I want to swap to a manual rack. any tricks or tips i should know? and parts i might need to acquire or buy besides the rack itself?

 

well the quickest and easiest is just pull you powersteering pump belt off... but its not the best way... but pretty much all you really need to do is buy the rack... and remove the powersteering pump, fluid jug.... and if you want ac yet your going to have to buy a different belt...

 

dont need a different pinion gear? are you sure? and if i jus pull the belt off then im jus dragging the hydrolics in the rack back and forth manually making it even harder to steer and you cant run ac without ps cause the ps pump is the tentioner for the ac compressor unless you can magically get the belt on and make it tight like it needs to be

 

i've been running without the belt on my powersteering/ac belt for about 8 months and it maybe turns a tiny bit harder then an actual manual rack... i have a reason for it i have to fix the power steering jug... and i've been to busy otherwise... it works fine hell my wife even drives it no problem... and i know the power steering is the tensioner for the ac i'm working on a replacement tensioner setup for it....

 

Did this in previous neons. Just yanking out all the ps and a/c lines and equipment. Buying a manual rack is a better method. The manual shadow steering rack fits 1G neons, and has a much shorter turning setup.

 

yeah deff buying the manual rack is deff the better method but to get ya by till you get the rack replaced... i know right now i'm not in a hurry to do it cause there is like 10+ inches of snow on the ground... so maybe this spring... although i deff still wanna make the AC functional....

 

but also know by running it with no belt.. youve now ruined your power rack.

 

shouldn't have... my buddy ran his for about a year and a half without the belt on the pump then threw the belt back on and it worked fine...

 

its a waist of money...its a easy mod...you take the belt off...the ps pump...and the resivoir...once they are off then you just take the hose and combine the lines(i can get you a pic of the lines if you want)...it takes 30 minute to an hour and if you cant turn the wheel then...umm lift weights cause a 5 year old girl could XD...also i did it to my stratus and it was harder to turn then the neon ever was and it was a dd for two years with no p/s pump before i blew the 2.4...just got done doing it to my mustang now...i dont recomend it on that car...with the heavy weight 5.0 talk about a workout XD

 

well im not worried bout it being to hard to turn im jus goin to autocross and i want good steering and i understand how to loop jus wondering if thats an easier method and more worth it than looping the rack and yes taking the belt off will ruin it because in a ps system there is a sealin inside the rack and the hydraulic fluid is supposed to push back and forth instead you are forcing it which in turn ruins the seal cause ****ty steering when you go back to having ps