Disclaimer: This write-up is for information purposes only. This is a detailed description of the way I installed the Volvo electric power steering pump on my 88 Mustang GT. This is only one way to do this conversion, and I do not claim to be an expert on Fox mustang steering, suspension, or on the Volvo electric power steering pump. Use this information at your own risk.
What I used (parts list)
Cardone 22-2200 03/04 cobra power steering rack. Actual Terminator power steering racks are pretty hard to come by now so a rebuilt rack is pretty much the only option I was willing to go with. It’s fairly common knowledge that any SN95 rack is better than any Fox power steering rack.
03-08 Volvo S60 electric power steering pump. These can fairly easily be found at local pick and pull salvage yards or purchased online. If you go to a salvage yard to get one, they are located behind the right side headlight and can be removed within 15 minutes with basic hand tools. Don’t forget the wiring, there is two wire harnesses that plug into the pump. One is the power harness with two larger gauge wires, the other has 3 small gauge wires.
Maximum Motorsports hybrid steering shaft. This is not a requirement as the rack can be reclocked, but my time is worth more than what I could save by doing it so I got the hybrid shaft. It’s a nice piece, and I highly recommend it if you’re not a highly skilled welder.
Maximum Motorsports power steering rack fittings part number ST-73. These fittings, while on the pricey side, are the correct size and thread pitch needed for the SN95 steering rack. MM Power Steering Fitting Kit, Mustang steering rack to AN hose, 1979-2004
FYI, contrary to internet wisdom, neither the Fox nor the SN95 rack have metric ports for the pressure and return lines. 16mm and 14mm fittings can be screwed in and many people have used them with success. The rack design was from the late 70’s and although the internals were upgraded throughout the years, ford had no reason to change the rack itself.
Fuse holder with 40 AMP MAX fuse. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C46HD9L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Power steering fluid. This is what is in the Volvo owner’s manual, so it’s what I used. I’ve heard some have used regular power steering fluid with no issues. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JMAPSGK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Earl's AT991954ERL 14mm to -6 AN fitting. This is used on the pressure side coming off the pump.
Amazon.com: Earls AT991954ERL Ano-Tuff Adapter: Automotive After seeing more of these pumps, It looks like some come with 14mm, and others come with 16mm pressure ports. You'll have to measure and order the correct size fitting.
Earls 159106ERL 90 degree -6 AN hose end. These are made specifically for power steering hose. You need at least two of these (the two attaching to the rack) the other can be straight, or 45 degrees. I got a 90 because I didn’t want to deal with unknown interference issues behind the bumper. Amazon.com: Earl's Performance 159106ERL 90 Deg. Power Steering Hose End Hose Size: -6 JIC Thread Size: 9/16-18 in. Femlae Black Chromate Steel 90 Deg. Power Steering Hose End: Automotive
Earl’s power steering hose 150006ERL. This comes in Black, or blue. I purchased 7 feet and had at least 2 feet left over. Measure once cut twice. Amazon.com: Earl's Performance 150006ERL Power Steering Hose Hose Size -6 Black Max Pressure 5000 PSI Sold By The Foot In Continuous Length Up To 50 ft. Power Steering Hose: Automotive the lines are easily made with regular wrenches and a vice. Earl’s performance has a good video on making power steering hoses.
Now to get to the work.
First things, disconnect the battery. You’ll need to do a little wiring, so make sure your power is off.
Remove the front bumper cover. If you haven’t done it before, there are some videos on YT that can show you. LMR has a good one.
Next is the fabrication of the brackets: all brackets were fabricated with 3/16 thick, 1 inch wide steel stock. All measurements are inches.
The front bracket (picture #1) that mounts to the bumper was 3 pieces. The vertical piece that attaches to the lower left bumper mounting bolt was 3 ¼ long with the hole drilled ½ inch from the end. The horizontal piece that runs front to rear is 2 ¼ long. The piece that attaches to the front mounting hole on the pump is 3 7/8 long, with the mounting hole drilled ½ inch from the end.
The rear bracket (picture #2) was also constructed from 3 pieces. The long vertical piece is 8 7/8 long. The two pieces that attach to the pump are 4 9/16 long (side piece) and 3 3/16 long (back piece) with the back piece cut at a 20 degree angle. Mounting holes in these pieces are also drilled ½ inch from the end. Both brackets were painted flat black to inhibit corrosion.
Wiring is pretty straight forward. Constant power was routed from the solenoid with a 40 AMP MAX fuse holder to the 8 gauge red power wire on the pump harness. The black wire in the harness is constant ground and was attached to my horn mounting point for a good chassis ground. The last wire needed is the remote switching wire that turns the pump on. This wire is the one closest to the corner of the pump (see pic). The other wires are not needed or used. I used an accessory wire that I already had in the engine bay to turn my pump on. It should be noted, that you don’t want to use an ignition wire for this because you don’t want the pump operating while the engine is cranking. It is possible to use a standalone engine management system aux output to turn on the pump only when the engine is running (after stat sync).
The power steering hoses (picture #3) were constructed from the Earl’s performance hose and fittings. I didn’t measure them, but they’re about 2 feet each. The length will be specific to your install and you will need to check the length needed with rope, wire, or whatever you like to check power steering hose length with.
All other pictures were taken throughout the fabrication process, and many test fits were done to come to the measurements I used to complete the install.
I am by no means a welder as you can tell by the welds on my brackets, but I know they’re strong enough to get the job done. I used a small 120VAC welder from Harbor Freight for all fabrication.
Feel free to ask questions as I learned a lot during this conversion.
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What I used (parts list)
Cardone 22-2200 03/04 cobra power steering rack. Actual Terminator power steering racks are pretty hard to come by now so a rebuilt rack is pretty much the only option I was willing to go with. It’s fairly common knowledge that any SN95 rack is better than any Fox power steering rack.
03-08 Volvo S60 electric power steering pump. These can fairly easily be found at local pick and pull salvage yards or purchased online. If you go to a salvage yard to get one, they are located behind the right side headlight and can be removed within 15 minutes with basic hand tools. Don’t forget the wiring, there is two wire harnesses that plug into the pump. One is the power harness with two larger gauge wires, the other has 3 small gauge wires.
Maximum Motorsports hybrid steering shaft. This is not a requirement as the rack can be reclocked, but my time is worth more than what I could save by doing it so I got the hybrid shaft. It’s a nice piece, and I highly recommend it if you’re not a highly skilled welder.
Maximum Motorsports power steering rack fittings part number ST-73. These fittings, while on the pricey side, are the correct size and thread pitch needed for the SN95 steering rack. MM Power Steering Fitting Kit, Mustang steering rack to AN hose, 1979-2004
FYI, contrary to internet wisdom, neither the Fox nor the SN95 rack have metric ports for the pressure and return lines. 16mm and 14mm fittings can be screwed in and many people have used them with success. The rack design was from the late 70’s and although the internals were upgraded throughout the years, ford had no reason to change the rack itself.
Fuse holder with 40 AMP MAX fuse. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C46HD9L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Power steering fluid. This is what is in the Volvo owner’s manual, so it’s what I used. I’ve heard some have used regular power steering fluid with no issues. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JMAPSGK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Earl's AT991954ERL 14mm to -6 AN fitting. This is used on the pressure side coming off the pump.
Amazon.com: Earls AT991954ERL Ano-Tuff Adapter: Automotive After seeing more of these pumps, It looks like some come with 14mm, and others come with 16mm pressure ports. You'll have to measure and order the correct size fitting.
Earls 159106ERL 90 degree -6 AN hose end. These are made specifically for power steering hose. You need at least two of these (the two attaching to the rack) the other can be straight, or 45 degrees. I got a 90 because I didn’t want to deal with unknown interference issues behind the bumper. Amazon.com: Earl's Performance 159106ERL 90 Deg. Power Steering Hose End Hose Size: -6 JIC Thread Size: 9/16-18 in. Femlae Black Chromate Steel 90 Deg. Power Steering Hose End: Automotive
Earl’s power steering hose 150006ERL. This comes in Black, or blue. I purchased 7 feet and had at least 2 feet left over. Measure once cut twice. Amazon.com: Earl's Performance 150006ERL Power Steering Hose Hose Size -6 Black Max Pressure 5000 PSI Sold By The Foot In Continuous Length Up To 50 ft. Power Steering Hose: Automotive the lines are easily made with regular wrenches and a vice. Earl’s performance has a good video on making power steering hoses.
Now to get to the work.
First things, disconnect the battery. You’ll need to do a little wiring, so make sure your power is off.
Remove the front bumper cover. If you haven’t done it before, there are some videos on YT that can show you. LMR has a good one.
Next is the fabrication of the brackets: all brackets were fabricated with 3/16 thick, 1 inch wide steel stock. All measurements are inches.
The front bracket (picture #1) that mounts to the bumper was 3 pieces. The vertical piece that attaches to the lower left bumper mounting bolt was 3 ¼ long with the hole drilled ½ inch from the end. The horizontal piece that runs front to rear is 2 ¼ long. The piece that attaches to the front mounting hole on the pump is 3 7/8 long, with the mounting hole drilled ½ inch from the end.
The rear bracket (picture #2) was also constructed from 3 pieces. The long vertical piece is 8 7/8 long. The two pieces that attach to the pump are 4 9/16 long (side piece) and 3 3/16 long (back piece) with the back piece cut at a 20 degree angle. Mounting holes in these pieces are also drilled ½ inch from the end. Both brackets were painted flat black to inhibit corrosion.
Wiring is pretty straight forward. Constant power was routed from the solenoid with a 40 AMP MAX fuse holder to the 8 gauge red power wire on the pump harness. The black wire in the harness is constant ground and was attached to my horn mounting point for a good chassis ground. The last wire needed is the remote switching wire that turns the pump on. This wire is the one closest to the corner of the pump (see pic). The other wires are not needed or used. I used an accessory wire that I already had in the engine bay to turn my pump on. It should be noted, that you don’t want to use an ignition wire for this because you don’t want the pump operating while the engine is cranking. It is possible to use a standalone engine management system aux output to turn on the pump only when the engine is running (after stat sync).
The power steering hoses (picture #3) were constructed from the Earl’s performance hose and fittings. I didn’t measure them, but they’re about 2 feet each. The length will be specific to your install and you will need to check the length needed with rope, wire, or whatever you like to check power steering hose length with.
All other pictures were taken throughout the fabrication process, and many test fits were done to come to the measurements I used to complete the install.
I am by no means a welder as you can tell by the welds on my brackets, but I know they’re strong enough to get the job done. I used a small 120VAC welder from Harbor Freight for all fabrication.
Feel free to ask questions as I learned a lot during this conversion.
