Steering Power to manual steering conversion

[Patrick]

Greetings to all. I am considering a power to manual steering conversion. Why, you might ask. Because I like the sportier feel of a manual and the weight reduction is an extra.

My question is, does it really take too much of an effort to steer all the way to lock with the vehicle at full stop on dry asphalt? This is important to me because I have a manual transmission and I do this as an extra safety measure besides engaging the parking brake and leaving the transmission in gear when parked. I do not have a lift (no dropped pitman arm) and continue to run the stock narrow leaf springs, basically a no frills CJ. Thank you in advance for your input. I might just do the conversion based on your replies.

 

[mtnwhlr]

My "83 CJ5 had manual steering with 31-10.5 tires and I liked it never thought about changing it.

 

[Patrick]

Well then, I am going to make it happen. Everything bolts up and is a simple process. I also like the simplicity of manual steering. Thanks for your response, mtnwhlr.

 

[RiverandSand]

Interesting, most go the other way. I get your idea, many jeeps didn't have PS so finding parts shouldn't be a problem. Also another thing to consider is steering wheel size, bigger is better on manual steering. I'm not sure if the jeep wheels were different in size between the two.
I'm on 33s so i couldn't imagine not having PS, with H1 steering box I have fairly decent road feel.

 

[Patrick]

Just an update.

I was disappointed switching back to manual steering. I don’t remember my original manual steering being this hard to steer. But, oh well, this experiment set me back a couple hundred bucks. Took me no time to reinstall my hydraulic assist steering. I just wish the power steering gave me some road feedback. It’s just too easy to steer, feels like the steering wheel is just mounted on a bearing. Live and learn.

 

[mtnwhlr]

What size tires are you running? And you changed out the steering box to a manual box.

 

[Patrick]

I am running on 285/55 metrics. Yes, I put on a brand new manual steering box that takes 6.5 turns from lock to lock. Kid you not, the effort was comparable to turning with the current power steering box but with the engine not running. My wheel offset puts the center of the wheel roughly an inch outward from the center of the hub bearings, so my scrub mark is not ideal, I have to admit. And, to top it off, I have a good amount (5 to 6 degrees) of much desired caster. My CJ actually handles exceptionally great on road. Just wish for a not so light steering effort.

 

[73AMC360]

Just keep rolling steering is easy.
That said I run 35x12.50 Swampers when I go wheeling. I have a steering box out of a Cadillac Eldarado . This is a larger box and is a faster box. Very easy to steer and not as many turns stop to stop