Power steering pump delete

[NoD~]

Yes, the AFTER way is the best way to do the line loop. The 2nd best is to loop at the rotary valve -to- power steering pump.

Yes to the picture of the two lines. Those lines currently go from the rack housing -to- the rotary valve.

I think a little explanation on how the power steering works is what will make clear the way for best performance here...

The power steering pump is pushing fluid into the "in" on the rotary valve. When you aren't steering, this isn't really doing anything. Once you start to turn your wheel in one direction or another, the rotary valve opens up one of the two lines and it puts pressure on that line. The fluid forces the piston in the rack housing over, making the steering assisted and much easier. The other side of the piston's chamber is full of fluid and has to go somewhere, so it goes out the line, then to the rotary valve, which directs it to the "out". Then, it goes back to the PS pump. Big loop like that.

So, with that said, why loop where?

Looping at the pinion side, at the rotary valve, is mostly about the fluid. You won't be able to drain as much fluid out, making it likely that when you turn the wheel, you are still going to be pushing some fluid. Even a little can make for resistance. It will be forced through from the rack housing to the rotary valve, loop around, and back in the other side of the rack housing.

Looping at the rack side, you can drain a lot more fluid and bypass the rotary valve, causing lowered resistance. You'll still want to loop or seal up at the rotary valve; anything you open up needs enclosed. Leave no lines open... you don't really want debris, dirt, whatever going in there and causing problems later.

When you pull the rack out of the housing and remove the piston, you completely remove pushing ANYTHING around in there. No resistance from the piston itself, either! Then, you can clean up and grease everything properly for smooth operation.

So there you have it. Hopefully this is pretty clear on how all this works (and lets hope I fully understand it myself! lol).

IF you have the rack out, spend a day cautiously taking it apart and removing the piston. It's well worth it in the end. You might do some googling to find out how to convert it properly... I had to cut/chisel the piston off the rack to remove it!

[Christ]

Whatever you do, do NOT simply cap the lines at the piston, unless you've removed the internal seal from the piston. Air/fluid needs to be able to pass from side to side of the piston face to allow proper motion, else you'll be building pressure on each side of the cylinder [which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, you don't want it.]

If you take the rack apart, you really don't actually need to completely remove the piston. Removing the seal and/or drilling some holes through the piston face is more than plenty to allow effortless manual steering. Often, the energy spent removing the piston is energy wasted because the 'problem' can be 'fixed' so easily in other ways.

Once you've looped the lines at the piston, you can simply add plastic caps to the lines at the rotary valve, as there is no pressure differential inside the rotary valve without fluid moving through it. If you feel safer, some threaded plugs or even the original lines pinched off will work fine, also.

[oil pan 4]

Always useful information.
Maybe it should have its own post.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post378491

[NoD~]

Originally Posted by Christ

Whatever you do, do NOT simply cap the lines at the piston, unless you've removed the internal seal from the piston. Air/fluid needs to be able to pass from side to side of the piston face to allow proper motion, else you'll be building pressure on each side of the cylinder [which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case, you don't want it.]

If you take the rack apart, you really don't actually need to completely remove the piston. Removing the seal and/or drilling some holes through the piston face is more than plenty to allow effortless manual steering. Often, the energy spent removing the piston is energy wasted because the 'problem' can be 'fixed' so easily in other ways.

Once you've looped the lines at the piston, you can simply add plastic caps to the lines at the rotary valve, as there is no pressure differential inside the rotary valve without fluid moving through it. If you feel safer, some threaded plugs or even the original lines pinched off will work fine, also.

lol, yeah having an airspring in your power steering by capping off w/o piston mod/removal would not be a fun experience. Thanks for noting that.

Though you don't need to remove the piston and can just "unseal" it, I'd still recommend removing it. You are that far, it doesn't take but a few minutes to cut and chisel it out at that point. If you lack the tools, though, I can see your point.

[JMunn55]

I did this exactly the same on my Camry, but the steering feels just as stiff as when I had the pump all connected. Barely any road feel, bad bump steer, and very very stiff steering at any speed (doesn't feel related to the tires at all). Might have to gut the rack, I'm not driving it like this

[elhigh]

^^
That makes me think your PS was kaput before you did the pump deletion.

[JMunn55]

I did have a small leak before, but from the pump. Everything else seemed to work fine before. Might try gutting the rack. Or I could just buy new hoses and hook it all back up and replace the pump to stop the leak.