madsedan

The car I'm picking up has had the pump, reservoir, and hoses removed but I seem to remeber a mechanic telling me to do it right you should really swap in a rack from a 924 or something liek that that didn't come with power steering and has a quicker ratio rack in it.
Is this right, and is it ok to drive around like it is currently?

theedge

The power steering rack will eventually go bad, youd have to rebuild it to use it as a power rack again.

For a proper job, you need the manual rack, different tie rods? and thats it I think. True manual racks do have a different ratio, theyre easier to drive than a power running as a manual.

tifosiman

You need a manual rack from a 944 (an '83 donor car would be your best bet here in the states). You need the tie rod assemblies. Stock ones for an '83 if your car is early offset, custom cup car assemblies if it is late offset. Then you will need the intermediate shaft for a manual car, as it is slightly longer than the one for a power steering car.

Rich Sandor

If your rack is the standard power steering rack with no fluid running thorugh it, it will need to be fully rebuilt to be used again as a power steering rack. The springs inside are probably toast. ask Travis from rennbay, he would know best.

I'm running my car with no steering fluid, and fully intend to replace the whole steering rack and tie rods and power steering hoses and reservoir asap, because it is REALLY detrimental to the handling of the car. These cars have much heavier front ends than 924 or even 944NA's and you can really feel the difference between manual and power steering.

I don't care what any manual rack track junkies say.. you can really feel the difference, especially in slower speeds corners. The power steering rack also dampens any forces that may be acting on your wheels, and helps to keep the road from jerking the steering wheel around in your hands.

Autocross? Sucks with a manual rack!

If you are hellbent on keeping it manual, the move to an NA manual rack would make it a proper conversion, but still a "I'm cheap and trying to save money so I'm going to go manual" conversion. Let's face it, that's usually the reason why people do it. The power steering pump and associated hoses are barely worth the weight savings to remove when compared to the low-speed handling benefits they provide!

I also have one more theory that you guys may or may not agree with. When you turn the steering wheel without power steering help, you need to move anywhere from 16-17x7-8 inches of rubber up front, and you will be putting a heluva lotta stress on the steering U-joint. When the power steering fluid is going thru the rack, it removes the strain from the U-joint and the whole steering connector assembly. Too much stress on this U-joint can probably deform it after long periods of time and cause a dead spot in the steering, where you can move the steering wheel but ain't moving the front wheels. Think about it.