Thread: Power Steering to Manual

What are the pro's for going from ps to manual trans?

From what I can see the engine bay will tidy up a bit, but since you still need to run the ps pump to adjust the belts, there doesn't seem to be much weight saving.. ??

Unless you run an electric WP too.

Need some opinions please.

http://www.gspec.com/p-7340-power-steering-elimination-kit.aspx

those aren't available right now. i called greg about getting a kit and he said that he hasn't heard from pat in a while so it may be a few months before they're available again.

i dont mind it, i did mine when i put my motor in, i just used a 25" belt if you have the stock pulley, if you have an underdrive pulley then you will just have to kinda trial and error it, although if the pullye is the same spec as the Unorthodox set then on the old forum there is a writup on how to get rid of the power steering by smoothdaddyfig on there. I beleive he lists the belt size for use with underdrive pulley sets.

mine with the stock pullies again was a 25" belt. You just have to loop the hose from the inlet and outlet of the rack and you will need to cut the hardline close to the rack to put the hose onto unless you can find a correct size fitting. which if your going to reuse it any time or want to salvage it that would be the best bet, i just cut mine and cut the hose that was already there from the other line and looped it like everyone else has done. My car isnt that bad at all without power steering, Its actually a little nicer feel being its tightened up some.

And yes it cleans up the engine bay nicely and makes changing the oil a sinch and you can put a rag under the filter drain to catch all the oil that would normally drain down the back of the block even when you would previously try and stuff a rag in there. haha so its nice in a few ways.

So do you have to replace the steering rack with a manual rack?

I'm a bit concerned as there's a post on the old forum where a guy lost hectic hp after his ps delete.

lol thats because he had other problems, getting rid of power steering wont decrease your hp if done right, he either had his belt way too tight or there was a problem with the tensioner. If you do it like i did you will only gain a few not loose a few. The belt i put on is snug on there, not tight and not loose. Perfect actually. If done this way you take out drag off the accessory systems, this should only net you a few ponies not take away. Using the tensioner will still cause some drag on the system also especially if overtightened or the tensioner is not very smooth

I just did mine when the motor was out and it went smoothly. I found a GM fuel line fitting that fit into the rack so i did not have to cut the factory hard lines. The idler pulley and mount is beautiful and easy to install. Removes a little weight too since the PS pump has a cast iron bracket.

i got some plugs from the local house of hose and just plugged the holes. i have not driven it yet, to tell if it will be too stiff vs the open holes, since the motor is out of the car.

i wouldnt plug the holes being pressure can build inside especially if there is still fluid in there. It can cause damage to the rack, if you loop the lines the fluid can constantly switch back and forth from one side of the rack to the other when turning, and you want to leave the fluid thats in there in there to keep the gears lubed to extend life of the rack. A rack run dry will fail very quickly due to parts getting worn out

so does anyone know for fact that the ps rack is or is not a sealed unit? i have heard both sides for plugging the holes and for looping the lines. Some people say you need fluid to lubricate the rack and others say the unit is sealed and need no ps fluid. There has been much debate on this and i was wondering if anyone had actually opened up a ps rack and verified these thoughts.