Yeah, I know the other thread's been locked, but I had a question.

I've never been a big fan of power steering.
Even with a 10" steering wheel & wide sticky Bridgestones, I never had a wish for it on a Mini.

My question is, can I just abandon the power steering pump on my Impreza steering & use the rack unpowered without damaging it long term?

I'm 94kg & don't see me needing power steering in the Moke.
Torque steer should be minimal (around 140-150 flywheel hp & AWD), but neither do I want to overstress any components.

Anyone have any experience?

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Anyone ?

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Too many cars, and too little time.

why dont you just use the mini steering rack?

In an Impreza?

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Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

I can only see one problem. All the components between the steering wheel and the rack pinion are designed to be used with PS. It might be feasible that Subaru never designed the components with the view that they be used with PS and prolonged use without it and the extra loads being applied may cause failure IMO. Does this sound reasonable?

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Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

isnt it a moke with an impreza motor?

You could be right. I just concluded it was an imprezza as stated.

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Chris

Everything I like is either
illegal, immoral or fattening.

My concerns exactly. Will keep the PS for now, but with a view to changing it later.
Have been advised by a jap importer that my best bet would be to bolt in a rack from an earlier model subaru.

...and yes, it is a Moke with an Impreza motor/drivetrain/suspension.
Please dont ask me why

Mike

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Too many cars, and too little time.

If there is a problem and the power steering cuts out in a car, it's reccommended that it gets fixed before 100km. It will get damaged eventually. Find that other rack.

its the pump that gets wrecked by spinning with no fluid.. toasts it..

problem with power racks is theyre very small lock to lock.. but in a mini this wont matter

you should be able to disconnect the piping to the rack itself and plug the holes.. (you dont want crap in there)

my mums power rack pump blew up and the power steering mob said it would cost more than the car to fix.. and they said.. we could disconnect the pump and you could deal with heavy steering.. and she did.. 4 3 years before she bought a new car.. the pump gets damadged.. not the rack.. it wont be a drama

if you buy a non power rack.. you will find that its gearing is horendous in a mini.. (4 turns lock to lock or something stupid).. instead of the happy 2.2 that the mini has.. the power rack will be closer to 2.5.. keep it.. trust me

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Expert in training

I with miniVan, I can't see a reason why it would prematurely wear out the rack.

I don't know much about P/S but theoretically it would be just like disconnecting a servo from your braking system. it will cause no more wear on the system than if it was there...it'll do the same thing, increase feedback and increase the amount of force needed...

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

sure maybe you wont need it for the time being. What happens if later down the track you decide to pump up the power in it??? It might make it a little bit easier to control if there was PS. But then again, sounds like you'll be having a lot of fun anyway!

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68matic: "i havent seen much head in my life "

Thanks for the input guys.

Will start with the PS hooked up (as I've already done it), but will then road test it without the pump to see how it handles.

Let you know in a couple of months...

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Too many cars, and too little time.

that things engineered and on the road??? thats sweet!

so jealous

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68matic: "i havent seen much head in my life "