thinking of manual steering

[jumbo2]

My truck is getting faster this year , Im wondering what options I have for going from power steering to manual ? Is there a stock box in manual ? I found some new boxes but the price is a little steep and I would rather spend that on rear disks and my roll cage ?

thanks

[INSIDIOUS '86]

I just cut my belt. It's not half bad at all. No need for a manual box. The steering ratio sucks so bad it's already easy and with power you can play wheel of fortune in the driveway. Look up red head steering
Posted via Mobile Device

Also rear disks. May slow you down in et. Discs drag more than drums.

[jumbo2]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

I just cut my belt. It's not half bad at all. No need for a manual box. The steering ratio sucks so bad it's already easy and with power you can play wheel of fortune in the driveway. Look up red head steering
Posted via Mobile Device

Also rear disks. May slow you down in et. Discs drag more than drums.

You got way bigger balls than me to run a power box with no power my new motor will have a electric water pump and one belt to the alt which will be low mount pass side and dont want a pump hanging there on the right

My rear axle is a 9" and the drums dont seem to work that great , was thinking the swap might help stop in a hurry with the big rear meats , my stall doesnt help when I let off the gas the motor idles at any speed

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

I just cut my belt. It's not half bad at all. No need for a manual box. The steering ratio sucks so bad it's already easy and with power you can play wheel of fortune in the driveway. Look up red head steering

x2 -

At a dead stop it's a killer - but as long as you are rolling a bit it is no problem.

K

[77 ChevySport]

Originally Posted by jumbo2

My truck is getting faster this year , Im wondering what options I have for going from power steering to manual ? Is there a stock box in manual ? I found some new boxes but the price is a little steep and I would rather spend that on rear disks and my roll cage ?

thanks

Attachment 1041728

I would do it correctly. Get a manual box and you will probably need a different pitman arm. Not sure if your center link will work or not. Some models require a different center link some don't. Larry

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by jumbo2

You got way bigger balls than me to run a power box with no power my new motor will have a electric water pump and one belt to the alt which will be low mount pass side and dont want a pump hanging there on the right

My rear axle is a 9" and the drums dont seem to work that great , was thinking the swap might help stop in a hurry with the big rear meats , my stall doesnt help when I let off the gas the motor idles at any speed

You running hydroboost? Having weaker rear brakes isn't a bad thing locking up on the strip is big trouble. Sounds like the fronts are more the issue. But if your vacuum is low then braking power is greatly effected
Posted via Mobile Device

[KQQL IT]

Manual box and 15" steering wheel. Works good for me.
Posted via Mobile Device

[cory d]

Originally Posted by INSIDIOUS '86

I just cut my belt. It's not half bad at all. No need for a manual box. The steering ratio sucks so bad it's already easy and with power you can play wheel of fortune in the driveway. Look up red head steering
Posted via Mobile Device

Also rear disks. May slow you down in et. Discs drag more than drums.

everything else was left alone? you just removed the belt?

[badpontiacs]

Sweet truck! Looks like mine!!

[jumbo2]

Originally Posted by KQQL IT

Manual box and 15" steering wheel. Works good for me.
Posted via Mobile Device

Went to the local pick and pull , didn't see a single manual box
Posted via Mobile Device

[INSIDIOUS '86]

Originally Posted by cory d

everything else was left alone? you just removed the belt?

Yah. All my friends trucks are like that. We love it
Posted via Mobile Device

[jumbo2]

That goes against everything I have ever herd , it's not safe
Posted via Mobile Device

[jumbo2]

Originally Posted by badpontiacs

Sweet truck! Looks like mine!!

Thanks , post a pic of your truck
Posted via Mobile Device

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

Using a power box for none power options is/was popular with early Mustangs, VW GTI's, and Camaro's.

What you have to do for smoother operation is flush the fluid a couple of times if necessary with ATF till its clean. ATF seems popular for the swap. Then you drain out your fluid, and take off your hoses. Turn the wheel lock to lock a couple of times, and doing it in the air is fine. This removes excess fluid from the box. You need some for lubrication, but to much "locks" up the box for lack of a better term. Just like trying to turn the wheel with the engine off. Then you get a short piece of hose. I like to use fuel injection hose. Cut the hose off of the fittings, and slide the hose over to connect the low side to the high side. Regular hose clamps are fine since there is no pressure. You could go fancy, and use AN fittings.

I have heard of people using motor oil with different weights to change the feel, but I have not seen or done that personally.

I used to do this to quite a few cars, and once done its not any harder then regular manual steering. On a couple of Novas I built in a semi Pro-Touring fashion it was a cheap way to get firm fast ratio steering. Early power steering boxes were known for there vagueness, and when converted had excellent road feeling. Just like regular manual boxes once you get used to them they are not hard to drive. The big trick is to get the truck moving just as you start to turn, and then its smooth. Try to do it in spot, and it can be a bit of a fight.

[badpontiacs]

Correct me if im wrong, i have read that 67-72 manual boxes are the same as ours. I read that you need the box and pitman arm for the swap. Yes?
I have a power box with the hoses looped together, it sucks doing stopped turns but rolling is a breeze.

Heres some pictures of mine JUMBO2.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by jumbo2

That goes against everything I have ever herd , it's not safe
Posted via Mobile Device

Why?

Everything is still mechanically attached as it was. All you would have done is eliminated the boost and are using a steering ratio that is not optimized for that particular package.

I've been driving my Chevelle this way for 35 years. I would ask you to be careful about using the "s" word.... (ie, "safe")

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/fea...olet_chevelle/

K

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by Ziegelsteinfaust

Using a power box for none power options is/was popular with early Mustangs, VW GTI's, and Camaro's.

What you have to do for smoother operation is flush the fluid a couple of times if necessary with ATF till its clean. ATF seems popular for the swap. Then you drain out your fluid, and take off your hoses. Turn the wheel lock to lock a couple of times, and doing it in the air is fine. This removes excess fluid from the box. You need some for lubrication, but to much "locks" up the box for lack of a better term. Just like trying to turn the wheel with the engine off. Then you get a short piece of hose. I like to use fuel injection hose. Cut the hose off of the fittings, and slide the hose over to connect the low side to the high side. Regular hose clamps are fine since there is no pressure. You could go fancy, and use AN fittings.

I have heard of people using motor oil with different weights to change the feel, but I have not seen or done that personally.

I used to do this to quite a few cars, and once done its not any harder then regular manual steering. On a couple of Novas I built in a semi Pro-Touring fashion it was a cheap way to get firm fast ratio steering. Early power steering boxes were known for there vagueness, and when converted had excellent road feeling. Just like regular manual boxes once you get used to them they are not hard to drive. The big trick is to get the truck moving just as you start to turn, and then its smooth. Try to do it in spot, and it can be a bit of a fight.

You can see the loop/line on the power steering gear in this photo (at the bottom):

[bdiamond]

In a straight line how much power could the power steering pump actually eat up? For a drag type vehuicle this seems like such a waste to still carry the pump as well as the extra weight of the box. The slower manual box would probably make the truck go down the track better anyway. Especially if caster was maximized with the lower arm mod.

[bdiamond]

I can look around here for a manual box or two if y'all need them. They were fairly plentiful last time I looked. And trying not to get this thread off the OP's question, but as far as steering feel, I didn't like the turning effort on my truck with stock power steering either. These trucks spec out at 1 1/2* of caster. That aint much. If you redrill the lower cross shaft to move the lower arm forward 3/4" you can get the caster to 5* or so. This will get rid of the light steering effort.

[kalbert]

I had a '78 stripped down GMC with a 6cyl and a manual box. Your arms will be in for a workout that thing was probably a thousand turns lock to lock! They're out there, and as I recall are a few pounds lighter than the power unit + pump. It's not like a Mustang II manual rack that is tens of pounds lighter than it's power counter part. A manual box for our pickups is still a big heavy cast iron glob.

That said though, on a pickup like yours a manual box would be the the way to go I think. Search www.car-part.com for used boxes in your area. Looks like there's quite a few around me priced between $25 and $60.

[cory d]

just went a few miles without the power steering belt. didnt really like it. how much lighter would it be with lines looped and fluid at the right level

[INSIDIOUS '86]

I like the feel. I know exactly when the from loses traction in snow and ice and I have feedback now. All I do is flush the box every few months be hooking the box back up and running it. Keeping fluid in there is a good idea. Once you get used to driving with it off you change how you drive or take corners. Give it a week the go back to power and you will wonder why they put a lady's box in these
Posted via Mobile Device

[cory d]

i went to do a little power slide and the back end tried to come aroud (thanks to ice) and i was still able to save it just fine. i loped the lines and removed the "lady box"

[bmchevy1979]

x3 on the "Lady Box" my blazer hasn't had working power steering since I have owned it so when I got my 76 with working ps it was like they weren't even the same type of truck besides the 2wd and 4wd my k5 now has 33's and I'm still not in a big hurry to get it working at least not till I start taking it offroading

[KQQL IT]

If you can't round one up. I have a spare
Posted via Mobile Device