Manual steering, do you regret it?

[281pony]

i have a situation. im looking at possibly getting an electric WP and manual steering. should i go to this route.. i will be able to remove ALOT of clutter and weight off my engine bay.

ps pump, lines, brackets, ac pulley, smog pulley, tensioner, wp pulley, heater tube, heater core hoses, wp hoses. i can just get rid of all that crap..

i did not use my heater to "get warm" last year. i could count on one hand how many times i used defrost. so basically my dilema is the effort of a real manual rack conversion.

i've turned mine manual with a ps pump spinning way too slow and it was a nightmare. i keep reading the manual rack is a pain and then it's not that bad. does anyone who has done this regret it?

i run 245 front tires, im looking at the quick ratio summit conversion.

 

[Beasty306GT]

U don't want manual steering with big tires

 

[281pony]

thats a pretty blunt way of putting it. i have read lots of comparisons. spinning my ps rack with a ps pump basically not working, should have been much HARDER then a properly setup manual rack.

am i wrong in my readings? i really want to clean the accessories up.. would look so much f'ing better. im not 95 lb's, i can turn a wheel.. if its the same as forcing fluid through my ps rack though, i guess ill live without.

 

[Noobz347]

A manual rack will generally be easier to turn than a power steering system with an inoperable pump (if that's what you're talking about in your last post).

Rolling, you won't notice much of a difference depending on the steering ratio you go with. Parking lots and cranking the wheel from a stop will be more of a PITA.

 

[ID89GT]

I have a manual rack in mine and run a 245 45 r 17 up front. Its a pain at low speeds but anything over 15 mph ain't bad at all.

 

[Mustang5L5]

What do you plan on using the car for?

A week or so ago I drove a car with manual steering. I didn't like it at all. Unless you spend all your time on the highway or at speed, it was a pita for low speed maneuvers.

But like i said, all depends on your plans with car. Weekend cruiser? Keep it. Something to blast down highways with? Ditch it

 

[90lxcoupe]

I do not regret manual steering at all, but i think that if i was using a 245 i would just fix the power steering problem. I also entertained the idea of using an electric water pump on the street and decieced against it because to me its not worth the risk of the pump failing going down the road.

to answer the other question, a manual rack will be much easier than a power rack that isnt working right

 

[281pony]

Car is driven often.. might see a slight decrease in miles but a good 2 days a week.

 

[Beasty306GT]

keep in mind if u go with manual rack u need a differnt steering shaft

 

[bmo37]

Pretty much my brother and I have identical cars except for he's drag setup (welds/skinneys, manual rack, k-member, etc) mine I designed to be a street setup (ac/all emissions/power steering). The comparison is night and day in terms of drive ability. I absolutely hate driving his car as stated at low speeds you fight the car to turn but once your moving its manageable. It really comes down to preference and how the car is used. If its a second car or sees alot of track time than go for it, if your a daily driver or a cruise car I would stick with the power steering for the ease of driving.

 

[281pony]

thats what started this whole thought process. my flaming river shaft hit my headers, over time.. it wore out the joint. so i need to address that while i have an empty bay.

then thoughts of manual, clean bay, electric wp were born.

 

[90lxcoupe]

keep in mind if u go with manual rack u need a differnt steering shaft

Not true, they make adapters

 

[junkyardwarrior]

Power steering is kind of one of those things we take for granted. You don't know how much you appreciate it until you don't have it anymore. And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[uedlose]

I dont mind not having PS at all I dont drive the car everyday or anything like that either it is a weekend only car putting few hundred miles on it at the most but I do lots of in town driving and so on with out any issues and yes it is night and day difference of a PS rack unhooked. My wife also drive the car so it cant be that bad and she is only 5ft tall and not real big. I had to unhook ours due to the turbo placement. I also use the stock shaft with a adapter on it and run stock size tires on the front.

 

[2000xp8]

I see no real value in an uncluttered engine bay. If your car is put together right it shouldn't need working on all that often.
I've also never seen a fox that had an electric water pump last as a often driven street car.

Low speed manuevering with a manual rack sucks, Although i'm on the spoiled end of power steering with a 12:1 (yes that's not a typo, 12) so my steering is so fast and easy sometimes it feels like it's not connected to anything.

 

[CarMichael Angelo]

Lets just say it's like a marriage. You're kind-of committed to in once you take the plunge, and you have to fight to make it work.

I have it. For the same reasons you want it. It is definitely not friendly in the parking lot. If you think you're gonna hold that drink in one hand while you whip into a parking space, forget it. Both hands or no turny.

Another thing I noticed is that you said that you were considering the sport ratio as opposed to the standard "slower" ratio. That will even exaggerate the P.I.T.A. aspect even more. I have the 20:1 slower (more turns lock to lock) ratio as opposed to the quicker 15:1 "sport ratio", and it still was something I had to get used to.

I have since weenied out the front tires from the 245's that used to be on it to some 225's to fit my new wheels, it seems a little easier to steer while rolling it around ( I haven't driven it since then) It will be REAL important that the front end is properly aligned to minimize the effort required as well.

 

[90mustangGT]

If you do a manual rack properly its not bad at all, unless you have prissy girl arms.

The only time it might be a bit of a pain is when turning the wheel when the car is moving slow or stopped.

P/S although "Standard" today is really a luxury item. The CONS of P/S is less feedback from the road, yet another feature that can go wrong, and parisitic drag on the motor, and not to mention, MORE WEIGHT.

A lot of old cars that had manual steering were a pain, and had HUGE steering wheels and you had to turn the wheel about six times lock to lock, but they had worm gears pushing a link assembly, which included many friction points. Rack and Pinion on the other hand is more direct, so this is not nessasary.

 

[bhuff30]

My 88 is minus power steering, and I've got 245-45-17s up front. At a stop, it is a royal pain in the ass, but you learn tricks to drive around it. If you have any kind of motion, it gets easier to steer. Backing out of parking spaces, you'll learn to steer after you are moving. It's all about getting just a little bit of speed and working with the car. You'll get used to it, and it won't be a problem at all.
I've got a 4cyl rack (not as quick as the V8 rack?). It was originally a power steering rack that I drained well and looped the lines on. I've heard you can take the valving out of the PS rack and get an even better feel, but I didn't feel like going through the trouble.

 

[S&B]

View attachment 180812

thats about 10k of driving with one hand on a 1991 steering wheel