started doing some serious work on the car replacing front and rear seals, oil cooler gasket...do timing belt and tensioners

i decided to remove the entire ps rack (needs rebuilding anyway) and swap in the manual rack...i read that i will need:
1) manual steering rack
2) intermediate shaft from a manual steering r&p (slightly longer)
3) manual steering tie rods
am i missing something else i will need?

i also decided to remove the a/c and was going to buy the infamous ac delete kit...but $180 for a what seems to be a $20 metal bracket and a $7 belt is quite a hard pill to swallow to just remove a/c...are there other (read: cheaper) kits out there or did some 944s come without a/c that already have a a/cless bracket?

also is where is a good place for classifieds for the 944? i've read through other boards and can't really find anything where i can get 2nd hand parts

thanks

 

can't help you with the manual steering conversion.
i got my A/C delete kit from paragon for $155 which included the bracket, belt, and bolts. yea, it's steep but it's factory. broadfoot racing sells a really nice bracket but i'm not sure what the price is.

 

I got my AC bracket from broadfootracing, it was much cheaper than 180... call them or...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

 

That's a fairly inclusive list of the parts that you will need for the manual conversion on your car. Don't forget to add an alignment to that list after you have complete the swap. Do you already have those parts, or do you need to source?

If the $180 for the A/C delete bracket makes you unhappy, you will be very unhappy when you price out the cost of the parts needed to convert the steering to manual.

 

i still need to get the parts for the manual steering conversion (winter project - most likely an xmas present to myself)...anyone have parts for sale?

i'll also be selling the a/c & p/s when finished so i should recoup some costs in the end

i'll also check broadfoot racing (unless someone has a used a/c delete bracket for sale?)...or get my friend up in york, pa to fabricate a bracket when i'm up there for some dyno runs to tune my wagon

thanks.

 

Don't mind me, I'm just chasing Tifo with his car.

 

Are you sure you want to swap to a standard manual rack ? The PAS rack is quicker, only 3-ish turns full left lock to full right lock. The manual rack is 3.5. I know it doesn't sound like a big difference but having swapped a manual rack for a modified P.A.S rack (modded to run un powered and to connect to the manual steering shaft!) you can really feel the difference.

All though the standard manual rack is fairly feelsome it can be a bit slow witted, you've probably got less chance of catching and correcting a spin. Which to my mind is rather important in a quick rear wheel drive car.

 

i understand your point...too slow or too fast can be bad depending on the type of driving you do...since i'm more of a road track racer lock to lock isn't as important as i won't be going through many slow tight turns as you would in autox or trying to drift the car through

however i'm intrigued by your solution..."modified P.A.S rack" - what do you need to do this and how do you solve the slow & inevitable destruction of the unpowered power steering rack?...do you run it with fluid in it but just removed the ps pump belt? did you remove the lines, etc.?...isn't the manual int shaft longer and won't fit to the p.s. rack?

 

well i just did the oil cooler and it was harder than i expected it to be...mainly due the inability for a 6'4" big guy to hover underneath and fit my big muscular (read fat and clumsy) hands into places and cartildge destroying angles (i really want a hydro lift - maybe for xmas - but that will most likely be accompanied by a divorce)

i have two thoughts...over engineering - wow!...they could have made things much simpler but i'd rather have them overdo it b/c it'll be stronger

the motor mounts look like the opposite...they look like if they break the engine and driveline will be toast (snap in 2 effect)...there is no containment (read metal on metal) to loudly protest but still keep things relatively under control if the rubber breaks

 

My rack was purchased mail order on an exchange basis, so what changes they made internaly I've no idea. But the end result is that its now a sealed unit with one external pipe passing fluid from one end to the other, I've know idea why !

The other obvious mod is the fact that it now bolts on to the end of a manual steering shaft.

It was made by a company based in Birmingham England that builds/supplys quick racks for rally cars etc.

Can't see why a half decent steering rack specialist could'nt adapt a power rack in the same way.

 

does this company have a website so i can contact them...hopefully they make lhd versions too...thanks.

 

Thats a cross over pipe basically, its a power rack and it just has fluid in it. That pipe lets it go back and forth as you turn the wheel. Fairly easy to make yourself ive heard, and im thinking of doing it to my car so I can put a remote oil filter in the primo spot were the PS fluid tank is.

 

now i'm confused...i'm thinking we might be talking about 2 different ways to eliminate the p/s pump yet use the p/s rack in manual mode

method 1 was mentioned by Steve PH and says that you can (or have to?) use a manual steering shaft

method 2 was mentioned by theedge says you just use a cross over pipe with fluid in it to eliminate the p/s pump

if i can just crossover my unit instead of buying a manual rack i can live with that...i'm not going to mount huge slicks on the car anytime soon

 

Ok I'm OFFICIALLY mesmerized..

 

I'll dig out the web address of the company that made my rack a bit later in the day, watch this space !