Power steering delete

[brianzero]

I have a solution to the power steering problem (and I intend to get flamed for this suggestion) which is to delete the power steering pump and circuit completely. I did this three years ago, and I have very positive results to report. You'll only be (by my estimation) needing 20% more force required at parking speed to steer. At any speed about 10 MPH, you'll not notice a difference.

Good reasons for the deletion:

• Less complicated system.
• Easier to work on the engine.
• No more leakage of ATF on alternator.
• Better cooling (without more stuff under the hood.)
• No need to buy discontinued parts.
• Better feel for the road.
• One less belt and pulley.
• Better MPG.
• System can be reinstalled if wanted.

Here's the engine space without the pump and hoses:

[JDM VANMAN]

I think I read somewhere- job power steering will mess up the bevel-gear... A whole new problem trying to find more discountinued parts...

Or keep the cooling system healthy, power steering pump leak free, install reputable compatible parts and keep on Van'n

[brianzero]

That bevel gear is in the steering junction box? If that's the gear, I took a look at mine not too long ago, and its in good condition. I did renew the grease in that box. I should mention I do a ton of non straight line driving.

[timsrv]

I'm kind of neutral on this. The van doesn't have the strongest steering system and the bevel gear is a weak link. Driving without PS will certainly put more stress on it, but I personally think it's well within safety margins. If I remember right, the recall had more to do with the way it was sealed and/or possible water intrusion, so driving without PS is probably not a serious issue. Once I put-off fixing a PS problem for over 2 years and drove my van with the PS belt removed. No big deal as it was still manageable without power assist. I do remember though, that after fixing, I realized how much more I enjoyed driving the van. Of course I'm getting older now and not as tough as I once was, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

If you like the van without PS, then it's your choice. For me, I like it better with PS, so it's worth it to me to deal with the occasional issues it presents (which is hardly anything). After spending time to properly iron out every issue with my van's mechanical I find it to be amazingly trouble free. My 86 LE with ~235k miles only gets the engine compartment opened every 5k miles for oil changes and/or other routine scheduled maintenance. No more "oh crap, what is it this time" Sometimes I get nervous and check oil level at around 3k mile intervals, but the last few times it was just fine (nothing was needed). Tim

[Chardog1971]

The PS hose was leaking on my 85 2Wd, so at first I made a diversion for the leaky fluid, which worked pretty well. after a while the PS seemed to stop working. I have been keeping enough fluid in it to keep the pump lubricated but keeping the pressure low (?). Its been like this for around 2 years with no problems. Definitely can feel the road better at highway speeds. kind of hard to parallel park. I think I will go this route as I need to do this to 2 of my vans. Thanks for all your effort.

[spacecruisers]

After a second failed power steering pump and having my aternators keep getting ruined, I’d like to just disconnect the PS system entirely and remove the pump and components. I don’t have problem with no power steering, I drove a Toyota pickup for years without it and never really missed it too much. The system on the van seems to be poorly designed and ruins my alternator every time so rather than having to keep doing this over and over I’d rather just eliminate the problem entirely.

Has anyone tried doing this? Whats your experience driving the van without it? What’s the best place disconnect and loop the lines running to the steering rack? I looked under the van today but one of the lines I’m having trouble determining where to clamp a tube to in order to loop the system.

[Papay]

My Liteace, which is a cousin to your van, has manual steering FWIW. The van is quite happy with it, even though it takes a little more effort in parking. To me its well worth the trade off not having a PS system and its compromises.

That said, you would need a manual steering gear ratio, would you not? And probably a manual steering rack?

[spacecruisers]

As I understand, you can use the existing rack, and just connect the two ports together on the existing rack, so it forms a closed loop.

I read this general guide on deleting your power steering here - but wasn't sure if there were any gotcha's or tips from people who've tried this on a TV...

From the article I linked:

"A hydraulically powered steering rack can be converted to a manual rack within a very small amount of time. Standard manual racks do provide slightly lower force to perform a turn due to the gearing of the rack however the difference is only around 20% gear ratio difference between a hydraulic rack compared to a manual rack. Changing out a steering rack for a manual version can take up to several days and a lot of effort for very little benefit, converting a already installed power steering rack to a manual is relatively easy and will take several hours."

[boogieman]

do it....it really cleans up the engine compartment and i dont miss it one bit. there was some concern about the beve9l gear taking more abuse but i think its probably fine..

[Papay]

As I understand, you can use the existing rack, and just connect the two ports together on the existing rack, so it forms a closed loop.

I read this general guide on deleting your power steering here - but wasn't sure if there were any gotcha's or tips from people who've tried this on a TV...

The only other gotcha that comes to mind is if the rack fluid will have unrestricted flow through the closed-loop that has been created, while turning. In my Porsche days, this was a common mod that I was thinking of doing. Some people insisted internal mods were necessary (drilling discs?) to allow the fluid to move back and forth unrestricted. Others said it didn't make much difference. I don't know how different power steering racks are from one brand to another.