Road Race car - to run a power steering filter?
 

Hey guys, buying a few items from Lee

power steering box (saginaw 800)
ported Type II pump
Reservoir

and I have a cooler already on the car.

Should I run a filter?

YES
Why not?

What he said! ^^^

Yes, especially if it has a rack and pinion. One little metal shaving can stick the pressure valve in the pump and you lose all boost.

Its better to be safe than sorry.And its not very hard to do so. just do it on the low pressure side.

i'd have to say yes too, I have one on mine and it's not rack and pinion.

How many PS systems have you seen that are equipped with filters? None that I can think of. I would argue that a fluid cooler is far more important than a filter. Excess heat is a bigger problem than fluid contamination.

If you don't already practice this......make sure you clean out your new PS hoses. Ever peek inside a brand new one? There's quite a bit of foreign material in there. KRC pushes this on their website, and whenever they sell you a pump (to prolong pump life).

Before assembling the complete new PS system for my road race car, I ran some PS fluid thru the new hoses in the sink, then scrubbed it out with a soft-bristle "hose" brush.

I even ran fluid through the new tank and reservoir in the sink to make sure any casting material or dust is removed. When everything is internally cleaned and installed properly, you'll find that there's little need for a filter.

The only issue with a filter is that it introduces a restriction in the system. Depending on the micron rating/efficiency of the filter, you can risk pump cavitation (especially when you're working the pump hard @ high rpms).

Bottom line - it's more important to make sure everything is clean, and that the whole system is properly sealed. THEN you can install a filter if you want. Just make sure it isn't very restrictive, so you don't risk starving the pump when driving hard.

Sorry to act stupid, but what does a power steering filter look like?

There is no such thing as a "power steering" filter. You would need to plumb in a generic hydraulic filter of some sort either inline or spin-on. Again, I think a filter in the power steering system would be a total waste of time. A PS fluid cooler is far more important.