Manual rack versus pwr steering
 

I'm having a hard time with my power steering (keep developing leaks @ the pressure hose - nylon O-rings aren't sealing), and I was thinking about going to a manual rack and pinion by Flaming River. I already have their steering shaft. I was thinking that maybe I could get an idler pulley from March to replace that pwr steering pulley. What type of power gains could be expected from removing that pulley?

Trivial. It only draws power when you are turning the wheel. You'll gain a bit from the weight reduction and cleaner enginebay. Dont get the silly idler and reclutter your enginebay though. Just get a shortbelt. If you dont have your a/c then stick with the PS. You'd need to get a forward rotation waterpump and clutchfan too and a shortbelt.

Take it from me. I'm the craziest weight reduction advocate there is. I drove a manual rack mustang twice and HATED it. The road shock goes right up to you. When you hit bumps, it jerks the steering wheel a bit and you have to hang onto that wheel hard. Plus of course the extra effort to parallel park and so forth. Not fun.

For a track only car. Go for it. Otherwise, stick with the PS.

Thanks a bunch for the comments....I was thinking that I would gain more HP than that, but you make a great point that it's only drawing power from the engine when you turn. For the money that it'll cost to get a new water pump (running the serpentine setup now), and other misc stuff..it's not really worth it when you think about it.

This will be an extreme example but do this:

unplug the fitting on the front of your ps rack. Let the fluid drain out (hey, you'll flush the system too!). Turn lock to lock a few times with the engine running. (Bag the fitting or you'll make quite a mess.). Take it for a drive. Doesnt it REALLY suck? Now imagine that the flaming river is only half as bad as that and you'll reach the conclusion that even half as bad is pretty bad after you've gotten used to nice power steering and driving around with one hand =P

When you fill it back up, use ATF. It's so much more effective than PS fluid. It'll clean out your system real nice.

yea i agree, don't lose the PS.. stick with it.. without it the car rides like $hit. You'll hate yourself for it in the future.