manual steering rack conversion Qs

[southerncross]

hey guys, been gone for a while but im back and with a problem. my power steering pump is history and im wondering if anybody ever finished one of the manual rack conversions for the pro lx. my 92 needs some help.

ive been driving mine with the lines and pump still attached, but no power, and its not that bad really, but i hit a badass pothole last night and now ive got this 3 or 4 inch "dead" zone when the wheel is centered and im driving straight. havent had a chance to check it out yet cause its dark out, but if i didnt screw the rack up im almost sure i jarred something loose or bent it one.

im willing to do the manual conversion because id rather have the free HP than the power steering.

[mx-3_4evr]

check your tie rods... do they clunk when you turn all the way?

[Turpro]

I have a manual rack on mine and its so much easier to steer than a power rack without the power. The conversion only took less than 2 hrs. Just detach and trash all powersteering related crap(pump and braket,lines,rack). The rack is held on the colum from under the dash with 2 12mm bolts. There's a cover on the firewall that you need to take off in order to take the rack out. 4 (I think) 14mm bolts hold the rack on the firewal and of course the tie rod ends. Pull out the old rack and put the new one in thru the pass side wheel well. It will come out without dropping the subframe. Now if you use the manual rack your lock to lock is going to be longe3r meaning it takes a little longer to turn the wheel. Basically a 3/4 turn on a power rack might take 7/8th of a turn on a manual. Now I've driven Ryans car with the mx3 de-powered rack and it turns hella fast but is harder to turn than the manual rack. Good luck. If you have any questions hit me up

[southerncross]

thanks man, im gonna hit the pull a part this saturday. do you know if anybody makes poly rack bushings for the steering rack, or is it hard mounted to the subframe?

[Kitty]

Just remove the seals from the stock power rack. thats what I did in the second gen. It worked great.

[Turpro]

thanks man, im gonna hit the pull a part this saturday. do you know if anybody makes poly rack bushings for the steering rack, or is it hard mounted to the subframe?

The proteges weren't as lucky as the escort so no we can't get poly bushings. Now if you can find a manual rack out of a escort pony I believe its a bolt in deal and you can use the poly bushings. I may be wrong on that so don't go yanking a rack out of a scort till there's proof of this

[FE3-323]

mx3 GS v6 rack & de-power it

[southerncross]

do i need anything from the mx3gs to do the de-powered rack swap?

[FE3-323]

the joint from the column to the rack you have to remove it anyhow to free the rack. thats it tho

[therieldeal]

a depowered MX3 rack will be even harder to turn than a depowered protege rack

just throwing that out there

[southerncross]

mmm. . . might stick with a manual conversion then. i dont really NEED it to be tighter, but it wouldnt hurt on the auto cross if i can muscle it. did it make it twitchy at all at high speeds (100+)?

[FE3-323]

it actually feels tighter then a normal rack as the speeds increase, twitchy as you describe is based on your alignment & suspension.

Besides that unless you on a track of sorts you shouldn't be traveling @ 100+mph for any reason

[southerncross]

i understand alignment has a lot to do with it being overly sensitive, but ive driven cars that had quick ratio racks and you had to be careful above 100mph because of it. . . namely datsun z cars and datsun 510s.

[FE3-323]

are those not RWD cars?? in my experience RWD cars are more touchy all around in steering. my car still feels stable & i've been driving withe it for well over a year now