P/S Delete

[Rivet]

My P/S rack is junk. It was leaking from just about every seal. I tried to rebuild it myself, but the bearings where bad and are not available. I also messed up the end housing pulling the bushing out. SO I have decided to convert to manual steering. I ordered a manual rack from a 90-91 323 DX. (I went through Junkyarddog.com and got a place in Ohio; it cost me $125 to my door. It is supposed to be from a low mileage 323 that was rear ended, but that is what the all say).

Here what I have so far:

1) The mounting tabs for the 4x4 are unique. The spacing is about 2" shorter. I think I can move the RT side mount point over on the rack. It should work, but I may have problems with the "boot" at full extension on that side. Won't know for sure until I get it mounted in the car.

2) Tie rods are shorter for the 4x4.

3) The rack bodies are the same length

4) The manual rack extends about 1 inch longer than the 4x4 at full lock. I may have to put "stops" in. But I won't know for sure until I have the rest of the front suspension back together.

5) The manual rack is a whole lot lighter then the P/S rack. I don't have a good scale here, but we're talking about maybe 10 lbs. I might be full of it with that guess, but it is a bunch of weight. Between my A/C and P/S delete, I thinking I'm shedding close to 50 LBS off the front.

I've got the new rack stripped, cleaned and ready for paint. I'll post pics as soon as I get the time to resize them

[therieldeal]

just gut the power rack and run that.

http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/depower.php

[ryan1]

rivit, i forgot to tell you i picked up them awd tranz partz you sent to clintonville, but anyway did you check if a bf gtx sterring rack might work ?

[Rivet]

I didn't even think about a BF rack, might be a better way to go. That might be something to think about if this current project goes horribly wrong.

As for depowering a P/S rack; the damage to my old rack is in the mechanical portion, not with the hydraulics. So either way I was buying a new rack. Even stripped, the P/S rack is at least twice as heavy as the manual (and more like three or four times as heavy). I know we are only talking about a few pounds, but weight is weight and dead weight must go.

[jay]

I don't think there's any significant difference tween the bf and bg rack, a call to corksport might help with that.

[Rivet]

Here are some pics of the racks. The main body of the rack is the same length. I don't have the right hand mount bracket in the right place on the painted PS rack. So here is a before pic for refrence. If your wondering about the purple color (the manual rack is now the same color), it was on sale.

[Rivet]

The tie rods are different lenghts.

[Rivet]

The distace the rack extends at full lock is also different. The 4x4 rack does not extend as far.

[Rivet]

The spacing of the mounts is also different. Fortunatly, the distace between the steering shaft and the Lt mount is the same.

[Rivet]

My plan is to move the right side mount over. It might be hard to see from the first pic, but the right side mount extends out over the end of the rack. The lip on the end is where the dust boot attaches. With the mount moved about 2 inches in, the mount is still solid, but this may cause a problem with the boot at full lock. We'll see, I have to fit everything together first.

[Rivet]

Good news, Mazda still has the RT bushing in stock. There used to be 4 left, but 1 is on its way to me. The dust seal for the pinion shaft is also still available. About $30 for both of them.

[jay]

Dammit. Every time someone posts one of these "there's only two left on the planet and I bought one" threads, I have to fight the urge to go buy the other one, regardless of what it is....







....just in case.



Must...not .... hoard..