+1 I did the same and I love it, but then again the car is not my DD. I would not recommend this for people who have to do a lot of tight space parking and city driving, but I love the extra steering feedback. Haven't been able to compare it to a rack depowered the FM way, but I can't imagine that makes the steering significantly easier compared to looped lines.

Just one note, after you remove the drain and wait for the fluid to drain out, I would turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock several times to squeeze out even more fluid.

Also, for comparison, I have driven a manual rack, and it felt like it took about the same effort as a depowered rack, probably b/c the higher steering ratio of the PS rack.

yeah I pulled my powersteering last weekend, havent driven it yet but it took about 15min with the exhaust off. drain, pull the res, pull the pump, unhook the lines, drain the rack until there is only a little fluid left, loop lines, done.

the AC was about 2 hours because I was working around so much stuff, and I still havent removed the under dash stuff. but, take it to a shop and have the ac stuff drained, drop the condensor, unhook the lines, pull the pump, and thats about it. took a while because I put the new belt on the ps (I kept the ps for another year) and I was swapping a bunch of other stuff while I was in there, new rad, oil change, gutting the front bumper, a few other things I cant remember.

my friend is having problems with his "Depowered" rack in his ae86 now after about 7 years, but he also didnt do it right, he crimped the lines shut instead of looping, and he drained it completely rather than leaving a little for lube. Im confident that looped with a little fluid in there is the way to go short of FM's total seal removal, which is obviously the proper way.

I'll probably loop it for now and do the FM depower later.

gonna be a lot of PS pumps for sale hehehehe

Here is an idea... keep the pump hooked up, and use it to power a huge wing in the rear that is hydro adjusted :gay:

It's a bit odd how that works.

Cars with power steering but no A/C (such as mine) use a smaller belt which drives only the P/S pump.

Cars with A/C but without power steering use the same belt as the P/S and A/C cars- there is an idler pulley which goes where the power steering pump would normally be, and that pulley takes up about the same amount of space as the P/S pump would.

The reason for this is that the tension adjustment for that belt is done at the power steering pump. The A/C compressor is rigidly mounted to the block and there is no provision for adjusting the belt tension otherwise.

To run the A/C compressor alone (without a P/S pump or idler) you'd have to rig up some kind of external tensioner similar to the one on the timing belt or most superchargers.

Having done a DIY intercooler, I doubt you'd benefit from removing only the power steering. In my case, I did just the opposite. Removing the A/C bought me enough space to run a 2" pipe down behind the radiator without removing the P/S pump. Pictures:
https://www.miataturbo.net/forums/sh...ht=intercooler

Hehe, as funny as that is... I'm thinking about doing that... just using a mechanical servo :p

How did you guys loop the lines? Any pics? I am not able to look at my car right now. And I can not picture it.

did it a long time ago using an electric setup.. but that was an a mini sprint :)

What is the benefit of going from power steering to manual?? I have manual and dont like it thus far

Driver has more "feel" of the car/suspension/road.

reson for me is to get more room for turbo parts

More info
 

Any more detailed info on looping the lines. Were the fittings changed out? Did you use rubber hose? Was the old tubes used?

Can anyone take a pic? A cell phone pic would work.

Thanks for any info.

well here ya go
http://www.flyinmiata.com/tech/depow...ering_rack.jpg
basicly like that, things that were going places are looped from source to destination.

I made "lines" from the water line left over for my turbo install and I think my rack looked a little different than that, I'll try to take a pic when I head back in.

if you leave a little fluid in, you can always hook PS back up right?

roger that

Thanks that is just what I needed.:bowdown:

What about no PS or AC? Do I still need a belt to run the nonexistent accessories?

Just make sure you leave one on for your alternator and water pump:gay:

who needs electricity and coolant?