Da_Ghost, thanks for the update.

Interesting... If indeed there was something in the rack, it's still there, just not obstructing as much as before. I wonder if it's possible that you did not get a true assessment of how good it might be. Wishful thinking I suppose...

From what you explain, I can't imagine anyone liking it that tough to steer. Unless there is something markedly different about our rack, it should be a desirable option on a small, light car without huge (wide) tires. That all said, this is my first FWD car, and that is seemingly not in our favor - that we need to control the power and notably torque in our hands, with no power assist.

Are there FWD cars that have PS delete options working well for them? If so, I'd venture to guess that their engines are not all that fat on torque. Hondas come-to-mind...

 

I suspect the loop created too much resistance or you had too much fluid left in the rack. Silence's block has a more direct feed & he did advise that most of the fluid should be extracted so what will be left is more for lube.
I can only guess here.

 

Ghost, Silence saw your delete. Here are his thoughts:
"it could be that he hasn't removed enough fluid from the rack. he needs to turn it lock to lock a few times with the delete removed to drain 95% of the fluid out of the rack, then tighten it up and he should be fine."

 

Oops, I did it again. Yes, yes, I know, make up your mind, yadayadayada I had to work on the Mini to un-bolt the passenger side rack mount in order to properly install the boot that was secured just enough in the way of the mount to prevent it from sitting perfectly straight... You get what you pay for I guess. Since I only had 5 hours at work to do it and had to deal with seized bolts and a broken one, I had to get everything bolted back together so I could gtfo.

It was bothering me enough that I tried it again... This time, I made sure that there was nothing, or almost nothing, remaining in the rack. One hand on the brake disc and the other on the tie-rod end and I turned lock-to-lock until no more fluid was coming out. Same banjo fittings, same AN line, but I pulled the connector on the pump since the car was on stands and that I could reach it. Went for a road test and it's not as bad as my initial try, I'll have to drive some more to really give you an honest opinion. I then decided to plug back the pump and remove the 100amp fuse under the fuse box to prevent crap and water from getting in the connector while I make up my mind if it goes back factory or the pump goes in the "may never get used again" plastic container.

 

Tell us more about your experiment results! This sounds a bit more positive now.

 

Indeed. Curious what it's like jockeying the car around in a parking lot situation.

While I remain optimistic and hopeful, what little I read on this working well on FWD cars is when they were quite light, like 2,000 pounds or less...

 

Manual rack is not such a bad idea for this car. Shoot, my old 2nd Gen CRX had no PS from the factory, and the ONLY time you even cared was when trying to park and the tires were underinflated.

 

I switched back to stock, once again. It's driveable, but you lose too much of what makes a Mini, a Mini. It's not that bad in parking lots, but driving around still require too much input for my liking. Someone that has a dead pump and can't afford to fix it right now could drive it safely, just need to get used to it in the mean time.

It all depends on what you're doing with your car, I'm not sure I'd recommend this for someone that takes his/her Mini to the track.

 

The original "pocket rocket". Those cars as I recall were like 1,700 to 1,800 pounds. With a fair amount of weight-reduction, I'm somewhat recently below 2,400 pounds. That's a big weight delta (compared to the CRX).

Fingers crossed...

 

Well, w/ a working pump, our steering is already on the heavy side. I've driven one w/ a bad pump, I could probably take anything in between if parking isn't so bad.

 

It's not like a dead pump. Mine was failing once in a while and it was a pain, the delete is probably halfway between a dead pump and normal.

 

Halfway sounds drivable. Would have 1 known failing part less to worry about! I'll wait for that kit from Condor Speed Shop.
Thanks, Ghost!

 

Is there any reason to believe that the kit will be more drivable than Ghost's banjo & AN experimentation? Wondering if this approach has made for accurate representations of what the kit affords...

minisanity, anything more with respect to status? I'm guessing not as you would most likely shared...

 

That's a good question! It would be shorter and more direct, might be a "tad" better. But since it's air that's moving around, I'm not sure. Only way to know would be to try both, on the same day, one after the other!

 

Ghost should be right. Condor was promised a donor rack this week by a good MINI Samaritan over here. The kit should be out soon. I'll keep everyone in the loop.

 

This may have been covered already but if I just remove the fuse for the pump, are there any negatives to just driving it like that? I'd love to delete the PSP but in the mean time, can it be driven safely like stated above?

 

If you only remove the fuse, it will stop the pump, but you still have to move all the fluid around. You can try it if you want, but it's a ***** to steer with a dead pump.

 

So by looping the rack, it's easier than just leaving the dead pump on? Is that what everyone here is trying to figure out?

 

Yup, having almost all the fluid out & a shorter loop would remove significant amount of steering resistance. W/ the delete, as Ghost tried, it will be between having a dead & a working pump.

 

Awesome! Can't wait to see what he figures out.

 

It's already figured out! When I tried it the second time, I drained all the fluid out and it was probably in-between. It just wasn't for me, not to mention that I take the car to the track once in a while and it wouldn't be the best idea.

 

Seeing the SneedSpeed build thread reminded me of browsing their website... and to remember that they offer a mechanical power steering pump that use the A/C spot for mounting. So if you don't have A/C and don't mind losing 3 HP (as stated on their site), it's a good alternative to keep the power steering, but ditch the electrical pump.

http://www.sneed4speed.com/products/...-pump-kit.html

 

I'm not quite ready to give up my A/C, but that's a really cool solution!

 

^+1. Can't have no AC.

 

Thanks Ghost. Interesting option. I've had the dummy pulley as I plan to remove the A/C...

I'm starting to be a bit less optimistic that our MINI w/o power steering will be desirable. I've checked a few MINI race cars and current race builds, and I'm not seeing where these guys decided to ditch the stock set-up. Shedding what is probably 10 to 15 pounds, especially off the front of the car, is quite desirable. If the steering is too heavy though, making the change would not be advisable...

I'm going to ask around some more...