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Anyone run svt with no powersteering??

S

solo92s10

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Aug 29, 2009
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Elizabethtown, PA
Just picked up my svt and where the one hose coming from the powersteering pump threads into the power steering rack is stripped. Well the threads are stripped in the rack. So i was wondering if anyone has ran there power rack without the pump hooked up and if this would be harmfull. Will probably get a reman rack in the future but the wife is already fired up about buying the car so need to let her cool before i spend 170 on a rack. Thanks
 
Yeah i plan on removing the pump and somehow pluging the holes in the rack. Just want to make sure this will not put me and others in danger if the rack would fail somehow due to this.
 
power steering racks are not really meant to be used with out the power assist. from my understanding powered and non-powered steering racks are completely different in design.
 
I ROFL'ed when I saw the thread title. Good luck.

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ya there is no manual rack alternative. and as mentioned its not intended to be ran without fluid, nor would you find the car drivable like this (I have been forced to do this on 2 occasions). the only other real alternative is to get an electric power steering pump out of say a MR2 and run that instead, but then you would need to get an idler pully fabbed for belt line.
 
actually Ian once moving cars with non-power steering are not that hard to drive. It the turning the wheel when not moving that is a pain, but you shouldn't be doing that anyway. It can create a dead spot in the steering.
 
solo92s10 said:
Yeah i plan on removing the pump and somehow plugging the holes in the rack. Just want to make sure this will not put me and others in danger if the rack would fail somehow due to this.
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Don't plug the rack ports, this will make it incredibly difficult to steer. It's not unusual for Mustang drag racing enthusiasts to convert a power rack to manual. The easiest way is to leave a little bit of fluid in the rack and loop the rack inlet port to the outlet port. You'll find that low speed effort is high, but once moving, the effort is pretty decent. BTDT.

Don't make this a long term solution, as the couplings between the steering wheel and the rack input are frequently not designed for the loads with no power assist. Parts will wear prematurely and may break without warning.
 
When a buddy and I yanked the motor to install the headers and clutch/flywheel combo we stuffed a rag into the return line on the PS to keep it from leaking... you can see where this is going - forgot it was there and realized it when I had the car torn apart to install the new power steering pump. I drove the car without power steering for a week and the only tough part was shifting while turning a corner - no power steering + 3L torque + one hand shifting on corners = interesting results :laugh:
 
I have driven a couple cars with no power steering. Not horrible, slower speeds are tougher than highway speeds.
 
Well i broke down and bought the one remaining old acdelco pump that rockauto had. Got it for 128 with ceg discount and no core charge since it was a discontinued item. Not bad if you ask me. Thanks for all your help though
 
Maybe it's because of work or being around a suburban environment all the time, but I'm always doing 3-point turns or other shenanigans that are difficult without power steering...but I digress.
 
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