Converting to Manual Steering.

To start, the car is a 1987 944 Turbo with a 355 LT1 Carb. I am looking to convert from power steering to manual steering. Ive been reading for days and all the information that can be found can be very overwhelming. Sorry if all of my questions have been answered already.

When converting to manual steering I know I need a different steering shaft (got it), Manual rack (got it), different bushings (got it). I was looking around and found that I can use VW Golf inner tie rods to adapt to late model tie rods (female threaded). But does the usage of the VW inners and Porsche outers give proper length? Also does changing to a manual rack cause bumpsteer issues and is this something that also needs to be addressed? If so, what options are there on the market? Im under the impression that the manual steering rack sits lower than the power rack, which would be nice because right now the pan to rack clearances are minimal, but do the mounting locations still line up. I do not have the manual rack on hand to check the mounting points so I just thought I would ask. I seen a simple fix one time that was a solid block that allowed a male outer to thread into the block then thread onto the outer which position the outer higher to fix the effects of the lower manual rack, still available? needed?

Thanks for any info.

Also is it only the RH tie rod that needs to be longer? If so do these parts look good?

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/cart.aspx?sid=l4j0h245qtod5m55ekyixqv0

I would also like to replace the LH side as well to start out with fresh parts. And to do that im guessing just use factory 944 inner and outer tie rod for the LH side or is there an economical option?

Scroll down a bit on xschop's post it may help.
https://944hybrids.forumotion.com/t55p60-xschop-s-53-lm7-build?highlight=manual+steering

I'm using a manual rack but I have early offset; so it was easy for me to convert. Bolt locations are the same and yes the rack itself is smaller in diameter allowing for more oil pan clearance.

I did see this.....

EV-378 is used for a 100% bolt-on solution with Power rack outer ends to put the manual rack on late car offset.... Rennbay can whine all they want.....

But just wanted to confirm it was still a valid solution. A lot of what I read here is theory/experimental so I would like to confirm.

So am I to assume that only the RH tie rid is the issue. My rack is being shipped to me right now so I can't just go measure in the garage.

whty8911 wrote: I saw a simple fix one time that was a solid block that allowed a male outer to thread into the block then thread onto the outer which position the outer higher to fix the effects of the lower manual rack, still available? needed?

That's something that looks like it will change the geometry, but doesn't actually do anything. What matters is the relation of the pivot points to each other, not the shape of the tie rod.

Yea it was a fix for bump steer issue not directly mounting the tie rods to the spindle. But what I was trying to find out is are guys running into bump steer issues because of rack replacement or crossmember repositioning. Does a manual rack not properly align or are guys lowering the crossmember to get more good clearance and are then having bump steer issues.

whty8911 wrote:Yea it was a fix for bump steer issue not directly mounting the tie rods to the spindle. But what I was trying to find out is are guys running into bump steer issues because of rack replacement or crossmember repositioning. Does a manual rack not properly align or are guys lowering the crossmember to get more good clearance and are then having bump steer issues.

It isn't actually a bump steer fix anyway. It doesn't do anything apart from cost money.

The bump steer issue is from dropping the crossmember and is made worse if you relocate the control arm pivot to account for that. It's my understanding that the manual rack ends up in the same position as the power rack, it's just smaller. You should have more clearance with the manual rack, but it shouldn't alter the geometry.

Ok, would you know if the RH tie rod assembly is the only one needed to complete the swap? LH lines up where it should is the idea

whty8911 wrote:Ok, would you know if the RH tie rod assembly is the only one needed to complete the swap? LH lines up where it should is the idea

I don't know. I did my swap without dropping the crossmember or having any issues with rack clearance, so I didn't look into the exact parts needed.

I a guess I'll just have to test fit and see