no power steering :(

[Atsushi7mgte]

so on the way home today i noticed that all of a sudden my steering felt kind of weird and when i slowed down it was super hard to steer.

when i got home i found my power steering belt missing...

is it ok for me to drive without power steering??

like would it be bad for the rack and pinion or anything like that??

or is it not bad just harder for me??

if someone could get back to me fast that would be greatly appreciated

thanks,
nick

 

[MisterTurbineTwister]

It doesn't hurt anything. When the fluid in the rack transfers from one accumulator to the other, it just doesn't have any additional pressure other than what your arms give it to go from one side to the other. It won't hurt your rack, pinion, lines or pump.

The only thing that will damage seals, etc, is when you run the fluid too low and it causes a hard feel with the pump running.

By the way, the factory calls for Dexron II fluid in the older systems. Dexron III fluid will suffice. I'm not sure if the PPS racks use Dexron III fluid, but I'm almost positive that they all do.

I would be suspicious as to what cause the belt to fail, but it could just be that the belt was overdue for replacement.

 

[Atsushi7mgte]

ok so basically its ok for me to run like that i just gotta make sure that there is still fluid in the system at all times??

thanks for the info

i was really worried cause tomorrow i gotta drive quite a bit. The supra is my only car and i dont really got any money to get it fixed lol

 

[MisterTurbineTwister]

Get a belt back on it as soon as you can. It's not easy to drive a power rack and fight the accumulator pistons in the rack. Especially when parking. haha...

You should be okay. Just don't run it low on fluid when the pump is running and if it needs any, be sure that you don't put the wrong stuff in. I'm almost positive that you should be using Dexron III automatic transmission fluid in the system. I do on my '88 and I just went through the rack myself and put new seals in everything, replaced all the lines and the pump itself. It's a dirty job.

 

[Atsushi7mgte]

oh and yeah i found the belt it was a few blocks from my house and it looks old as hell and frayed on one side lol

 

[MisterTurbineTwister]

Sounds like you just needed a belt. The pump/ pulley should be it's own tensioner. I don't think that belt runs anything else.

 

[Atsushi7mgte]

yeah the power steering has its own belt but the pulley its on has like 2 other belts and its the last pulley so basically gotta take off all the belts to change it lol

 

[Rennat]

i drive without power steering.... and its not THAT bad... but yes, parking does kind of suck, but you become REALLY good at parking right the first time.

 

[csnow]

i drive without power steering.... and its not THAT bad... but yes, parking does kind of suck, but you become REALLY good at parking right the first time.

I have to disagree with you, I hated driving the car without power steering

 

[JimR]

+1 for Dexron III ATF fluid in the Power Steering system.

If/When you get around to replacing that belt, there are two different belts depending on if you have Progressive power steering or not. Since you have an 87, you most likely don't have PPS. So the part# you want is (probably!) 99364-20860-83, and it's $10.54 at 1sttoyotaparts.com (Bob Bridge Toyota). They ship to me in Canada, so I presume they'd have no trouble shipping to Hawaii too.

 

[Ckanderson]

I have to disagree with you, I hated driving the car without power steering

yep. I wore the leather coloring of my wheel by not having PS for a few days.

the Supra is a heavy car with wide tires... leave taking off your PS to miata's and other light cars.

 

[Rennat]

yeah its not feather light... but i get a really good "feel" for the car around corners, my passenger is always scared because i can push the car, and not lose it.

and about the steering wheel... i have a momo thats really small... so that helps a lot, and it only on 225... but im also n/a! hahaha

 

[Ma70.Ent]

yeah its not feather light... but i get a really good "feel" for the car around corners, my passenger is always scared because i can push the car, and not lose it.

and about the steering wheel... i have a momo thats really small... so that helps a lot, and it only on 225... but im also n/a! hahaha

A smaller wheel makes it easier to turn the wheel without P/S? I thought it was the opposite.

 

[jdub]

Bigger steering wheel = more leverage on a non-PS rack.

 

[Ckanderson]

A smaller wheel makes it easier to turn the wheel without P/S? I thought it was the opposite.

it is the opposite.

 

[Rennat]

i find it easier.... lol

 

[Ma70.Ent]

Bigger steering wheel = more leverage on a non-PS rack.

Nice, I thought so.

 

[MisterTurbineTwister]

Big wheel = more leverage on anything.

That's why rock crawler guys have serious problems with breaking axles. I guess it's just more of a matter of personal comfort rather than physics.

But seriously, if you are going to run without it permanently, you should get a different rack that has a rack and pinion ratio made for manual steering, as well as no fluid accumulators. You are just fighting the hydraulics in that rack. It's acting as it's own really strong steering stabilizer because of the accumulators and tight ratio on the teeth. The pump, power rack and lines are also a little bit of dead weight in that case, making it that much harder to steer the front of the car. A manual steering setup does not feel anything like a power steering setup that isn't running it's pump.

For the time being, you might consider disconnecting the steering stabilizer. That might make it a little easier for you. Just be sure that if you run the power steering actively to have a good stabilizer in place, because then there is no hydraulic resistance inside the rack, in fact, it's aiding in motion (obviously) and you need something to slow the motion down a little. Hence the stabilizer.

 

[ccwade]

Get a belt back on it as soon as you can. It's not easy to drive a power rack and fight the accumulator pistons in the rack. Especially when parking. haha...

You should be okay. Just don't run it low on fluid when the pump is running and if it needs any, be sure that you don't put the wrong stuff in. I'm almost positive that you should be using Dexron III automatic transmission fluid in the system. I do on my '88 and I just went through the rack myself and put new seals in everything, replaced all the lines and the pump itself. It's a dirty job.

Hey, I have a 87 non-turbo and my passenger side rack boot is leaking oil. I felt to small holes in the top of the boot about in the middle. I think they are suppose to be in there. I want to know of I can replace the seals that the boot protects without having to take off the rack completely from the car? And how many seals are in there? The drivers side is fine. Any information would help me out. thanks:1zhelp:

 

[Poodles]

If it's leaking, the rack needs to be rebuilt... New boots will be a band-aid fix as they will just fill with the fluid and eventually....leak.