V2Rocket

As title states, I have a manual steering rack in great condition and the matching, special manual-specific intermediate shaft for sale. Also included will be one rubber boot in great shape, one pinchbolt/nut and the tierods that came with the rack. They are different styles which is unusual but are in decent shape. One feels tight and the other feels like it is starting to get a little loose.

I have completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and regreased this rack. The rack and the pinion gear look excellent, they could have come out of the factory yesterday. Rack body is clean and in fine shape but the original paint has mostly come off. Intermediate shaft has no binding, but perhaps could use some paint.

Since these parts are a matched set, and considering the time I have into them, I would like to get $250 shipped for everything. I am open to offers, and might consider delivery if you are in the greater Los Angeles/San Diego area.

FRporscheman

That male tie rod is the earliest version of the manual steering tie rods. The female tie rod is the updated version that came out soon afterwards. There are a few tricks to making the female tie rod work for late offset applications, but I couldn't find anything for the male version. I researched for about 2 weeks to find a cost effective way to make those male tie rods work for a late offset car and this is what I found:
Van's solution
bolt-on solution

Manual steering is hella tight.

GLWS

V2Rocket

Cool, thanks for the info!

thirdgenbird

i LOVE my manual rack. you can feel exactly what the front end is doing in a hard turn. (end sales pitch)

V2Rocket

Bump for price drop.

Severian

I understand what this means for a track car, but is it recommended for a daily driver?

I'd like to replace the power steering rack if only to get rid of the leaking pump.

But how would it affect driving at low speeds and parking, any problems?

Darwantae951

The power steering systems in these cars actually work very well and are not hard to maintain in a leak free state. I have zero leaks on my system. I'd say either rebuild or buy a rebuild pump, ensure the lines and seals are in good condition, and enjoy power steering.

John_AZ

Rennbay has a $20 PS pump rebuild kit.
Here is the video. A 1 hour job.


GL
John

V2Rocket

I have been driving with a de-powered PS rack for 6 years now and it is no harder to park in a lot or parallel than my PS-equipped Infiniti, Mazda or van.

The manual setup gives an amazing amount of road feel.

techartisan

I run an 83 manual rack on my 84 daily driver. I have 13 year old daughters that can turn the wheel with no troubles while stationary.....at 10 they thought it was tough....but could still manage.

My personal driving style frequently has one hand remaining on the shifter and one on the wheel in first and second gear...
low speed manuvering with a manual rack gives me no troubles...ONE HANDED....
if Im rolling I can turn my wheel completely with only 2 fingers.

Parallel Parking is definitely LESS fun with a manual rack if you arent a "swoop" into spot parker....but thats the only negative I can offer.

I do not regret the swap one bit.....If I had not just dropped over a grand in tires and locks....id consider this rack for our next car....my girls are about to turn 14....by 15 they plan to start restoring a 944 for themselves....they want to go manual as well. While I understand the serviceability of our power setups.....its one less point of potential failure and maintenance for us to worry about.

MAGK944

I changed my dd to manual a few years ago. It is definitely harder to park or maneuver at slow speeds but as soon as you get moving, above 20mph, it is much better than power. Feels tighter, feel the road better, general steering feedback is better etc. You will also feel road imperfections more and potholes will grab the wheel out of your hand more than power. Your steering wheel is directly connected to the tyres with none of the "damping" effect from hydraulics. Also, if you are running larger than stock wheels/tires the steering effort will be greater. I had stock 15in for a while and when I went to 235/17 fronts the effort was noticeable but again only at very low speeds.

It's all personal preference really, some people love the ps some the manual. I like the change but I wish o could have ps just for parking.

This is a great price GLWS.

FRporscheman

$300 shipped is a great deal.

The difficulty of steering with MS depends a lot on your front tire size and tire pressure. If you want it to be really easy, keep narrow tires like 215 (early) or 205 (late) and keep the pressures at about 36 psi. It will feel the same as PS in regular driving, and while parking it will be a little harder, but after a week or two, you will get used to it and it won't be a problem. MS feels WAY easier than depowered PS (if you've tried to turn the wheel with the engine off, you know it's hard).

PS is possible to keep leak-free, but it's not easy. You either have to spend a lot of money or get really lucky. I had to spend a lot of money. I resealed the pump, the rack, replaced all crush washers, replaced EVERY hose, and a new reservoir. The system is 100% leak free, except that the reservoir's breather port weeps PS fluid. I'm so F***ing mad about that. That engine bay was detailed, engine painted... you could eat off of it... le sigh.

For a track car, IMHO, the best is depowered PS rack because of the quicker ratio. But it's a marginal difference from the manual. For a street car, I would keep PS until I got tired of the leaks, then I'd go for manual steering.

seafeye

I got $200 to spend. Take it?

V2Rocket

bump for price drop...this is well below market price for these parts.

thirdgenbird

They don't know what they are missing.