FC3SHawaii

Can you put a manual steering rack in any of the FC model years?

scathcart

Yes.
You can also convert a P/S rack to manual.

wile_e_coyote

Aloha FC3SHawaii! Nice to have another RX7 in Hawaii.

LordMethoz

I have a Manual Steering Rack on my 87 TII, but it was done by the previous owner so I can't tell you much about it. Streering is nice and soft. Soft enough to autocross with, if you wanted to. It only gets a little hard when you are standing still.

skydivr73

couldnt you just leave the ps system alone and take off the belt? I am not trying to sound like a noob, but will that steering rack function properly like that? any drawbacks?

Kenteth

do a search on ps removal... many informative threads.

Boost Lee

iTrader: (3)

You could do that, but it would cause damage to the steering rack. The amount of torque against driver input on an assisted rack is much more than the torque against driver input on a non-assisted rack. What ends up happening is the point where the steering shaft meets the rack expands and cracks... (The system breaks at the weakest point). So to be extreme, you could be driving down the road and end up with no steering input at all because the steering column broke away from the steering rack.

Dan H

Yup, if you're going to do it right, swap it for a manual. Plus its a bit lighter too if that matters and has a cleaner look then a plugged up PS rack.

With the PS rack removed and drained, it has something like 2.7 from lock to lock or around there so it will be a bit harder to turn than a manual rack since it has 3.5 turns. Make sure its drained though and with some fluid left. A PS rack that is not drained at all is a PITA to turn.

I've had PS on my '88 SE and a manual rack on my '87 TII. There are pros and cons for both.

FC3SHawaii

...and it was very hard to steer.
I didn't have it all the way drained though.
I'll go look under those searches.

FC3SHawaii

I've been having a hard time locating a manual rack here in Hawaii
Anyone here got a low mileage one, or even a new one lying around?

rotarygod

iTrader: (1)

I have one just lying around but shipping to Hawaii would be insane.

kiyoshi

Check with Mazdatrix.

Icemark

most of the 87 Turbos didn't come with power steering

RylAssassin

I had a p/s rack and then the p/s pump was removed and all the lines were just capped and ****. It looks pretty terrible and the streering is an extreme pain in the ***. Ive acutally almost gotten into accident becuase of how hard it is to turn. Im going to be switching to a manual rack very soon.
Any idea how hard it is to replace the steering racks?

RylAssassin

OMG
Mazdatrix wants almost 500 bucks for a manual rack!!
Anyone know where i can get one cheap??

Silkworm

Look in your pick-n-pull type junkyards, out here in Cali I can find one pretty easily.

PaulC

Dan H

Look in the For Sale section. Most are around $100 and the last manual rack I saw for sale went for $60...

MikeL

Rebuilt manual racks can be had at your local auto parts stores for about $220. You must give them a core though or pay about another $75. I bet you could get them to take your old power rack as a core if you put it in a box that's open on only one end

cymfc3s

you can put a manual rack in a PS car. The only difference is the bracket on the passenger side. You must have the manual style bracket. So if you get a junk yard one, dont forget to take the brackets!

MikeL

My TRW rebuilt came with both brackets. I've heard of some
remans that don't. I suggest that you look for the TRW.