veleno

So I was reading a "for sale" ad and the owner stated the car has a "depowered steering rack" and it doesn't have leaks anymore.

Can anyone elaborate on this procedure (or provide a link) and maybe the pros/cons to doing it?

Thanks

Voith

http://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generatio...g-rack-942543/

Here is a procedure from another forum..

Depowered rack makes you sweat a little bit when trying to do fast maneuvers at slow speed.

stogie25

A couple of years ago I broke my power steering pump bracket (aka lower balance shaft cover) at a drive through car wash. I spent the summer without power steering. It was drivable. At speed it was not bad. In parking lots it was a pain in the butt. I was very glad to get the power steering fixed.

V2Rocket

Been doing it without issue for 7 years.

Disassemble the rack, apply copious amounts of grease, use hex plugs in the old fluid ports and reassemble.

Really not hard at slow speed. You get used to it fast. Road speed it feels great.

SamGrant951

Depowered rack much better than factory manual rack IMHO, ratios are different. I have a factory setup on my turbo and it kind of sucks compared to my spec 944 which has the depowered rack.

Parawhore

My '84 has a depowered rack. I don't mind it at all. It is a bit of a pain at low speeds in parking lots.

At higher speeds though I like it way more than the power rack. That's just my preference though.

Mhart

I've had mine depowered for close to 12 years without a problem even at low speeds and I'm 65 years old.m I think we have some pansies hanging around here ! ( or youngsters )

CyCloNe!

I have a depowered rack and love it. At first I didn't like it and it was hard to steer but after a new alignment and new wheels its very easy to turn I only need a few fingers while moving, almost like powered except at less than 5mph its a little hard especially stopped lol.

CyCloNe!

Also I have the pdf somewhere for the depowering procedure

use2windsurf

I was considering this myself as my rack is leaking profusely. (Not something you hear a man say very often!). I temporarily removed the PS belt and drove it about 20 miles. It seemed I had significantly more vibration in the wheel. Is that to be expected?

dillon410021

open rack, take out seal, apply grease, close off tube openings with plugs, close rack up, install.

F40LM

I have had all three flavors in the same car. Power, depowered manual and now running true manual. I liked the depowered rack better than the power rack, and like the true '83 manual rack even better. Keep in mind, my very first 944 was a manual '83 so I am biased maybe.

I can email you the PDF for changing from power to depowered rack.

For what it is worth, the difference between power and depowered is great, from depowered to true manual not so much.

I recommend depowering the rack to most except for city folks that might have to do a lot street parking.

And just to add, the only reason I swapped to true manual is the fact that I had a chance to buy a '83 parts car for $350. I got the rack off of it and sold the 3 Fuch wheels off of it for more than I paid for the car. Knowing what I know now, I am glad I didn't pay the going price of $200 for a true manual rack.

I recommend to those interested in giving this a try to buy a extra leaking power rack (usually about $50) and depowering it. Worst case you try it, don't like it and swap back to power rack.

Michael

Gawernator

I liked the true manual rack in my 83. I like the power steering about the same. It's a variable assist so at speed I haven't noticed much difference. I imagine de-powered turning while stopped would suck bad until you got used to it

MAGK944

Pros:
No leaks - ever!
Very little maintenance.
Save a few pounds.
Cons:
Very heavy steering under 5mph (parking).
Best to retain stock steering wheel diameter, those smaller diameter Momo wheels just make the steering even heavier.
Ditto for 17in-18in wheels.
Ditto for wider front tires.

I've done it manual and depowered, liked both a lot.

dillon410021

Yeah, my show car has a 350mm steering wheel with 18x10" wheels up front. No fun in parking lots