Removing power steering in a 1st gen

[Initial DSM]

I just removed the power steering in my 1st gen (92 laser awd 5 speed) i cut the hard line and looped it ..After doin so i went for a drive and the car was very hard to steer..I then dis-connected one of the lines and turned the wheel right to left some fluid came out ..i then looped the lines again and went for a drive now it so much better ...my question is do you have to dis-connect the looped lines and turn the wheel right to left to get most of the fluid out ..cause i know some fluid needs to be in there to lude the gears or it will dry up ..not really sure how much fluid to take out the rack..seems like more p/s fluid i take out the easier it's to steer but at the same time i don't want to run it dry ..

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

What I did was diconnect the entire assembly all the way to the rack, Which means break loose the pos connector and such...Then take a piece of high pressure hydraulic hose, put it on 1 end, use 2-3 hose clamps....then fill it up with fluid on 1 side....

When you fill up the 1 side it'll want to come out the lower fitting...keep it plugged with your finger...Then loop it on the fitting without spilling the fuild as much as possible...use 2-3 clamps on that then go for a spin....

I did this in my old 91 awd and turning while stopped was a little bit of pain...but it wasn't unbearable...

Jim

 

[hubz91talontsi]

I don't understand why anyone would take it out..not even worth it

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

Well it does clean up the engine bay quite a bit....plus you can then cut the upper j-mount for easier access for lets say the exhaust manny nuts...

Heres 3 pics to compare.....
You can see have 1 or 2 studs is behind the p/s area...

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With p/s
Engine bay - Updated pic of engine bay. Notice the half ass valve cover "polishing". DSMtuners Gallery

Without p/s
Clean1Gmotor - DSMtuners Gallery

 

[Ludachris]

In a road racing or autox application, power steering is very useful. Is this just for street use?

 

[HIGHPSI4]

Yea, I took mine out. Fat sticky tires make it tough. I do, however, like the feel of the non PS rack.

 

[thebird_19]

I'm working on mine right now. Just got the rack back together, but gonna put new inner and outer tie rods on before reinstalling it. I did the depowering mod from the flying miata site that was in one of the many other posts about manual steering. I'll see if it actually helps or not. I took the rack completely apart and removed the seal from the shaft and filled the whole thing with grease and plugged all the fittings off. Hopefully that'll help some. If not, I'll just buy a manual rack, but I wanted to experiment with this one first.

 

[Initial DSM]

So you guys full the fluid to the rim then loop the line's ..for some reason my car is alot easier to turn with some fluid out of the rack ..the way i took fluid out the rackk was i dis-connected the looped line and turned the wheel from right to left ..i still left some fluid in there so it won't run dry..it was just way to hard to turn with the rack full of p/s fluid ..

 

[tsidrift1]

I tried to remove mine, just to clear up space in my bay. It was so horrible, i just couldnt do it. I had to reinstall it. I looped it just like you guys did and filled it up. I heard the less fluid you have in there the easier it will be because the rack is still trying to pump fluid through it without the assist of the actual pump working.

Anthony

 

[thebird_19]

There is a seal inside the rack that pumps the fluid. Thats what makes the pressure and pushes the fluid. It causes resistence, so thats why I took mine apart and cut that seal out. I filled it with grease which I think will work better than the fluid anyways and plugged the holes. No looped lines or anything. Flyin' Miata : Tech: 1.8 conversion
Thats the site where I got the idea.

 

[Initial DSM]

If i'm taking my p/s rack off the car i might as well go with a manual rack..any one know how hard its to do ?..do you have to remove the transfer case? i think i found a manual rack for a decent price

 

[->PrOjEcTGS<-]

There is a seal inside the rack that pumps the fluid. Thats what makes the pressure and pushes the fluid. It causes resistence, so thats why I took mine apart and cut that seal out. I filled it with grease which I think will work better than the fluid anyways and plugged the holes. No looped lines or anything. Flyin' Miata : Tech: 1.8 conversion
Thats the site where I got the idea.

That looks like an awesome idea... How much does our rack resemble the Miata's? I'm sure it's a little different. Have you had a chance to test this out and see how hard or easy it is to turn. I'm thinking this may be the answer for me. I'm just tired of PS leaks. I fix one then another one pops up.

 

[1gDSM4g63]

So you guys full the fluid to the rim then loop the line's ..for some reason my car is alot easier to turn with some fluid out of the rack ..the way i took fluid out the rackk was i dis-connected the looped line and turned the wheel from right to left ..i still left some fluid in there so it won't run dry..it was just way to hard to turn with the rack full of p/s fluid ..

There is no reason to have power steering fluid when you get rid of the pump. That's just excessive weight of the fluid and the tank and don't bother switching to a manual steering rack. It won't help much. Without power steering is just that.

 

[thebird_19]

That looks like an awesome idea... How much does our rack resemble the Miata's? I'm sure it's a little different. Have you had a chance to test this out and see how hard or easy it is to turn. I'm thinking this may be the answer for me. I'm just tired of PS leaks. I fix one then another one pops up.

I haven't tested it yet because I'm waiting on new tie rod ends, but I'll post up when I get it back under the car. The assembly itself is a little different, but very similar. If you have a factory service manual it'll be pretty easy to do. With the seal out, it does seem to move easier, but still not sure once I get some weight on it.

 

[SnowBird]

I haven't tested it yet because I'm waiting on new tie rod ends, but I'll post up when I get it back under the car. The assembly itself is a little different, but very similar. If you have a factory service manual it'll be pretty easy to do. With the seal out, it does seem to move easier, but still not sure once I get some weight on it.

Let us know, Im interested, I also looped my lines, but before I connected it I turned the wheel to the max both ways and let whatever fluid wanted to come out spill. I want to know if cutting out that seal has a noticeable difference.

 

[HIGHPSI4]

You want to leave a little fluid in the PS racks for lubrication of the rack gear and pinion. The manual racks have a lower gear ratio and are easier to turn than a PS rack with no power.