power steering removal

[midnightshadow]

I have an 89 240 (ka24e) and i am in the process of removing all unessecary parts on the motor. ie AIV etc. I want to get my motor down to basics. I don't have aircare where i am so no need for all that extra stuff. I was wondering if anyone had removed to power steering on their early 240's? I know some ppl just remove the belt but what i would like to do is drop the whole system and plug the steering box. Would not having this put unnessecary strain on the steering components? All comments or suggestions welcomed.

[midnightshadow]

anyone?

[sil80drifter]

I'd like to knwo as well! would it nto put any extra strain on the Steerign system? I mean I kinda figure it wouldn't since instead of the PS system applyignt he extra 14lbs, now I am, but...still..

sil80

[Bay Dog]

I'm a little new to this, but what would that do besides make your car harder to steer?? Also what is an AIV?

[PabloHoney]

The power steering pump gets the power to make turning easier from the belts, which run off the engine. Take off the pump and you free up some horsepower...not much mind you, but a little.

[neil90s13]

i tried it once and it seemed to make it even harder than a manual steering car (i had a 87 vw fox for a while)also, a bunch of the fluid leaked out of the reservoir (i assume the system has to be purged of fluid first) just my .02

[sil80drifter]

dammit, the gurus are silent once again....

sil80

[1dollar240]

I dont know much about removing the whole system but i would reccomend getting a slightly larger steering wheel when you do this, turning a 240 w/o power steering is a ******. The bigger wheel will give you more leverage, unless youve got some big pythons.

[stickgoat]

Turning a RWD car without power steering is not difficult.

Removing it should be as simple as taking off the belt and removing the pump... You'll also have to loop the lines together as the PS fluid keeps the steering rack lubricated.

And yeah, removing simple things like PS and A/C helps to free up HP as they drain power. Many, many RX-7 people take both of these things out.

I've driven a few cars without PS and it's no big deal at all. It's actually nicer in some cases because you can really feel the road.

[YomnyM]

How do you loop the lines together, i know there's one hard line that goes form the rack to the power steering hose, that one would be terminated right? Help? Thanks

[lvangundy]

Uh, unless you are going straight line driving it's kind of pointless. The power and weight taken away can be easily matched and topped with other modifications.

One problem is that the steering ratio remains the same. Steering response will not be faster, nor will the car turn any quicker than before you had the pump out.

For reference, let's say a 360 degree turn of the steering wheel results in a 21 degree movement of the wheels. Divide 360 by 21 and you get a 17:1 steering ratio. You won't see any change in the steering ratio since you aren't chaging the gearing in the rack and pinion.

[YomnyM]

I totally understand your point, but if i remove the power steering pump and belt wouldn't the steering be softer than with the burnt pump and belt there, doing nothing, maybe making noise? Also when i turn my wheel has lots of feedback, i bounces back. I know that the best thing is to have the power steering system but i can't afford to buy a pump with the pressure lines that were cracked before.