Rb26 Hicas Pump, Deleting/ Modding The Hicas Part

[Tim_zenki]

Hey guys,

Ive been doing some reading and I've heard all sorts of things people have done to get rid of the hicas system on rb26's when swapped into a car that doesnt have hicas. A couple of ideas floating around are replacing crank and p/s pump with a rb25 crank n pump, something about turning the hicas part into a power steering cooler?, and last, taking apart the pump and removing all the hicas internals and then closing and sealing it up, but i heard this can cause your pump to grenade..so dont want to go down that route.

I would rather keep using the 26 pump and mod it to where the hicas part is for a power steering cooler, but if no one knows what im talking about with that then i guess i could get a 25 crank n pump.

Any ideas or past experiences would be greatly appreicated ! thanks alot guys!

[GTSBoy]

Yeah, you can just pass the outflow from the rear half of the pump through a PS cooler, or just a length of pipe even, and straight back to the return.

If it were an RB20 it's trivial to just swap to R33 pump, but of course that's not so easy on a 26.

[Duncan]

Removing the vanes from the rear pump stage is easy and will work fine. Mine has been running that way for 8 years.

[GTRPSI]

If you have hicas aready fitted, kits such as the whiteline locking bar include a bypass tube to fit into the rear which just circlates the fluid.

On our R32 GTR i pulled out the hicas rack, fitted a whiteline one, didnt use the bypass pipe included with the locking bar, removed the hoses etc and bypassed the fluid to run through the factory cooler.

Now my 2 Hicas steel fluid lines can be used as fuel return lines for the fuel system im setting up.

[r32-25t]

In my r32 Gtr I just pulled everything out for the rear part and then used an r33 Gtr power steering pump and bracket

[Tim_zenki]

Yeah, you can just pass the outflow from the rear half of the pump through a PS cooler, or just a length of pipe even, and straight back to the return.

If it were an RB20 it's trivial to just swap to R33 pump, but of course that's not so easy on a 26.

ill post a picture of my pump so i can have a better understanding of what your saying but basically theres the two bolts on top of the pump that i would use regardless, and then theres the y pipe outlet that is used for the hicas from my understanding? and your saying to take off the y pipe and loop them together with no outlet?

[Tim_zenki]

If you have hicas aready fitted, kits such as the whiteline locking bar include a bypass tube to fit into the rear which just circlates the fluid.

On our R32 GTR i pulled out the hicas rack, fitted a whiteline one, didnt use the bypass pipe included with the locking bar, removed the hoses etc and bypassed the fluid to run through the factory cooler.

Now my 2 Hicas steel fluid lines can be used as fuel return lines for the fuel system im setting up.

car doesnt have hicas from factory.

[Tim_zenki]

Removing the vanes from the rear pump stage is easy and will work fine. Mine has been running that way for 8 years.

so you removed the vains and capped off the hicas port?

[GTSBoy]

ill post a picture of my pump so i can have a better understanding of what your saying but basically theres the two bolts on top of the pump that i would use regardless, and then theres the y pipe outlet that is used for the hicas from my understanding? and your saying to take off the y pipe and loop them together with no outlet?

No. Not quite. The pipe on the side (whether it is a Y pipe or not - there's two sorts available) is the inlet. That is the fluid from the reservior. The outlets are on the top. See this thread for a nice picture of the system. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/372154-rb25-into-r32-using-rb25-non-hicas-pump-help/

Both outlets go forward and down to a mounting next to the radiator support. Then rearwards to the crossmember. Then across the crossmember. The front outlet reports to the steering rack (I think via the cooling loop) and the rear outlet reports to the HICAS solenoid on the driver's chassis rail. I think. You could/should follow the lines yourself to make sure.

Edited January 6, 2014 by GTSBoy

[Tim_zenki]

I took the pump apart and removed what i thought was the gears..heres some pictures

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo3_zpsb8ef748a.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image_zps6e06cff7.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image1_zps5cc67529.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image2_zps951bebf3.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo11_zpsa712572a.jpg

i figured these were the hicas gears ?

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo21_zps911e4ca7.jpg

so i basically gutted the pump and then put it all back together without the gears. is that what everyone does?

[Tim_zenki]

No. Not quite. The pipe on the side (whether it is a Y pipe or not - there's two sorts available) is the inlet. That is the fluid from the reservior. The outlets are on the top. See this thread for a nice picture of the system. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/372154-rb25-into-r32-using-rb25-non-hicas-pump-help/

Both outlets go forward and down to a mounting next to the radiator support. Then rearwards to the crossmember. Then across the crossmember. The front outlet reports to the steering rack (I think via the cooling loop) and the rear outlet reports to the HICAS solenoid on the driver's chassis rail. I think. You could/should follow the lines yourself to make sure.

i checked out the link. I get what your saying about the Y pipe being the inlet from the reservior, and the two at the top are outlets for the rack. now when you started talking about the rear outlets report to the Hicas solenoid on drivers chassis rail, i dont think i have one of those since car doesnt have hicas from factory (240sx s14). I can go snap a picture of my steering rack if that helps?

[GTSBoy]

i checked out the link. I get what your saying about the Y pipe being the inlet from the reservior, and the two at the top are outlets for the rack. now when you started talking about the rear outlets report to the Hicas solenoid on drivers chassis rail, i dont think i have one of those since car doesnt have hicas from factory (240sx s14). I can go snap a picture of my steering rack if that helps?

Yeah, well, that's fine. The rear outlet on the pump is definitely the rear steer outlet. The front definitely goes to the rack. So whatever modification you do (looping the rear stage outlet back to the reservoir, looping it back via a cooler or removing the vanes from inside and plugging the outlet) you just plumb from the front outlet to your rack.

[GTSBoy]

so i basically gutted the pump and then put it all back together without the gears. is that what everyone does?

Hopefully Duncan can let you know whether you should remove the whole lot, or just the little vanes out of the rotor.

Either way, you need to leave the front stage alone.

[R31Nismoid]

Removing the vanes from the rear pump stage is easy and will work fine. Mine has been running that way for 8 years.

This. Works fine.

Or just use a R33 GT-R pump, they don't have a rear feed and the pump itself it actually about half the size and weighs a little less as a result. Good for tight engine bays/conversions if you're close to engine mounts or similar

[Tim_zenki]

This. Works fine.

Or just use a R33 GT-R pump, they don't have a rear feed and the pump itself it actually about half the size and weighs a little less as a result. Good for tight engine bays/conversions if you're close to engine mounts or similar

I think its pretty hard to get hands on a r33 gtr pump in states, but ill look into finding one. thanks alot

[Tim_zenki]

Removing the vanes from the rear pump stage is easy and will work fine. Mine has been running that way for 8 years.

the vanes are just the little shims inside the gear?

[Sick_R31]

I took the pump apart and removed what i thought was the gears..heres some pictures

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo3_zpsb8ef748a.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image_zps6e06cff7.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image1_zps5cc67529.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/image2_zps951bebf3.jpeg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo11_zpsa712572a.jpg

i figured these were the hicas gears ?

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/Tim_Zenki/rb26%20ps%20pump/photo21_zps911e4ca7.jpg

so i basically gutted the pump and then put it all back together without the gears. is that what everyone does?

LOL good job, you have now removed the rotors and vanes out of the front and rear chambers of the power steering pump. Now your power steering won't work at all.

For starters there are no "hicas gears" in the p/s pump. All you had to do was remove the rear cover off the p/s pump, remove the vanes from the rear rotor (not even touching the front section of the pump), bolt it back together and cap the rear outlet off so no dust can get in there. The little pieces of metal that go into the rotor are the vanes. What the red arrows are pointing to in the picture.

Also the vanes are shaped like this, if they are installed the wrong way they will chew the shit out of the housing. Make sure you install them the right way when you reinstall the rotor and vanes back into the front chamber.

[GTSBoy]

vanes

[Tim_zenki]

LOL good job, you have now removed the rotors and vanes out of the front and rear chambers of the power steering pump. Now your power steering won't work at all.

For starters there are no "hicas gears" in the p/s pump. All you had to do was remove the rear cover off the p/s pump, remove the vanes from the rear rotor (not even touching the front section of the pump), bolt it back together and cap the rear outlet off so no dust can get in there. The little pieces of metal that go into the rotor are the vanes. What the red arrows are pointing to in the picture.

Also the vanes are shaped like this, if they are installed the wrong way they will chew the shit out of the housing. Make sure you install them the right way when you reinstall the rotor and vanes back into the front chamber.

....well atleast it only took like 10 mins lol .time to put back together haha. thanks for clearing that up man

[Duncan]

Yep exactly what sick_r31 said. Just remove the vanes from the rear stage only, put everything back together, and cap the rear outlet with an appropriate size bolt and copper washer.