[gearjammer38]

at the car show this weekend i saw a car with what looked like an original power steering box. when i looked closer there was no p/s pump. what the person had done was ran a high pressure hose in a loop on the box. how is this done? is it good for street use? the car was more of a drag car from the look of it (lexan windows/cage/ect..) this has left me puzzled, i was going to ask but i couldn't find the guy(or gal). anyone have any insight on how this works?



the red represents the high pressure hose, car was a chevy, believed to be a Saginaw steering box.

thanks in advance

[joe_padavano]

I did this in my young and stupid days in the 1970s. Suffice to say that this has all of the disadvantages of manual steering with none of the advantages. The PS box has a quicker ratio, which means much higher effort than a manual box when the power assist is not functioning. You also have the added friction of backdriving the power piston in the box. All in all, not your best choice, but as I said, I ran this for years in a 1968 442. It was a great upper body workout, but not so great from a driving experience.

[techinspector1]

I see this done a lot at the dragstrip. It's one of those things that makes no sense to me. When you're BRACKET RACING, it doesn't matter what your E.T. is, because you are dialing in every round. I guess looping the P.S. box saves a few hp and might make the car a tenth quicker, but like I said, it doesn't matter in a bracket race. I'd rather have the power steering myself.

Something else that makes no sense to me is the elimination of an alternator and running deadhead off the battery(ies) to save a few hp. I've seen racers lose in the final because their battery(ies) have gone dead and they can't start the car. How STUPID is that?

[ericnova72]

What your showing is the lazy guy's way, someone who doesn't want to put in the effort to find a correct swap manual box for their car. It will steer just as hard as it would with the pump still hooked up and the engine not running. Not really a smart thing to do, makes quick low speeds steering correction very tough to do, you won't do it one-handed.

[SSedan64]

Joe's right about the upper body workout. A friend had a circle track car, 76 Camaro with a newer close ratio Iroc box w/looped hose with vent/filter in the center. It would kill your arms after a few laps. I finally talked him into installing a pump.

[cobalt327]

Originally Posted by gearjammer38

at the car show this weekend i saw a car with what looked like an original power steering box. when i looked closer there was no p/s pump. what the person had done was ran a high pressure hose in a loop on the box. how is this done? is it good for street use? the car was more of a drag car from the look of it...

As you have no doubt learned, this is a straight line ONLY deal. Any parking lot maneuvering will not be doable w/o working up a sweat, and from a safety standpoint I wouldn't ever recommend it.

A larger diameter steering wheel will offset some of the increased effort- but it will never be equal to a "correct" manual box no matter what is done.

But there's nothing wrong w/asking- that's how you find things out.

[gearjammer38]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

As you have no doubt learned, this is a straight line ONLY deal. Any parking lot maneuvering will not be doable w/o working up a sweat, and from a safety standpoint I wouldn't ever recommend it.

A larger diameter steering wheel will offset some of the increased effort- but it will never be equal to a "correct" manual box no matter what is done.

But there's nothing wrong w/asking- that's how you find things out.

thanks for all the replies, it wasnt something i was planning on doing. i was just curious about it. ive never seen this before and it left me scratching my head. i figured i'd get some insight from the hotrodders