peter
HalfDork
2/15/13 10:55 p.m.
I'm in the middle of a Miata engine swap and decided to de-power my steering rack. The only issue I haven't solved yet (in my head at least), is how to tension the power steering/air-conditioning belt, as the pump acts as the belt tensioner in the stock setup.
Until a few years ago, there was a Mazda part that replaced the pump with an idler, but that part is NLA new and almost impossible to find used.
So, I'm stuck with my pump-as-tensioner.
Am I over-thinking things if I'm concerned I should somehow open this up, gut it, and grease it before I start running it without fluid?
WWGRMD?
If you can't find an idler pulley I would say just keep the power steering unless there is some reason it's impossible to get it to work anymore without too much money.
I did this. I pulled the power steering pump apart, removed the pump part, resealed with RTV and reassembled. I refilled with ATF. For the hose bungs I either plugged and sealed with something and JB weld, or welded shut. Can't remember. It worked very well though. Eventually, I bought a real pulley off of Joey on this board. I had no issues with just using the gutted pump though, and it was free!
EDIT: If you do find a pulley, and the bearing is bad, McMaster-Carr has the proper size bearings. I also replaced the pinion shaft bearings in the de-powered rack with McMaster-Carr ones. One of the bearings was 7mm width and I could only get an 8mm width, but it worked fine.
stan_d
Dork
2/16/13 10:43 a.m.
Did you check the dorman line? They have several types of ac compressor replacements which can be remade to replace the powersteering pump.
So, if I read this right, you need the pump to tension the AIRBERKELEYINGCONDITIONING? Turn in your mancard at the window to the left.
So do I see a possible market for these pieces? I am surprised Flying Miata has not picked up on this. But.. . . I bet if I could be my hands on a power steering pump I could fab something up. Once finished make a jig and you make up a bunch more. Use an off the self idler pulley replacement of some kind and voila you have a sell-able product.
peter
HalfDork
2/16/13 2:41 p.m.
dean1484 wrote:
So do I see a possible market for these pieces? I am surprised Flying Miata has not picked up on this. But.. . . I bet if I could be my hands on a power steering pump I could fab something up. Once finished make a jig and you make up a bunch more. Use an off the self idler pulley replacement of some kind and voila you have a sell-able product.
Yeah, I thought about that, but I'm just not sure how much market there is for these bits. Frankly, the original piece has a E36 M3-ton of cast metal making up the base - I don't know if that's because of the forces involved, or simple over-engineering. That and the issue of getting the belt perfectly aligned make me think that this project would require too much material and precision to hack something together...
And yes, I like running A/C in my convertible. I like being cool and I like the sunshine (my top is almost always down).