Is removing the power steering system and replacing with a manual rack ill advised for a street car? What I really want is not power or weight reduction, but I want to remove another trouble spot. So is this a bad idea?

 

It all comes down to personnel preference. I wanted a clean engine bay, less weights and a better road feel. So I did the swap. It is not that hard to turn from a stop and once you are moving all is good . You should try to find someone who has done the conversion and drive it. Or you could go looking for a new car to "buy" and find one with manual steering and test drive it and say "well I have to sleep on it I will call you, thanks for the test drive."

 

I Just took the pump off, and used washer to block of the banjo bolts, and found a bolth the correct size for the return line, It is some much easier without the pump

 

go for it dude! i have never driven one with a manual rack but i removed my ps and looped the lines on my daily driver. i also was apprehensive about how it would drive but i love the way it feels now. you will be a very happy **** when u see how much room the ps\ac removal frees up, too

Pat

 

I like to promote this modification.
It should save you about 60lbs, clean up your engine bay a bit, gain a couple HP, and make your engine rev easier.
Also, it is easier to steer with a manual rack than it is with a power steering rack that has the pump removed to give you an idea of the effort required - nothing too much.

 

I just took off my pump and cut all the lines out. Took the banjo bolts and put metal plates inside of them w/ a little jb weld and screwed them back onto the rack.

 

my car came with manual steering and i absolutely love it! its a little tough at very slow speeds like when parking, but it'll just make you buffer and you won't even really notice it after a while.

-Aaron

 

DEFINETELY DO THIS MODIFICATION/REMOVAL.
I LOVE TO DRIVE MY CAR W/O IT ON REALLY WINDY ROADS. JUST WHENEVER YOU BUY THE MANUAL RACK, BUY THE MANUAL BRACKET THAT REPLACES ALL THE P/S BRACKET. REALLY CLEANS UP THE ENGINE BAY.

 

I did it as well and love the better road feedback. Complete bolt in setup and very easy to do.

The manual rack has a different steering ratio. I have 225/50/16's up front and only at slow 1-2 mph parallel parking do I notice more effort needed. Once you get rolling it is awesome feel for performance driving.

Looping the stock P/S rack and keeping it requires more rotations to go to full lock to either side. The manual rack requires less turns for full lock and is the proper way IMO to do the p/s delete with better feedback.

-GNX7

 

I just removed the belt in anticipation of doing the full manual swap, and it was not too hard to drive. I bet that with the actual manual rack installed, it would be even easier to turn in. Go for it!

 

The ps rack has less rotations. The manual has 1 more turn inbetween locks. They couldnt leave it geared so you had to be a 180lb guy to turn the wheel (girls do drive manual rx7s too). IMO just removing the lines and blocking it all really cleans it up and works just as well.

 

so is 65 for the manual rack and pinion a good price?

If I ever want to sell the car, will putting PS back on be a B!@#tCH?

 

65$ is a fair price for a used rack in decent condition. Putting ps in (if you keep the system) is as easy as removing it.

 

I looped mine using -AN lines. I then used 2 12mmx1.25 oil pan bolts to thread into the housing where the banjos used to go. I believe I used a 3/8" flare thread pipe plug for the cooling loop hole. As for the smaller holes that run to the actual rack, I cut the tube off and tapped it for a small set-screw hex key. They are 12mmx 1.00 but I had a really hard time finding that. As for hooking up the AN line, I reused the 12mmx 1.25 fittings that I had previously used to loop the two banjo fittings (DON'T do that...it'll pop of the rear oil seal), but it's soft aluminum so I ran the fitting down the 12x1.00 hole to rethread it. Backed it out, checked the treads and put it back in. No leaks and it looks top notch, not half assed like most loops.

 

oh yea, my PS makes this WIERD noise... It has fluid and I just rebuilt the pump... its a stuttery scratchy noise, power is fine though! This is the real reason I want to go manual...

 

From Grassroots in '88: "power steering ratio is 25% quicker than the non-power ratio of 20.3:1"

I'm a weak engineer (in 3 months!) and have to sit way back from the wheel yet I wish the manual rack was quicker. I hate the feel of PS.

 

So use the ps setup w/o the pump. Just like a manual rack but quicker

 

man I swear, once you get rid of p/s,a/c,air pump, stock belt fan and shroud, all the a/c lines, condenser; make it light upfront and it will be even easier to steer, I have to say the p/s rack with it looped or blocked off is prolly like 25% harder than the stock p/s, and man does it make for some nice difts!!!!

 

I have a stock manual rack in my RX7 and think it is awesome. Road feel = firm and responsive.

I got lucky with my car. It does not even have a sunroof, totally base S4. It did have AC but I took it off, under-dash components and all. In other words it is one of the lightest second gens available. Now to get my hands on a 'vert aluminum hood . . .

 

My car didn't come with p/s...but I love it

 

I actually prefer a disabled power steering rack over a manual rack because there is less turning but its really just me being nit picky. It is also very effortless...almost the same as a manual rack. I say swap em or just cap off your power steering rack and go with the flow. -Gabe

 

Can you swap a power rack and pinion into a manual rack to get the ratio yet remain stock manual and not just halfassed.

 

Yes you can swap just the ps rack & pinion.

 

geet zome maassels, yoo guuuuhrly man!!

lol, j/k. I took the belt off of my PS (didnt take the unit out... too ****** cold out) and its not THAT bad. It's worse if you're a smoker and have to wiggle your way out of a tight parking space with one arm! HA! try that!

 

i like the road feel of a manual, but my power system has such a tight ratio, I'd just hate giving it up!