removing pas pump

[gareth]

just wondering, as my pas pump has gone tits up, what happens if i remove it (with hoses etc) and leave the pas rack in?

with no fluid will the resistance be like the pas without an engine running or like a non-pas rack?

[eko]

Gareth,think you just need to remove the belt,unless you change the rack to non power!

[gareth]

would be as heavy as hell though wouldn't it? i tried moving the wifes E34 with no engine running the other day... f**k me it was heavy! i could only just move it....

[jonbuoy]

You can just remove the belt and leave the pump on but yer, it will be as heavy as hell at stand still, quite heavy when driving but it feel's alot better with response and feel to the road

I did'nt have a pump on mine after doing the engine change for a couple of day's and i was gonna leave it but it's horrible when turning in a tight space or parking

[gooner1]

Apparently if you just take the belt off you will need to stick it back on for MOT,much prefer mine without pas.

[Chris-W]

You could try removing the belt and draining the PAS fluid down.

Had a car come in with those symptoms, and the steering actually had quite nice feel.

[gareth]

chris, was it lighter without the fluid?

[Chris-W]

Yep - and it does seem logical that the lack of fluid would decrease resistance.

Put it this way, the female owner had been driving it quite comfortably like this for some time, although she was over the moon when it was returned with fully operational PAS! The only fault was a small hole on the little return pipe on the rack, through which all the fluid had gradually escaped.

[gareth]

brilliant! just what i needed to know!

so long as it's drivable enough to get up santa pod then i'm away! actually, if it's still driveable it may make my E36 rack conversion easier as there would be no hoses to connect.

i suppose the best thing would be to arrange a hose that runs from one port to the other, preventing crap getting in...

cheers lads