question about steering rack

[rodama5anthony]

hey i was wondering if a steering rack with power steering would get damaged if i decided to delete the power steering stuff. this is my weekend warrior so ya i know wat im going to be getting into without powersteering just want to make sure im not going to be damaging anything if i remove that stuff.
thanks

 

[OfnaRcR4]

Don't do it. Such a little gain for such a big loss. If you're determined to make your car's value less and and make it a bear to turn with an unnoticable gain in horsepower just make sure to fill it up and loop the PS lines.

 

[rodama5anthony]

okay so there still needs to be fluid in the rack

 

[digihonk82]

yes, without fluid you can imagine how hard that would be inside the housing.

 

[Poodles]

Though the entire assembly wasn't intended to be without power. Your car, but not something I would do.

 

[suprarx7nut]

This is one of my pet peeves on the Mk3. You're simply a fool if you turn it into a manual steering system. It's not a miata and the power steering doesn't detract that much from the steering feel.

It's a ricer mod...

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

 

[spiller]

interesting topic. seemingly very popular with S13s and RX-7 owners but everyone ive spoken to in regard to doing this on the Mk3 has said not to (obviously due to the weight). When you consider that basically every sedan type race car in the world uses powersteering, i'm not quite sure what the point of the mod is. Yes, the Mk3 steering lacks feel and is quite light but id try unplugging the solenoid for the progressive power steering first to see if this helps your cause.

 

[Poodles]

Light and lacking feel is definately the opposite of how the MKIII power steering is...

Try driving some other modern cars and get back to me. Even better, older cars that don't use rack and pinion.

 

[spiller]

have you taken your car to the road course before? The steering is vague and poorly weighted from my experiences, but you seem to be the authority on all things MK3 with your definite statements so carry on.

FWIW ive owned and driven a number of vehicles with or without power steering and/or rack and pinion steering from 64 corvettes through to R34 GT-Rs. I also owned a JZA80 RZ which I took to the race track. The MK3 stacks up very poorly against a lot of other cars ive driven that have rack and pinion steering.

 

[#04]

^does the R34 not have HICAS? Therefore, very few cars should steer like it... and it is a lopsided comparison..

 

[spiller]

Why do MK3 owners put their cars on the pedestal? I love my JZA70 but im also realistic enough to acknowledge its downfalls. I don't care if the R34 has HICAS or not, poodles asked me to "go drive something else with rack and pinion or older, better cars without it", of which ive done plenty of both. The MK3 just isn't that great in the steering department if you are planning on using it for track use. At the end of the day, its a mid 80s GT car so its nothing you wouldnt expect. Does it mean its no fun around a race track? No.

 

[Poodles]

Not putting it on a pedestal, I just think you're off base entirely. If anything you're blaming the power steering on the poor weight balance, suspension setup, or tires. I've never had any lack of feel on my car.

Compared to a new Challenger, it has a lot more feel (then again, it is Chrysler). If anything it feels a whole lot like an NB Miata with power steering, which is a good thing.

For the car's vintage, and being a big heavy GT car, the steering is great.

 

[spiller]

i think you are mistaking me for someone who doesnt know left from right? perhaps our cars differ quite a lot, mine has had the powersteering rack rebuilt by the previous owner so we may not on a level playing field. My steering is very light and unresponsive and its not down to the suspension set-up or my tyres. It is purely in the steering system and whether it be due to worn teflon tubing in the rack itself or just the overall design of the components, its not fantastic. My previous JZA70 had poorly functioning powersteering due to blown rack seals so I cannot compare it to that. My current daily is a 2008 Honda Accord Euro (i think its the Acura TL in North America?) and for a mid-sized family sedan, it's steering has a lot better weighting and overall feel compared to my JZA70. Go drive an S2000 and tell me what you think of the Supra's steering, then again its apples with oranges (but as I said, 1980s GT car so i'd expect it to be the way it is).

 

[Kai]

Taking a car which was designed for use with a power steering system and cletus bodging it into a manual setup, is idiotic. Just strip and rebuild the rack, get new seals on the pump and fresh fluid, and you'll be surprised what it can do.

 

[TRDownShift]

I Don't know... my car has tons of Road Feel, hell if I hit a bump wrong the wheel inside the car moves in hand lol ... my only gripe about the MKIIIs handling is 1: the car understeers... 2: It has pretty bad bump steer as well... both things that can be fixed with some coil overs and a little track time

And I agree with the rest on the Powersteering front... this car is NOT made to run without it... >.>... I had a miata before this car, that, sure... my MKIII HHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLL MOTHERF--KING NOOOOOOO lol Wen I first started the car after doing my HG it had drained the fluid from the powersteering system... I moved the car across the parking lot... first thing I did was WALK to vatozone and grab the first bottle of fluid I saw lol

 

[Van]

Hi Anthony,
I decided to try using the stock rack, modified by removal of the PS pump w/a hydraulic flex hose looped on the pinion, valve body. I drove the car around w/o PS for about 6 months like that, before I had the rack and pinion assembly, disassembled and the rack pressure plate seal removed. The purpose: to not be pushing air and fluid around in the rack center housing. This makes turning the steering wheel easier and more precise.
Driving at the limits of the tires adhesion is easier, now that I can feel it beginning to give way. Thanks to the feel through the wheel, I’m able to more accurately place my car on line, time after time. It is still more work to steer when driving below 10 MPH then with PS though.
My Supra isn't meant to be driven on the streets either... I do, but it's not that enjoyable. It's my personal preference to take out all the luxury items Toyota designed into the platform, to lighten the car and I'm pleased how it performs on track, but not the street. A three hour continuous drive on the highways in Oregon and Washington, will leave my hands tingling related to the vibration sent through the rack and pinion to the steering wheel. That never happened before I removed the PS!
What are your goals for your Supra? Van

Don't do it. Such a little gain for such a big loss. If you're determined to make your car's value less and and make it a bear to turn with an unnoticable gain in horsepower just make sure to fill it up and loop the PS lines.

 

[IJ.]

i think you are mistaking me for someone who doesnt know left from right? perhaps our cars differ quite a lot, mine has had the powersteering rack rebuilt by the previous owner so we may not on a level playing field. My steering is very light and unresponsive and its not down to the suspension set-up or my tyres. It is purely in the steering system and whether it be due to worn teflon tubing in the rack itself or just the overall design of the components, its not fantastic. My previous JZA70 had poorly functioning powersteering due to blown rack seals so I cannot compare it to that. My current daily is a 2008 Honda Accord Euro (i think its the Acura TL in North America?) and for a mid-sized family sedan, it's steering has a lot better weighting and overall feel compared to my JZA70. Go drive an S2000 and tell me what you think of the Supra's steering, then again its apples with oranges (but as I said, 1980s GT car so i'd expect it to be the way it is).

Only time I ever felt this in my Mk3 was when I was playing around with all the different size pump pulleys on a non PPS Rack, one was very light and sketchy, swapped it out dropping some pump pressure and it came back to what I felt was "normal" for my car, I do however run a bit of extra castor so my front end alignment isn't "stock".

To the OP unless you're going to spring for a real Manual Rack I'd just repair the stock system.

 

[spiller]

Only time I ever felt this in my Mk3 was when I was playing around with all the different size pump pulleys on a non PPS Rack, one was very light and sketchy, swapped it out dropping some pump pressure and it came back to what I felt was "normal" for my car, I do however run a bit of extra castor so my front end alignment isn't "stock".

I have a lightened pump pulley which would mean its under-driven so mine should be a bit heavier also I guess. I will start with unplugging the PPS solenoid first to see if that helps.

 

[IJ.]

I have a lightened pump pulley which would mean its under-driven so mine should be a bit heavier also I guess. I will start with unplugging the PPS solenoid first to see if that helps.

So smaller diameter than the stock PPS one?

 

[spiller]

im not actually sure if the diameter is different as the kit came with the car. Whats the diamter of the stock PPS pulley? I was more so leading to the fact that less mass in the pulley creates less drive through the pump?