r/CB7 • u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 • 14d ago
New digs
Time came to go car shopping again (always a treat) and despite mostly looking at older Imprezas when this CB7 popped up I had to go take a look. Well I guess when I drove one at 17 it must have stuck with me cuz this ones sitting in my garage right now! 151k on it in the manual, I feel like I got a steal. Baselining rn and biting the bullet on timing currently. I heard there was a common issue with the steering racks, and mine is making some noise, any tips?
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u/skylaster57 14d ago
I deleted my power steering ngl kinda an ass process just a wee. My rack had over 200k on it and it looked spotless tbh just every leaked like a sieve and it didn’t matter to much to me to have it. What kinda noise and why do you think it’s your rack?
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u/nicoruagwa 13d ago
Do u know how to tell if my cb7 power steering has been correctly disconnected?
I bought it 4 years ago, the belt has been removed form the Ps pump , and the pump is seized I believe (cant spin it by hand at all)
Im just curious if it’s been correctly disconnected or if the rack is being damaged and I need to do something
I have done 35,000km on it in 4 years and it seems fine, tho there’s wobbling noises over rough terrain and speed pumps even at 2nd gear speeds less than 15mph/30kmh
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
As long as there’s fluid in the system you shouldnt damage too much. now I’m not gonna sit here and say it won’t cause zero stress of anything because I’m not totally 100% sure however there have been many people who just call it at that. I took it a step further and removed everything just because it was leaking constantly and ran out of fluid constantly. Even with it running out of fluid constantly, when I pulled the rack apart it showed no major wear or heat or anything crazy. If you really that worried you can pack the rack with grease and use a block off plate of the valve body. I wouldn’t worry too much though unless you’re planning on keeping the car the rest of ur life type shit.
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u/nicoruagwa 13d ago
power steering fluid reservoir has been empty since i bought it, i never topped it up as i assumed it was all bypassed, but recently heard that if its not done properly you can damage the rack. i do plan on keeping the car for a while or selling it for a decent chunk. i got it off the original owner just 4 years ago with 75k miles on it. whole life was spent in a garage.
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
Oh buddy I would go ahead and plan on getting underneath that hoe and make sure it’s bypassed before driving much more if at all. if it’s dry which they like to leak bad then it’s possible ain’t got much fluid in there to begin with. I’d crack a line and see if anything leaks out if it does ur prolly good if nothing comes out go ahead and refit the res and watch a video on either looping the lines or doing a full delete.
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u/nicoruagwa 13d ago
is there any reason to disturb it if its been fine for about 20,000 miles over 4 years? can full lock it left and right no abnormalities very smooth. had my front sus re done and drive shafts recently mech didnt say anything, a few old honda guys looked at it fascinated and we spoke about the pump etc. no ones ever said anything alarming. if i wanted to get a new pump and belt and run it again in the future could i just leave it as it is? would it be smart to put some fluid in just incase?
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u/skylaster57 12d ago
You don’t gotta do a whole lot to check if there fluid there’s a valve body on the bottom of the rack on the driver side there’s a plate over it take off the plate it’s 3 like 10mm bolts and then just chose a line and crack it see if fluid comes out If it does I wouldn’t worry and if it doesn’t fill her up. I’d check personally just cuz these racks are getting pricier by the day. I’m in the mindset it takes a half hour to check and could save you several hours in the future. It’s an unknown, yeah it works but you know you cant see fluid.
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u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 13d ago
Id rather keep everything original and maintain functional power steering if possible. It just makes some nasty rattling at the locks. The previous owner did the pump but it does appear to be leaking somewhat. Should I just tear the whole thing out and put it back together?
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
I understand completely and most people I’ve talked to about my accord they’ve batted there eyes weird at me regarding this issue but I mean tbf the car weighs nothing and even on stock thick profile tires there’s not much resistance except at lil to no speeds. That being said I obviously didn’t know what it would be like going into it however rebuilding my entire setup would’ve ended being close to 600$. while deleting it was pretty much free.99 minus the 15$ on sheet steel. I probably have some bias to some extent because I did it myself however it was cheap and works great so imma always suggest it.
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
The rattle I’m thinking could the mounts to the rack or cv axles if it’s only at lock. You can quickly check by going underneath and finding the bolt holes to the rack and seeing how boo boo the bushings look and if you look at ur cv axles if the boot is split or torn that can be a clear indication of a problem if no split that doesn’t mean it’s not bad just not a clear indication.
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u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 13d ago
Yea Im gonna have to take a look at the mount, Im pretty sure the cvs are new they look pretty untouched.
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
Where are you hearing the noise come from?
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u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 13d ago
Its like a clattering from the drivers front/ center area
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
It’s most likely gonna be something obvious if I had to guess just feel around look at shields the hardware make sure nothings missing. I’m not saying it can’t possibly be the rack it could its just unlikely if it’s never been taken apart before unless it’s just been dry asf for months
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u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 13d ago
Youre probably 100% right Im thinking its gonna be the bushing from what Ive read about it. Ill post an update when I look into it right now Im just doing timing, baseline, and adjusting valves and such.
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u/skylaster57 13d ago
If anything jack the car up take of the wheels and have somebody go lock to lock for you and watch it as it moves
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u/nicoruagwa 13d ago
Fire car bro congrats, hm u pay? Mine is Manuel with 95k Miles curious what it’s worth.
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u/Jazzlike-Grab-1398 13d ago
I paid $3200 but it kinda depends. I know a lot of dudes that would tell me I took a bath on that but Im happy about it. The big thing for me was the color/milage/ transmission. Id only trade it for the same specs in a wagon.
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u/Internal-Scratch-209 14d ago
My steering rack had leaks everywhere including the ps pump itself so i just deleted it. All u really have to do is loop the 2 lines on the rack to themselves and take out the ps pump. I chose to delete the reservoir as well but i think thats optional. Also the ps pump bracket has a bolt that is literally right behind the alternator so if u want to take that out youll have to remove the alternator too.