ek4kid

so i did the manual to power steering conversion with a loop in the line. i drive a 93 civic si, i looped the bigger holes and cut the smaller hardline and basically crimped it shut because i ddnt have a screw or plug for that. i just swapped the car to a b16. i didnt touch antyhing else in the rack except for the looped p/s line. and when i drive the car it feels reallly unstable.. i assumed id have a really hard feedback in the steering like my non-powersteering EK does.. but when i turn the wheel right the steering is soooo sensitive? and feels super light to turn right.. turning left seems ok. and at stand still the steering is a bit stiff as expected.

i took one of the looped lines off and asked my brother to turn the wheel full left and right to see if any fluid came out.and nothing came out. seems my rack is dry? should i add p/s fluid in and see if it stiffens it out?

or maybe i ddnt crimp the hardline enuff and air is escaping?? but why is my steering to the Right really light and steering left is heavier? iv checked for play in both wheels when i jacked the car up and everything seems fine.

any help would be AWESOME! as i dont feel safe driving the car.

badcf4

there should be a small amount of fluid in the rack at all times.....So try it, but alot of what I have heard of looped racks is they are not really that great.

I would suggest searching for a real manual rack.

ek4kid

i tried to put fluid in but it doesnt go in? unless maybe i get some kinda saringe to force the fluid inside the rack. i tried both sides of the loop too and the fluid doesnt seem to wanna go down? but yeah my steering is still light. when i let go of the wheel im basically scared my car will swerve off somewhere left or right because of how light it is.. and i hold the wheel very firm.

my shox are some kind of oem replacements they are white with some brand on it ill get tomorrow, iv never heard of them but they are deff a LOT stiffer than normal shox, im using stock springs tho?? wich is weird.. but even with the oem springs its stiff.. just like my t1r coilovers on my ek. .

so stock hieght, ohh and for wheels im running 16" volk ce28's. yeah looks really goofy with stock height and 16" wheels but wtv. so do you think that the light wheel feeling has anything to do with the stock height/hard shocks/light wheels?

also my friend used to autoX the eg, and he lowered it and did alignment and everything while its lowered. soo maybe the alignment on stock height is making the car handle weird? or maybe my tires? i do have camber wear from when the wheels were on my slammed ek?

Jay

ek4kid

i do have a manul EG rack i got from my last totaled eg, but im going to be using that for my ekk2 swap. and my friend has a looped powered rack and his steering is a lot stiffer, and has a helll of a lot more feedback on the road.. i have basically zero feedback on the road.. kinda like my cars on ice the way the steering feels so light.

ek4kid

sorry for soo many damn posts but i keep forgetting stuff. oh and my wheel response is not slow.. my car steers like a damn go kart.. lol literally when i move the wheel a little bit the car reacts sooo fast to it its scary.. lol i just want it to be stiffer with more road response.. im gunna try and drop the car with my T1R coilovers tomorrow and see if that changes anything.

ek4kid

ttt, so i still have the problem. would a leak in my rack cause this? or a kink in my loop line? i dont think theres a kink in there but the line i put was JUST enuff.. maybe there is a kink in between id have to check. but would that cause the steering to be soo light while im moving? cause when my car isnt moving the steering is stiff. but once i get goin its softer than my gf's power steering em1... kinda really scary on the freeway

2fast4u831

add fluid to the rack. if you use the manual rack make sure to get the cross member as well since it's different than the P/S one. get an alignment. I've had new swaps throw off my alignment before.

ek4kid

hey thanx for the reply, i cant add any fluid in the rack? i have a power steering rack. but i converted it to non power steering when i looped the lines. and plugged the other line. i tried to take the loop out and pour some fluid in but it doesnt seem to want to go down? it just stops and over flows real quick. i dont think an alignment will fix the problem. as the steering is supposed to be super stiff and have some feedback in the road.. but for my car its only stiff when its not moving.. but once i get rolling the steering feels REALLY extreamly light. i can steer it with my fingers if i wanted to really.. and that is not normal. its lighter than power steering. and i loooped the lines?? lol..

soo i duno if i need to adjust the rack nut? or maybe my loop in the rack is not tight enuff or theres a kink in the line? thats preventing the rack to build up pressure or something. when i make a left or right turn. my car doesnt even straighten out. i have to manualy turn my wheel back to center to straighten my car out. normally on car u can sort of let go of the wheel and itll center itself out after a turn correct? but mine doesnt..

thanx again for the input!

ek4kid

would toe out cause light steering? my friend said by looking at the driver wheel that theres a lot of toe out. buddy of mine who used to own the car before me used to autoX the car a LOT.. and another buddy said toe out was mainly for cornerning better. soo maybe since he was using power steering and im not.. he ddnt notice the steering getting lighter??

when im driving on uneven road seems my steering when driving straight wasnts to pull left and right and then soft.. its weird kinda like when ur at the arcade playing a driving game and you know theres that pull on the wheel? when your holding it? it reminds me of that sorta?

so im going to replace my balljoint on passenger side because the boots cracked.. then go in for an alignment. basically for toe because i have no camber adjusters and i just read u dont need em. well any more input on toe/alignment would be sweet! because if the toe effects how light/heavy the steering is feeling then i guess thats my problem

hayabusa160

if the toe is really jacked up the car can be really easy to turn in one direction and a bit hard in the other.

Ferio4ya

this happened to me and come to find out it was toe. not sure if my steering is as light as your describing, but it was pretty light while moving. hope the alignment helps!

ek4kid

yeah mine when im moving my steering is sooo light feels like power steering, cept power steering feels more stable than mine. and when i make turns my steering wheel doesnt go back to center itll keep moving untill i stop it with my hand. But when my car isnt moving the steering is stiff as it should be.. soo im thinking its the toe. im going to replace a ball joint and set my height for winter then get an alignment done and see if it helps. thanx for the replies you two. esp ferio4ya. as i basically wanted confirmation if someone had the same problem as me and i guess yours is alike.

erikiksaz1

So you're saying that you:

(1) looped the PS pump inlet and PS pump outlet
(2) crimped one side of the hard lines coming off the rack

I think your problem is with #2. Why did you just cut one of the hard lines and crimp it? You were supposed to cut the line and add a T-fitting, with the third leg of the T-fitting heading towards a reservoir (a breather).

There's a piston inside the rack that forces fluid in/out of the hard lines. Since you only crimped one of the hard lines shut, fluid doesn't pass easily through that hardline, eg. it'll be harder to turn one direction compared to the other.