snowblind7x

bump

skrewdlude

I am not sure I can give you a report next week, my honda parts didn't get to me yet so I have not reinstalled the rack yet. Maybe mgags can chime in.

On a side note, can anyone tell me the purpose of the rack guide? When I reassembled my rack today. I turned the pinion by hand before installing the rack guide, and after. I noticed it was much easier to turn before I put the rack guide in, and yes I tightened it to spec. (Seat it on the rack guide, then back it off 20-25 degrees) Seemed like it might be there to give resistance? Just curious if it would be possible to lighten up the steering alittle if you backed it out a little more than 20 degrees.

117

Yes, I did this a little over a year ago to my 98 track car. I don't have any pictures because I'm usually more interested in getting work done than taking pictures.

On the 5Gen, it's almost the same process, although the disassembly of the rack requires a press as the rack body is all one piece, unlike the 4Gen.

Basically, I disassembled everything, removed the valve body and seals in the pinion body. Then reassembled the rack with grease on all the major parts.

At speed, I've never had any problems. I ran TWS once with a very small steering wheel, and I did get quite sore actually! I switched to a 1" larger steering wheel, and no problems with steering effort at all at MSR, Hallett, or TWS. The only time I really notice it is when trying to turn while going very, very slow (i.e. parking or loading/unloading the car).

On the 5Gen, there is no support in the center of the rack, just the piston, seal, and a metal seal plate. The rack is 26mm in diameter, solid steel (I assume some steel alloy), so I highly doubt it's going to bend without some serious forces acting on it, which would probably bend not only the rack but the rack body!!

Adjust the rack guide to spec. I left it loose, and the steering felt too loose once everything was installed. I adjusted it to spec, and the rack itself was stiffer to turn by hand, but once in the car, it was smooth as butter.

For the lines, I just cut out the hard lines, machined some plugs for the fittings, sealed them with Hondabond then reinstalled. For the two larger fittings, I went to a local metric hardware company and bought two plugs.

mgags7

i like the hondabond idea for the plugs....i just cut off the lines with like 3/4 of an inch left, snipped shut, and packed them with thick grease...

the rack guide is definitely necessary, at low speed, its not holding you back much, but without it, at high speed, your car would be unstable, too easy to turn....

i really am contemplating going back in and taking out the whole cylinder cap and cylinder.....

117

I machined aluminum plugs that were pressed into the fittings. The Hondabond was just used to seal them up. With your idea, I'd at least weld the lines shut so no dirt or moisture could get into the rack.

The Birdman

yeah when i get some extra time im gonna order some -an plugs for the holes...i need to take the old lines to the plumbing store and get the plugs asap...

117

Why would you order AN plugs for the holes?

The Birdman

i tried looking elsewhere for plugs with the right thread pitch and couldnt find it all....

117

All 6 fittings shown below are metric.



Well, you can't see the two on the valve body, but they're metric as well. The four hard lines fittings are M12 x 1.00, that's why it's impossible to find anything as they're super fine pitch threads. The other two on the valve body are M16 x 1.5 and M14 x 1.5, IIRC. Don't quote me on those two though, I did this a long time ago.

prelittlelude

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i like the hondabond idea for the plugs....

i really am contemplating going back in and taking out the whole cylinder cap and cylinder.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

2 questions, what are we talking about pluging with hondabond, and

sdoncd, you took the cylinder out and then put it back in to maybe take it back out agian? did i get this right matt?

M@

Sorry to reincarnate this thread, but I've been busy w/ other projects, and absent from all that is H-T. Its just too much work to keep up with all the threads even in the prelude forum. Anyways, great step-by-step. This is by far the best I've seen. Anyway my PS has been leaking, and I don't want to spend $100-500 on parts so I've been thinking about doing the manual conversion. My question:

Is when moving from NO PS(belt off) to manual conversion is there a large difference in force required to turn the wheel at very low speeds?

I've moved the wheel w/ the car off, and I'm not willing to make that sacrifice to my daily parker. If however the force required is say in the middle between PS and belt off, I would do this mod.

Thanks
matt

edit* In another thread I saw mention of mgag using a torque wrench. Any news on that ?


Modified by M@ at 3:46 PM 3/25/2006

M@

bump for an answer, and a call for this to be added to the FAQ

mgags7

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by prelittlelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">2 questions, what are we talking about pluging with hondabond, and

sdoncd, you took the cylinder out and then put it back in to maybe take it back out agian? did i get this right matt? </TD></TR></TABLE>

i plugged the now snipped and pliered shut ends of the old power steering lines with hondabond, and then screwed them back into the valve body

i put the cylinder back in for safety's sake....i still havent figured out if its necessary
either way it took me all of an hour to do so whatever....

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by M@ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is when moving from NO PS(belt off) to manual conversion is there a large difference in force required to turn the wheel at very low speeds?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

YES, there is a huge difference, at anything but a stop, you will barely notice

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by M@ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've moved the wheel w/ the car off, and I'm not willing to make that sacrifice to my daily parker. If however the force required is say in the middle between PS and belt off, I would do this mod.

Thanks
matt

edit* In another thread I saw mention of mgag using a torque wrench. Any news on that ?


Modified by M@ at 3:46 PM 3/25/2006</TD></TR></TABLE>

on a scale of harness to turn
if power steering is a 10, and belt off is a 1, i rate this a 7

i never did the tq wrench thing...i forgot...

Nature's Renewal

How are the manual rack conversions holding up guys?

I'm interested in doing this really soon.

prelude_h22vtec

i just did mine not too long ago. anyone who is thinking about doing it definetely should.


Modified by prelude_h22vtec at 10:23 PM 4/6/2006

mgags7

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nature’s Renewal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How are the manual rack conversions holding up guys?

I'm interested in doing this really soon.</TD></TR></TABLE>

mine is fine over 5k miles later

AdReNaLiN

On the subject of steering racks, has anyone thought about getting a quick ratio pinion machined or made up?

As far as I'm aware, there's no aftermarket replacement...

I'd certainly be in for a pinion that shortened the steering by about 25% ie like the DX Civic Quaife one...

mgags7

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AdReNaLiN &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">On the subject of steering racks, has anyone thought about getting a quick ratio pinion machined or made up?

As far as I'm aware, there's no aftermarket replacement...

I'd certainly be in for a pinion that shortened the steering by about 25% ie like the DX Civic Quaife one...</TD></TR></TABLE>

as far as i have ever seen, that has never been done....note that this pinion would make steering harder w/o power....

AdReNaLiN

Yes it would - my plan is to keep the power steer but in either case it'd be nice to have a faster rack...

mgags7

indeed it would, im sure you could look into a custom pinion.....though i doubt it would be cheap....

.BigSexy

Matt...I wish you lived closer to TN so you could come down here and show me ow this is done

mgags7

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by egcoupe94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Matt...I wish you lived closer to TN so you could come down here and show me ow this is done </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol thats like a 10hr drive from here....

its really not all that bad though, you just can't be afraid of gettin all greazy son....

MadCityLude

i did the line loop for a while, now I am gonna do the conversion. Anything I should watch for? Why is it that no one ever ways anything about the two small lines that run to the VSS. When I looped the lines it was a surprise to me and I haven't seen you speak of them either? Am I missing something? Do I need any special tools to do this? What weight/ type of grease are you running mgags? I have a feeling that the grease alone would make a difference in how it feels. Thanks for the help.

.BigSexy

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

lol thats like a 10hr drive from here....

its really not all that bad though, you just can't be afraid of gettin all greazy son.... </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, but I get nervous on big projects like this. How did it feel the first time you drove it? How long of a project was it? is it comparable to a civic without p/s? Ive never had p/s on my civic and doesnt bother me a bit

bb_one

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
YES, there is a huge difference, at anything but a stop, you will barely notice


on a scale of harness to turn
if power steering is a 10, and belt off is a 1, i rate this a 7

i never did the tq wrench thing...i forgot...</TD></TR></TABLE>