driving w/o power steering

[crazycuban]

I'm a few hours away from finishing my swap, but the one big hangup I have left is loosening the tension on my power steering pump to get the belt back on (I had to take it off to get off the a/c belt...don't ask).  I've tried turning the bolt on the tensioner the other way (opposite from tensioning) and the bolt just comes out instead of loosening.  
So basically, not doing that right now will save me a lot of time, and I only have tomorrow to finish it (busy on Friday), because I want to drive it for this long drive I have to make Saturday.  Back country roads=fun in 240, boring in pathfinder.  
Kinda confusing, I know, but I guess my question is how hard is the steering on the 240 without power steering?  Would it be a huge pain in the ass to drive?  And if anyone can help me with the loosening of the pulley, that would be great too.

[240meowth]

my 89 toyota camry's power steering went out, it is awfully hard to steer that thing when you are stationary, but if you are moving, it's almost same as w/ power steering, just that you feel the road a lot.  for example, you hit a dip, the steering wheel would yank your hand towards that dip.  but it'll be fine if you are going to drive it temporarly.  if you drive it for a long while, you'll get buff arms, take my words for it.

[transient]

Yeah, you should be fine. It's not something you'd want to do all the time, but it's certainly not impossible. My Toyota tercel has a leaking head gasket so it tends to stall out every once in a while, leaving me with no power steering. It' not too bad.

[rampid360]

I dont know about a 240...but every car i've driven has been the same.   If it was built without power steering...not that hard.   If it was built with power steering and it goes out...Its like opening a beer bottle with your teeth...possible but a LOT harder then having a little tool to help you.

[whateverjames]

i've been power steering beltless since may. the only time it becomes a problem is in tight parking spaces if you don't time it right. when you're driving, the car feels more stable, and i think there is a noticeable difference when taking off, and when shifting. where i live, the main roads are long and 40-50mph so i have no use for it. when you're driving fast through backroads, keep both hands on the wheel! i also took off my mechanical fan, and i don't care what anyone thinks, i'll do anything for a little more power. my dad teases me and says i hear if you take off your steering wheel you'll gain 4 hp.

(Edited by whateverjames at 10:31 pm on Feb. 20, 2002)

[transient]

I'm exactly the same, everything I can do to get a little more horsepower I will. (unless it hurts the car etc.) I'm going to be removing my fan and putting an electric in there sometime. Just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[-E-]

I drove my boys old school Corolla SR5 with no power sterring its not a pain in the ass but until u have to park then it becomes a pain in the ass

[HippoSleek]

Alternative:  once it is running, take it up to a shop and have them put in on.  I bet even a little place could do it in like 15 minutes (counting paperwork).  

Has it started yet?

[crazycuban]

Yeah, that's what I'm going to do, but I don't have time friday and I'd love to do it Saturday. I should have it running today, providing vacuum connections are right and I an figure out how the #### shifter goes back on. Shouldn't be too hard.

EDIT:  love to do it...yeah...right...love to drive it i mean.  Also, about taking it to a shop, I might actually rather do that than figure it out - I don't want to overtighten a belt or leave it too loose.

(Edited by crazycuban at 7:54 am on Feb. 21, 2002)

yeah if it had powersteering in it to start you don't want to take it off because of the steering ratio.  if they have a nonpowersteering version you can swap out the steering and drive like that.

[240racer]

there are other things you can do to make it easier to drive w/o power steering.  I haven't done it on the 240 yet because my car is slow and I don't care.  My friends have supras and DSM w/o PS and have no problems.  You can drain some of the fluid and then connect the hoses to each other bypassing the pump and resevior.  Most of the part that is hard is moving all the fliud around.  Turning the tires isn't too hard.  It will take a little time to get used to it, but after that you will only remember you don't have PS when you are parking.
Adam

[Tuck&Poke]

my moms jetta's power steering belt fell off in the middle of the highway.  i pulled over and tried to put it back on but i couldnt so i had to drive it to the dealer.  wasnt that bad but as soon as you hit a bump only one wheel feels its gonna pull that way hard.  you should keep both hands on the wheel when you do it unless you wanna meet the weeds (i might be exaggerating a little).  but once you have to park arrggg what a nightmare.  i had to use all my weight to turn the wheel and here tires are only 195's