curse the man who invented power asist stering

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by hacksaw415, Mar 26, 2008.

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  1. hacksaw415

    hacksaw415 Member

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    yeah its nice to parallel park using my pinky, but feedback through the wheel is simillar to a early namco f1 game. what all is needed to convert to manual, can i just buy a quick ratio manual box and drop all the power equip. ? so far my ford has been overly straight forward, everything is as simple as i could have hoped, but this stering setup is wierd. well the front end is a little odd id never seen springs sit on top of the uper arms before, but ive got past that. any way, i think manual is the way to go.
     
    hacksaw415, Mar 26, 2008
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  2. PaulS

    PaulS Member extrordiare

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    You won't have much "road feel" even with manual steering with a ball and sector steering box. If you want to feel the road you will probably have to go to rack and pinion steering.
     
    PaulS, Mar 26, 2008
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  3. Mavaholic

    Mavaholic Growing older but not up!

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    You will have considerably more road feel with manual steering over power. Easiest way to convert is get an adapter from any Mustang supply house. It takes the place of the control valve down on the linkage. Then just remove the rest of the power assist stuff. You will have to redo your pulley arrangement since you wont need the pump any more.
     
    Mavaholic, Mar 26, 2008
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  4. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    i did the...adapter...didn't like it.
    got the...drag link...and...pitman arm...from a 69.5 mav. (thanks Mike)
    left the ...p/s gear box...:thumbs2:

    Frank...LMMS...:yup:
     
    71gold, Mar 26, 2008
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  5. hacksaw415

    hacksaw415 Member

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    how simple is it to convert to rack and pinion, and is it worth the price??
     
    hacksaw415, Mar 30, 2008
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  6. Dave B

    Dave B I like Mavericks!

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    Shouldn't be too hard, but at $2500 + that is more than some peoples cars.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2008
    Dave B, Mar 30, 2008
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  7. LukeDuke

    LukeDuke Member

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    can you turn the wheel as fast and easy with manual steering as you can with power? i know when my pump went out it was hard as hell to turn
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2009
    LukeDuke, Feb 24, 2009
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  8. 1970mavinator

    1970mavinator Member

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    Depends on how fast you are going.
     
    1970mavinator, Feb 25, 2009
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  9. CaptainComet

    CaptainComet Large Member

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    I have been running the original power box, but got rid of the assist, and it is fine when running down the road... it has a much better feel to it. The power box has a quicker ratio than the non-power one.

    Parallel parking and slow speeds are a bit heavy. I weigh 200 lbs and it is not a problem, but I have seen 150 lb friends struggle with it. I am pretty sure my wife wouldn't be able to parallel park it at all.
     
    CaptainComet, Feb 25, 2009
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  10. Andysutt

    Andysutt '72 Comet GT

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    Power steering that has a bad/faulty pump is harder to steer than a car with manual steering due to the fact that with a broken power steering pump, your fighting all that fluid thats' not being pumped.

    Manual steering cars aren't so bad as long as you don't run really wide tires up front and it gets easier as the car moves.
     
    Andysutt, Feb 25, 2009
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  11. 71gold

    71gold Frank Cooper Supporting Member

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    parallel park... :hmmm:

    when is the last time you did that in a mav/comet...:huh:



    ...:rolleyes:...
     
    71gold, Feb 25, 2009
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  12. Bob Wiken

    Bob Wiken Chronologically Gifted

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    when is the last time anyone parallel parked anything? I find fewer and fewer places to shop off my P. parking skills these days.
     
    Bob Wiken, Feb 25, 2009
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  13. Andysutt

    Andysutt '72 Comet GT

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    I have crazy parallel parking skills, I could SHOW you up anyday, but not sure if I could out "shop" you or not. lol
     
    Andysutt, Feb 25, 2009
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  14. sierra grabber

    sierra grabber Certifiable

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    i did the adapter and removal method and it is a little harder to steer at a stop, but nothing like steering the manual highboy with truck tires :). i like it way more than the steer and chase power steering. i did replace all the tie rods and such before doing the conversion so my front is a little tighter than before also.
     
    sierra grabber, Feb 25, 2009
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  15. CaptainComet

    CaptainComet Large Member

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    Those of us who live in urban areas still have to from time to time ...

    If you live in the boonies, I can see how the need might not be there .... :p
     
    CaptainComet, Feb 25, 2009
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