vertically

Ideally I would like to mount as such on the Celica (ignore welding cable, was checking hose flex and measuring hose lengths)


The factory gearbox cooler is orientated in a vertical position and I've seen engine oil coolers mounted vertically as well, but both use mechancial pumps.

Can someone confirm whether it will be okay to mount the power steering vertically? My main concern is the outlet of the cooler would sit higher than the reservoir, potentialy holding an air pocket at the top.

I could bleed the system of air when the car is running and then mount into vertical position if the fluid is held under pressure. Would this work?

Looking at mounting tomorrow if poss so any help would be appreciated.

Cheers
Dave

[gt4dude]

should be allright IMO, I was gonna use the old gearbox cooler for the PS cooler, only reason for it is to get rid of that loop-de-loop shit infront of my radiator

[Mr Ree]

Your power steering system has a pump too, so it will be fine.

Just dont mount them with the inlet/outlets facing down as its a great way to get an airlock.

[RedMist]

Speculation. PS fluids are specifically designed not to airate, however I suspect they still airate to some extent. In this instance any airation that is able to bleed out of the fluid will collect in the top of your cooler. At the very least I'd place a bleed point higher than your cooler.

Have you thought about a simple inline cooler? I don't run a cooler on the Jimco (although very long lines in airflow) and it would be under considerably more stress than your Celica PS.

[DeeCee]

i do have the old line cooler which could be used, but I'd rather push along this setup and see how it goes.

I was thinking about it last night and there is a gap between the radiator and frame which i can orientate the 45 fitting through. Then if I mounted the reservoir with the outlet in line with the fitting or have the ps fluid level above the outlet, then it should reduce the potential of an air lock in the system.

[gt4dude]

That is a very big cooler just for ps why don't you use that on your gearbox

[jbod]

If u go to enzed or i think fluid power is the fancy place where they do all the automotive bits, they will make a bent tube cooler like the factory one (obviously in a more desirable shape off to the side or something) and weld on some nuts to the existing hard lines and the new cooler lines. Quite handy if you want more space in your front bumper and a big cooler isnt necessary

[rollaholic]

i think it'll give you problems. is there any reason not to tip it over 90 degrees so the res stays as the highest point?

[allencr]

Cooler on the rack return line no problem, input line = big puddle.
Do a lot of steering do you? Why not space it out between point A & B instead of doing it all at one time.

[DeeCee]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Good to know there is always feedback

1. Cooler is a 9 fin aluminium unit and not a larger unit
2. Yes I could use a bent tube cooler, but as I said earlier, I can use the factory one but want to try this out. Main reason is to keep radiators in a cooling pack as I will be building air shrouds later
3. As long as reservoir is mounted above PS radiator outlet, then there should be no issue with airlock issues as well as ensuring that the system is bled correctly.
4. Allen - you picked up on my initial mis-interpretation which was corrected as of last Monday by a friend. Not sure what you meant by 'space out between point A & B instead of doing it all at one time'. Could you please elaborate.

Here is a diagram.
My next question is whether a restrictor is required between reservoir and PS pump. There seems to be a factory restrictor inline between reservoir and pump.

[allencr]

Most factory PS coolers, or the cars that lack them, enable their owners to go from A to B without problems. Do you do a lot more steering between A & B then others do?

[cat007]

Most factory PS coolers, or the cars that lack them, enable their owners to go from A to B without problems. Do you do a lot more steering between A & B then others do?

It's not hard to boil your PS fluid when on the track. I've done it. Makes a mess and kills your PS.

[Mr Ree]

I cant boil mine at the track after a 15 minute session, but I always get little bits around the top of the lid from slosh.

I was going to run mine through the radiator as I have a core from an automatic installed, and I havent utilised the ATF cooler lines.

[cat007]

I cant boil mine at the track after a 15 minute session, but I always get little bits around the top of the lid from slosh.

I was going to run mine through the radiator as I have a core from an automatic installed, and I havent utilised the ATF cooler lines.

Yeah I didn't have a cooler at all - only the crap little loop of pipe that runs in front of the radiator - and I had extremely high engine bay temps due to an exhaust leak which didn't help.

Plus I have a tendency stay above 6,000rpm on the track or I end up off boost haha.