I was wondering if there would be any harm in driving my car around wihtout the power steering belt on for a while to see if I really want to take out my power steering.

 

That won't give you an accurate idea of what it'll feel like, it'll be at leat twice as stiff becuase you'll be forcing the fluid through the pump.

 

power steering is your friend (:

Its something you should experience for yourself but I've had both and for the kind of spirited driving I do, I'd much rather have it then not.

 

I've always wondered... why is your door open? ^

 

haha that picture's awesome

i wish it was more clear though

 

Well that's one person's oppinion. I prefer manual, but I've got a different type of manual rack though. I've got a converted power rack as shown here: http://forum.teamfc3s.org/showthread.php?t=54847 and it's quite nice. If you just buy the stock manual rack then you get a slower ratio (20:1) which will make the car seem less responsive. I don't mind the extra steering effort because it's got such nice feel and feedback.

So far I've had the S5 NA 17.4:1 power rack, that same rack de-powered and a 15.2:1 de-powered rack. On the S5 NA's they used the engine speed sensing power steering and at the autocross I'd get ahead of it and it'd suddenly get really stiff, which screwed up my line and hurt my times. That's when I decided to get rid of it and I've never looked back. It may be different with the speed sensing power steering, but I don't know.

Power steering is nice for everyday driving, but when the driving gets spirited I like to be able to feel what the front wheels are doing. I've daily driven, autocrossed, done track days and done 8+ hour trips with the converted racks and I don't find it tiring.

In the end it's a personal thing, you can go fast with either, but some prefer power, others manual. But the power steering pump and bracket is seriously heavy and it sure frees up a lot of room in the engine bay by getting rid of it.

 

If i took out the power steering fluid would that solve the problem of it being so hard to turn and make it feel as though the power steering untit was not in the car because right now with out the belts ill have to admit is a bit dificult to turn

 

It would help but there are still seals in there that are causing extra drag.
The only way to accurately feel a manual rack is to drive a real non-power unit or a power rack that has been totally converted.

 

manual is the ONLY way to go IMO, except when you are parking.

 

I have tracked a Power Rack as a Manual with the lines looped. It was way to stiff. I have a friend that also tracks his Power Rack that is looped and he has no problems. Mine is S4 his is a S5.

I am now running a manual rack from an S4 Turbo and it feels much better at lower speeds. Going to the track Wed and see how it does.

Things I miss. The ease of steering at low speeds. Quickness of the steering.

Things I don't miss. The darned pump getting in the way when working on the car. The added weight. The power loss from turning the pump.

To answer the question. No it will not cause any harm.

 

Hey i have a 87GXL and today when i drove it. it feels like i have no power steering and when i looked under the car i saw the steering gear boot riped. and saw some fluids leaking. so can anyone tell me wut's wrong wit it and how can i fix it? or should i leave it?

 

you need a new boot. the seals could have possibly been compromised but add some fluid and see how rapidly it leaks out

 

The boots are purely there to keep the rack clean, if there's fluid leaking then one of the seals is leaking and it needs to be replaced.

One reason why the S5 (well the NA's anyway) will feel slightly easier to steer with a manual converted rack is because they've got a slightly slower ratio. Looping the lines is a sub-optimal way of de-powering the rack, as there's still the piston there to cause drag (especially if there's still fluid in it) and the pinion shaft still has that extra flex. I bet if you felt a properly converted rack you might change your mind. It'll have quicker responses than a stock manual rack, but it will still have somewhat higher effort than the manual, but less than a looped line rack.

I also miss the ease of turning at low speeds, but I've adjusted my driving and have gotten used to it and I truly don't really notice it much at all any more.

 

I'll attest to that, not to mention my right hand isn't used to doing anything but the shifter.

I had my AC belt break a few nights ago and on it's way around it took off the power steering belt and wedged itself behind the main drive pulley. After the loud bang and the tons of smoke that started billowing out from under the hood (burning belt), I thought I'd blown my motor. I was relieved when I popped the hood, but I still had fun pranking Dreyko with an ensuing phone call

At any rate, Advance was closed and I still had 5 hours of delivering to do. It was so hard to turn the wheel I had to start drifting U-turns and sharp 90(+)s because it was just too hard to get the wheel all the way over to lock, even strong-arming it one hand over and the other under.

 

hey how hard is it to replace the seal? and where can i find the parts? is it better to replace the whole steering rack? and yea everything leaked out from the riped boot. and can i drive the car like that cause i dont really have the cash to get new parts.

 

If you look at the link I posted earlier, or if you look in the FSM it'll lead you through taking the rack apart, then just replace the seals and re-assemble. Get parts from the dealer or from Mazdatrix.