my plan is to convert the power steering to a regular manual rack but to do it properly by taking the rack apart and removing the bushing and plugging any fluid lines with hex plugs.

whew so got all of the p/s lines, and pump and the a/c compressor with related lines and the condensor and a/c canister plus the a/c and p/s bracket that mounts them to the block off So pretty much everything but i had to call it a night when i couldnt separate the tie rod ends balljoints to remove the rack to convert it properly to manual. that will have to wait until morning. the whole job took about 3-4 hours but i work pretty slow.

However if anyone is interested in knowing how much all of that stuff weighs aka complete p/s and a/c removal i weighed it all in a tupperware bin and the verdict?

37.2 LBS of weight savings thats the equivalent of me going on a really effective diet lol (i weigh 270) but i wasnt too keen on working out just to correct it haha yes im lazy but this ought to let you know of the upper limits of an rx7 drivers capacity haha

37.2 lbs and thats taring the bin its all in + i drained all the p/s fluid

 

Thanks for sharing. Did you get the weight of the Power steering stuff by itself? I think I'd like to keep my A/C, it gets hot here.

-s-

 

no i didnt weigh just the p/s i will do that tomorrow for everyone. where i live you cant recharge an a/c system unless everything is converted for the new gas. mine was out of pressure so to retrofit everything and re-pressurize the system with new stuff ive been quoted up to $1300 but its never so hot here that i really cared about having it. always figured thats what the sunroof and windows were for!!

 

Thats about 5 whp, i would rather keep the comforts and just make more power!

 

ya it does translate into a bit less strain on the engine as it allowed me to unbolt and remove the front crank pulley altogether. but not having power steering is something i can live with (my 85 didnt have it) and well as i put above the ac was broken and was rarely needed if ever. but if i lived in california no way would i be taking it out and if i was keeping the ac i would probably still keep the power steering.

 

good info. i wanted to know the weight savings and if it is worth it.
thanks justin

 

No AC or PS for me and I'm never going back!

 

then thats about the cheapest 5 whp i ever got

 

how do you like not having PS and do you take the car to auto-x or road courses etc. and did you do the conversion to manual yourself or did u send it out to be converted?

 

Did you not get the H/P **** with your rx7?

 

No kidding. Now that I know the actual weight is so low I cant believe people even remove them with the "weight savings" reasoning.

Thats the difference of just filling the retarded large gas tank up only to 3/4 all the time instead of full.

 

i agree i wouldnt recommend doing this if you care about those features in your car. for my particular case the weight savings reason was negligible. my a/c was shot and could not be refilled and the p/s well i dont really care for it one way or the other.

but if you enjoy steering at slow speeds easily by all means the weight you save is miniscule at best. your right its about the equivalent of always having half a tank of gas in your tank.

The power steering system by itself only weighs 17.x lbs so really whats it worth?

and if after you attempt this and you butcher your rack a brand new one from mazda will set you back a very embarrasing $2600.00 yes you read that right. a quote i was curious about just incase. Though i am confident that if i can do it anyone can, as it really is just a matter of following directions from the FSM.

again weight savings is a bad excuse to do this but if your going to do it, its a relatively easy mod and i am surprised by how much room was created on the drivers side of the engine compartment. it seems to me (i havent yet) that it is already much easier to change spark plugs. which i will never complain about!

 

I bought a 94 a few years ago without ac and ps. I put those back on myself.

 

here are some before and after shots i took. i like how much extra room on the drivers side there is. again its not for everyone

 

Thanks for the weight info.

 

I love no PS. It is a completely new car with it and the road feel is insanely improved. After getting used to the feel, I now wouldn't be able to stand an FD with PS. I have 255 wide tires on the front and it's no biggie even when going slow. I don't AutoX, but I do canyon runs, and no PS is a huuuge improvement. I can't imagine AutoX being difficult at all considering it's easy to turn the wheel as long as you're going 1mph and over.

Right now all I have is looped lines with no fluid, but I intend to have Maval mod my rack in the future (or maybe ill do it myself). Howard Coleman has a thread about manual steering....search for it.

 

Exactly.

AC i can understand, especially if you have a DD to use if its REALLY hot but PS, i HAVE to have. I drove alot of cars with no PS and it sucked badly.

 

if you do decide to do it yourself it was insanely easy.

The pump can be easily taken off but you have to remove the pumps plastic pulley pulley first then there are three bolts right under the pulley that attach it to the bracket. there is also a hidden 4th bolt that is set back a bit farther and under the pump. these are the only bolts that attach it. under the lines coming out of the pump and remove it quickly putting it into a bucket cause the fluid will leak.

The lines should all now be easily traceable so remove the two large lines that plug into the steering rack (one of these lines comes directly from the pump. and then working under the car there are quite a few bolted clips that hold all the piping and the s cooler onto the chasis. the hardest one to reach for me was the one directly under the bolted brace (the one the bottem of the intercooler is bolted to) on the drivers side.

you can disconnect the rubber hoses from the hard lines wherever possible it makes removing the lines without bending the hell out of it much easier.

once all the lines are out and you are just left with the steering rack the FSM says to lift the car up and support the engine while you lower the engine cradle but ii found the best way to remove it was to unbolt the 4 bolts that hold the sway bar on (you can leave that hanging down for now by the ends) and then separate the tie rod end ball joints using a long pickle fork (tie rod bar) and smacking it with a hammer to wedge it in and then pull on it popping the bolt out of the socket. (make sure to remove the castle nuts and cotter pins first)

then there is one bolt holding the pinion of the steering rack to the steering shaft this came out really easily. then again working under the car remove the 4 bolts that secure the steering rack to the engine cradle. from there its just a combination of working the rack out the bottom of the car. the oil lines do interfere a little bit but you can work it out pretty easily.

For disassembly of the rack The FSM is the best source of instructions however you dont have to take every little thing out of it just to the point of getting the shaft out and then cutting off the pressed bearing on it. I did this very carefully making three cuts at about 120 degrees around it so it broken of clean and so i wouldnt cut into the shaft with a dremel and cutoff disc. then a few light taps with a hammer broke it off completely. there is a retaining ring under it that i also took off.

Thats all folks

 

I'm rocking the maval manual rack... Love the feel. It's honestly not as bad as people think it would be. Not much more effort than with power steering. I'll never go back!

 

what size hex bolts, and how many of each, did you need to plug the holes on the rack?

 

I beg to differ.
37 lbs, added to what you can remove from your spare tire well, changing hatch, doors even, seats, pulleys, lighter brakes, wheels, tires, flywheel, exhaust, will tally up to a considerable amount of weight. And there will be a considerable amount of saivngs in terms of rotational mass.
If you drop 220 lbs and you make even 350 crank HP, where does the power/weight ratio sit? In addition, the weight that you remove improves not only acceleration, but handling and braking. And 1 lbs removed from rotating masses, especially if it is on engine or other rotating components directly attached to it, equates to remove many lbs on the car itself, when you are under acceleration, especially with the lower 3 gears.
There are many, many places where you can remove 5, 10, 20 or 35 insignificant lbs from the car, they are all insignificant by themselves, but if you put them together, then... They add up to a lot...
Personally, I don't think I want to do the PS, but the A/C... I'm seriously thinking about it, since I am in Canada too and I don't feel the need for it at all...
But I guess, to each their own...

 

I'm getting rid of my AC, as I live in Toronto. The only time i really use it is to defog my windows. I mean it doesn't get THAT hot over here

 

The only one i needed to replace was the larger dark on in the pic which was i think a M12x1.5 bolt this of course used to be the banjo bolt. the other 5 i actually re-used from the hard lines and after thoroughly cleaning them just filled them with permatex "cold weld" which is like J.B. weld only in my opinion a thousand times better. and it worked great then it was just a matter of putting them all back in the holes. if you want to replace them all the smaller ones are M12x1.0 and the other large one is M16x1.0 or 1.5 I found that these thread and bolt sizes are extremely hard to come by unless you know of a bolt place that specializes in metric sizes..

The one in Calgary is called TRIAD fasteners
but i havent found a shop like it in Saskatoon yet
the other place is Bolt Supply house, however their metric selection is really limited.

That was my whole reason too... i mean i live in saskatoon now and whats the point of having something to make you colder than you already are

 

I hear you. Does anyone have a write up on how to remove the A/c?

 

i could put that in here too but its much easier than removing the power steering honestly

AND HERES A WARNING BEFORE YOU START TO REMOVE YOUR A/C:

Have a licensed shop that deals in a/c repairs drain any and all ac from the system before you begin to remove ANYTHING the gas is deadly to breath in even just a little and this is not where you want to cut corners. only after having the system drained by a professional should you start anything in regards to your a/c system.

The cost to drain a system safely is less than you might think too i believe most shops would charge just a nominal fee like $30 -60 tops! so being your own ac tech just isnt worth it!

Then removing it is a lot easier and safer! you can start by undoing the condensor the big thing that looks like a radiator from the front of your car ( i fount the best tools here to disconnect the a/c lines were two large adjustable wrenches) and the cannister is bolted right to the front of the engine bay on the top so unblot the lines to it and that comes out easily, then take off what ever lines you have left all the way to the compressor. the compressor is mounted with four 12 mm bolts on the side of it. it can take some patience to get them all off as you have to work between the frame rails and the compressor. unbolt the two ac lines that are connected to the pump and be careful to hold on to it while you finish unbolting it and voila it should come out nicely!