After the Control Valve leaking f/ a month or so, and having to fill the power steering pump periodically, I finally ordered the rebuild kit from Mid America Motorworks (I received one of their catalogs in the mail, out of the blue, which was the best thing the mailman dropped on me in ages.) as the rebuilt valve is $149.00 plus the core, new one $219.00, and the rebuild kit is $21.99. I finally put the front of the car up on jack stands, pulled the driver side wheel and removed the control valve. I disassembled the valve, trying to retain the positions of all these parts falling out as I removed the bolts that held the two halves of the valve together. With all the goop and black fluid coming out all over the place, it turned into a quick pile of nasty parts. I cleaned each part and blew them off w/ compressed air. I slowly assembled the valve and quickly realized what a poor set of instructions come w/ the rebuild kit. It turned out to be the exact same instructions that are in my GM Corvette manual f/ the "81 model. I finished getting the valve together and have two parts, a large washer and a lipped seal that the instructions don't even mention. I figured out that the washer most likely fits above the spring retainer, what the instructions call the thrust washer, and seats flush in the housing. The seal is a mystery. It'll be Wednesday before I have time to install the valve in the car. Before then, I'm going to go through the valve again and figure out for sure where these pieces go. I have the instructions and valve itself memorized now and w/ some sleeping on it, I'll figure it out. I now think that I should have taken pictures w/ the digital and had a reference as to all the pieces.
Experience: Getting the test prior to getting and going over the study material. And after the task is done and over, you know your stuff. LOL. And will probably NEVER have to do this ever again. Only info to pass on so someone else does it right.
I'm posting this thread so that anyone who rebuilds one of these valves gets it right the first time and saves some money w/ the kit rather than a rebuilt or new valve. Why not?
If you're not mechanically inclined, go f/ the rebuilt or new valve, as installing and balancing isn't any big deal. It'll still save you the cost of a shop sticking it to you w/ a monster labor bill.

 

Sounds like you are now the voice of experience. Next time your passing through south Alabama feel free to stop and show me how to do this rebuild. I think that is why I had to buy that drip tray for my garage floor,
Man I hate leaks!

 

My valve started leaking at the Ball Stud Seal. I considered replacing only that seal when I removed the valve, but seeing the black goop around the ball stud after removing the seal, I figured I better go through it.
I had my 'Vette f/ a long time w/o having to do any major work on it, only regular maint. and regular wear and tear items, like brakes, etc., and got spoiled. Lately, I've gotten into afew deeper items, some due to wanting alittle more power, some due to the age of the car catching up w/ itself. The original owner of the car (my father-in-law, who didn't give in a bit on the price he wanted f/ the car. He can make Lincoln yell from squeezing a penny so tightly. lol) put a great majority of the miles on it in it's first three years, on the highway between Phoenix, Arizona and Killeen, Texas. Afterward, the car, garaged all the time, never went any further than from his house onto post at Ft, Hood and back, and f/ a slow ride on a Saturday night one or two times per month. I knew that sooner or later I'd have to start rebuilding things as time itself takes a toll on everything and everyone. To me, it just means that the car is getting older and better. The '81 was never my favorite year, not by a long shot. As I've said on here before, I bought this car w/i about a ten minute period all of a sudden when I was starting to look f/ a Toyota 4Runner f/ my wife. My favorite years were the mid to late '60s, and the very early '70s, the C2 and early C3s. The performance engines from the factory were what sealed the deal on the 'Vette f/ me. In the last two years or so, I've seen alot fewer C3s around which means they're getting more scarce. I like that. I will say that my '81 has grown on me. I especially like that the automatic came w/ the single leaf rear spring, and w/ a set of touring tires, it rides pretty smooth. (I had a set of Firestone Indy tires that I got rid of after about 7 months as they rode so hard that I developed two annoying dash board rattles.) I feel like I got the best of the C3s in afew ways, w/ the exception of a performance engine ofcourse. You guys w/ the factory performance engines, the early C3s, have the valuable ones, IMO.
So much f/ all the BS, I didn't mean to get carried away.
I'll post the remainder of the valve replacement in the next week or so. I have this coming week off and I'm going to finish the work on the 'Vette.


***My very best to the military vets who keep us free here at home, the ones who served in the past, and the ones who paid the ultimate price f/ our freedom. They should all be recognized this weekend and sincerely thanked f/ their service.

 

Would be interested in knowing what parts came w/ the rebuild kit as I looked at the parts book and just got all of the seals I could find for it.