P/S to Manual Steering ConversionThis really isn't a step by step process on how to remove p/s stuffs and install manual rack, it is more of a confirmation of what works from the manual to p/s cars. I would like to thank Pick N Pull, even though they are robbers, and the Pacific Northwest for it's lack of rust, and the 82 Celica Lb that I was able to pull the whole system from.
I REMOVED:Rack w/
-Bushings
-Left and right brackets, that mount rack too the cross member
-inner/outer tie rods
-universal joint
Cross member (Not needed same for p/s and manual cars)
Entire steering column from the intermediate shaft all the way up to the steering wheel.
-Also removed the base plate, where steering column goes through the firewall, but it turns out they are the same on both car models. So it was not needed.
I did not take the steering knuckles as the consensus on the forum is that the P/S knuckles would create more leverage b/c they are longer??.
INSTALLATIONInstallation was pretty straight forward, remove all p/s rack, you can leave cross member as they are the same on both cars. disconnected p/s lines from pump and rack. Disconnected p/s pump belt. Remove pump.
For the manual rack i purchased new inner and outer tie rods (moog). Ordered all the parts from Rockauto.com under the 82 celica. Turns out that the inner part#'s for both manual and p/s racks are the same and the outer rods are different; I measured the outer rods and the p/s appear to be 3/4 of an inch longer at 7in, while the manual outer rods measured at 6.25in. Installed them on the rack.
I ended up reusing the rack bushings because I didn't research on which aftermarket poly bushings would work for this setup. The bushing and bracket are the same p/s to manual on the left side (driver side) rack, so could probably use the modified supra poly. The right is just a 2.5in circle. Maybe the AE86 manual rack poly will work for the right (passenger side)?? Maybe in the future I will attempt to purchase and install some on the rack.
here is the left (driver side) manual rack with p/s rack bracket holding it in place, you can see the only difference is the tab on the end where the p/s lines attach.
Here are some photos of the needed brackets, and the rack installed on the cross member.
After installing rack, I removed the steering column from intermediate shaft to steering wheel. This part caused a little trouble, but was figured out and is rather simple.
here is rack installed and distance between p/s intermidiate shaft and manual rack;
Some pics of the length differences in columns and shaft lenghts;
It was stated in other posts that the mounting base for the steering columns are different, I found this to be false. I just reused the base plate from my car with the manual steering rack. The bolt patterns are the same, and the locking tab on the flange are the same.
The difficult part was trying to swap over all the steering column stuff from p/s column to the manual column. Started doing this by trying to remove the ignition, which i couldn't do because I did have the key for the manual rack, big bummer.
But after looking at the columns a little longer, i found that everything could be swapped over by removing 4 bolts from the bracket that is mounted to the column. At this point everything swapped over, and nothing had to be removed but 4 bolts and universal joint bolt from inside the column; tilt, steering wheel, ignition, all came off as a unit and transferred without a problem.
At this point torqued everything down and did an alignment.
Driving now for 2 weeks, steering feel is amazing, and almost instant response. Also notice the lack of power steering belt on engine. Wheel is pretty difficult to turn at slow speeds, but not that bad, but definitely noticeable.
