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Wanted to share this and ask how common or uncommon this power steering cooler is which I picked up for my 66 Toronado. I got it off e-bay (where else) several years ago and you can see by the pictures its was from/on a 66; seems like a strange option if it was a factory option, to cool your PS fluid, or was it some aftermarket piece?
I've never heard of a power steering fluid cooler on any car, at least not as factory equipment (not that this should mean anything). The 1966 Dealer Specs book does not show such an option for the '66 Toro. So unless it was standard on the car, it is likely aftermarket.
Decided to check parts books. Cooler listed as part of A/C package for '66 and '67, Toros only. Cooler not listed for later years, but pipes, hose, clamps, etc. listed as associated parts for cooler up through '72 (last year of parts book)
Decided to check parts books. Cooler listed as part of A/C package for '66 and '67, Toros only. Cooler not listed for later years, but pipes, hose, clamps, etc. listed as associated parts for cooler up through '72 (last year of parts book)
Good researching but still strange to me why a PS cooler as part of A/C package, maybe some engineer at Olds had a brain storm back then and they all decided it was a good idea!
[QUOTE='66toro;1304721...strange to me why a PS cooler as part of A/C package...[/QUOTE]
Power steering coolers are used on vehicles that have a lot of load on the power steering system. Otherwise the fluid can overheat, puke, and destroy the pump.
The Toronado had a huge amount of weight on the front wheels (compared to the other cars of the day), which put extra load on the power steering system.
AC would add even more weight over the front wheels, and it is possible the designers felt that extra weight crossed the danger line for possible fluid overheating. So they added a cooler.
Vintage Fords had the coolers. My modern Challenger has a cooler.
Good researching but still strange to me why a PS cooler as part of A/C package, maybe some engineer at Olds had a brain storm back then and they all decided it was a good idea!
Simple. The added weight of the A/C hardware, on top of the front bias inherent to the Toro, caused the PS fluid to heat up even faster when turning at slow speeds (like in a parking lot. Compound that with the fact that underhood real estate was more densely packed on the Toro, which increased heat, and the A/C system just made that worse.
December 29th, 2020, 03:19 PM
