i did it not because i need to be fast... but my power steering and A/C belt tensioner is all messed up, one of the cheapo bolts bent and the threads got screwed up. it almost pops out of the guide it is at such an extreme angle--not to mention it doesn't tension the belt!

lanceradam and i took off the belt and the tensioner this afternoon and i've got to say that driving without power steering SUCKS! the worst part is making turns in a parking lot or getting into my parking space at home. lanceradam is going to get a new set of bolts for me from nashua mitsubishi next week, hopefully i won't be stuck driving like this for too long. i'm going to have to start juicing if i want to make three point turns!

i'm also buying his tein basics for a pretty decent price, too. we're going to see all about that when i pick up the parts from him for my belts.

i'll try to get up a picture i snapped of the tensioner and the bolt before we took it off the car. doesn't look good!

 

its been done.... I dont know why you would get rid of power steering but some lancer guys have... Im sure ac as well but I couldnt give any names.

 

i notice a little bit more power to the wheels now that the engine doesn't have to spin all that extra crap... it would be nice to get the power without having to sacrifice my power steering. A/C i can probably live without... but i have come to like my power steering.



there's a picture from my camera phone of what the tensioner bolt looked like. i didn't snap one of the bolt that holds the tensioner on--that one was REALLY screwed up. warped, missing threads... totally trashed.

 

how did you manage that?!? If you ever plan to sell your car dont remove the AC...

 

yea, just remove the belt... and as far as the p/s... I'd say you can go through some trial and error and try finding a belt that will just go from the crank pulley to that, w/ no AC...

 

the stupid thing was always messed up, it just got worse when i screwed with it when adam and i did the timing belt. my boss and i had a hard time with it when we did the crank pulley a week or so before the timing belt, too. the bolt is supposed to be at an angle, but nothing this extreme.

the bolt that holds the tensioner on got bent and some threads got FGFU. the tensioner was barely held on to the car and it was definitely not tensioning anything. right now all we did was remove the tensioner and the belt. the new parts will be on order from tomorrow.

surprisingly i didn't throw the belt. the only thing that tipped me off was some squealing... and when i investigated it i found that the belt was jumping like crazy and i saw that tensioner bolt pretty much out of the brace there. bad news.

i plan on putting the car back together %100 with the A/C and power steering once i get the new tensioner. i COULD bypass the A/C but now that winter is coming the last thing i need is more incentive to go fast. right now my focus will be on getting the car back to normal and then doing the suspension with that tein coilover set.

 

to do this properly you would have to get a manual steering rack from an older CC Lancer (if it fits) and rip out the power steering unit. then the steering in the carpark will be easier

 

if you want to remove your p/s all together, it will release the pressure in the lines and it will be alot easier to steer, I had this on my mirage and I would not have it anyother way. It is simply amazing. you also get buff.

 

yeah, having pressure in the lines is a big pain in the ***. right now i'm just driving as is until i can get the tensioner fixed up. i didn't want to empty the whole system out.

 

so here we are again, 2014 and the power steering tensioner is hosed up again. hilariously i find my own thread while digging around on the internet.

considering just replacing the pulley, but i've since lost the part numbers and the PC which had the service manual on it. anyone got a line on the part numbers for the bolt and i think a block which the bolt threads into and the pulley attaches to?

anyway, over 150k miles and still going strong here. i'm glad that at least if i am going to have a recurring problem with my car that it is this.

 

I've got that bolt new from Mitsu if you want it, I'd let it go for less than retail :P
The part number for it is MD312404