Quote:
Originally Posted by phunky.buddha
To the OP, when you disconnect your power steering, make sure to loop the hoses through a vented catch can. If you just close off the fluid loop, you'll be fighting against the pressure inside the rack and the lines. You want to keep fluid in the rack for lubrication, but you want to make sure it can freely flow from side to side (of the rack) so the steering will be much easier. Just leaving the pump plumbed in with the pulley disconnected will make things a LOT harder when you're driving.
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Here we go again... This is incorrect. It has been discussed on many forums and caused many heated debates, but no the fluid is not needed for lubrication. There is no fluid in the manual rack. Many people just open the lines and let all the fluid out. When I did my conversion 5 years ago I removed all the flex lines and the pump and I found some threaded plugs to cap the holes after all the fluid was drained. I have had no problems since. Be sure to work the steering wheel back and forth to get all the fluid out. If you plug the holes with any fluid left inside it will restrict movement.
There is only the slightest addition resistance in parking lot driving over the powered steering and no increase above 15 MPH. Much better than pushing fluid through lines if you loop the lines, or worse just remove the belt.