Power Steering Delete '00 Civic LX

[penguin]

I've been lurking on this site for quite some time and this is my first post.

First of all, I was worried that disabling the power steering would make driving dangerous and perhaps too difficult. I was worried because the steering in my old jeep required tremendous effort if the engine wasnt on.

I finally decided to just take off the belt and take the car for a test drive(in awful rainy conditions at night - maybe not the best time for a test drive).

The steering requires maybe 2-3 times more effort with the pump off (but still connected) while moving very slowly and it is possible to move the wheel while completely stopped.

I expect the effort to be even less when I loop the power steering lines and remove the pump completely. Right now I am actually turning the pump myself when I turn since the hydraulic lines are still connected.

Now for the fun part. I actually broke my best trip MPG figure on the way to work this morning. I made 50.2 MPG on the way to work. My best is 48.5 on the way home in the evening. Best in the mornings is usually 45 MPG.

As an engineer I know testing is important, but I feel this one has been proven enough and not really worth the gas for me to do testing on.

I'll post again about my sense of the difficulty in turning the wheel once I loop the lines.

[Vman455]

I did exactly the same thing a year ago on my 05--belt removed, then pump removed. It should be a little easier with the lines looped, but it will also "feel" lighter over time as you get used to it--to the point that driving a power steering-equipped car feels unnatural!

[NoD~]

I remember taking the power steering off for the first time. It was tough... turning was not the funnest things and near impossible at a dead stop. Power and MPG gains were real, though.

I then removed the pump and looped the lines. It got a little easier, but wasn't a huge difference. Weight was removed... couldn't complain I guess.

THEN, I pulled the whole power steering rack down and modified it to be a "manual steering rack". You can google around, it's a pretty generic mod for most cars (you basically open it up, remove the power steering piston, grease everything up, and put it back together). It wasn't the funnest/easiest job, but the difference was night and day! I could turn my wheels from a dead stop again . Not as easily as with power steering, of course, but with noticeably less effort. Probably more than you want to do currently, but keep it in mind for the future, especially if you have the tools and the time.

[penguin]

I stumbled upon the service manual for my generation civic and was pretty surprised to find that there isnt too big of a difference in the overall ratios between manual and power steering. Manual Steering systems had a 20.3 overall ratio and power steering had a 17.7 overall ratio. Manual steering had 4.1 turns lock to lock and power had 3.6 turns lock to lock.

That means if you convert the rack from power to manual (completely like NoD~ mentions). The steering will only be about 15% heavier.

After further reading in the manual I found something that might have misled some people across the internet. The power steering pump has an inlet and an outlet that are connected to the steering gearbox, which is around the point where the wheel connects to the rack. That gearbox then has two more connections which go to the piston. Depending on the amount the wheel is turned, there are openings in the gearbox which allow more or less pressure to go to the right or left side of the piston (hense power assisted steering).

My point with all of that is -- If you loop the two pipes going to and coming from the power steering pump, you will still have to overcome any forces in the steering gearbox related to the passageways that control the left/right movement of the piston.

I hope I haven't lost anyone, but basically, be sure you loop the lines coming from the left and right side of the piston, I intend to leave the piston full, but leave some air in the connecting line. I am going to drain the gearbox of power steering fluid and cap each of those holes. Note that this has nothing to do with the actual rack and pinion which will remain lubed with grease as they were before I even touched the power steering system.

I hope this helps someone! I hardly notice the difference after a few days driving and I havent modified it as above yet.

EDIT: I found a few tutorials on truly "Depowering" the power steering as NoD~ eluded to. Basically, you take everything apart, remove/grind the piston and seals, put it all back together and get an alignment. Seems like a lot of work to me for a minimal improvement

[Ang84Indy]

I would rather install a manual rack. I was going to do this to my Tracker. Had already found a good manual rack at a junk yard, but then I wrecked the Tracker.

[vskid3]

I had the belt off of my '97 for a few months before I sold it. There was too much variation in my driving between tanks to tell if it helped mileage, but I really liked the way it felt. After a couple weeks, it was like nothing had changed (until I got to a parking lot). I felt like I was going to throw the wheel through the door when I put the belt back on, it was so easy to turn.

My Escape has electric power steering. I don't mind the way it feels, but I'll see if I can disable it without the computer throwing a fit. Maybe even have a switch to re-enable it for parking lots and other drivers.

[Weather Spotter]

if its esteer, just leave it alone. I worked at a OEM tear 1 suppler who made them. the whole point of esteer is that it only draws power when turning. thus giving you the power assist but only when needed. the electric load is about what having your radio on all the time is. ant it WILL toss a code and get mad if you mess with it. it can also lock out the steering if it does not like you.

[penguin]

I agree with weather spotter on the electric steering, it doesn't use much power. In fact, that is one of the reasons car makers are all moving that direction, because you can get a few extra mpg.

I like the underhood simplification (fewer hoses etc) of the electric steer cars, but converting from hydraulic to electric assisted steering is probably not worth the effort. I have seen a lot of people trying to do that lately . . .

The more I think about it, the more I want to take the piston out of my power rack. I just don't want the inconvenience/cost of having it aligned.

[NoD~]

On the alignment... I have been doing DIY alignments for a few years now. There's a lot of write ups and youtube videos on how to do it. It takes a bit to get the hang of it, but after having seen what a bad alignment can do to a newer set of tires, I can say, with confidence, a good DIY job will do just fine. If you already have most of the basic tools, it's not a bad way to go! Can always take it in to get it checked afterwards.

I actually had a donor car that I modified the power steering from and swapped out, so I didn't have nearly the downtime.