n00b so bare with me : electro-hydraulic steering on a mk3 golf ?

[C05M1N]

Hey guys, I'm new here, a n00b as you all call it.

So I own a golf mk3 1.4L and trying to save any horse I can because I have only 55 and I'm trying to delete the hydraulic steering pump, and ac( already did that ).

My question is this : has anyone tried (or already did) changing a hydraulic steering pump (the o.e.m. one) with what the newer model cars have, the electro-hydraulic one?

I would appreciate any help and info because I'm trying to find the right pump with the right amount of oil flow to match the steering rack. I was thinking that it could work with one from a 1.4 Skoda Fabia.

Thanks for any info you may throw towards me.

[Khare]

So you're wanting to remove the standard hydraulic system with a newer electric one that will put less stress on the engine to make the car perform better? 

That's like putting speedos on a fat man so he can swim faster than with trunks.

Surely with the cost of the newer power steering and cost of labour it's just worth buying a GTI?

[VW BUSH]

Have a go and let us know what happens, sounds like a lot of garage time

[VW BUSH]

Leave him alone Khare, you used to have wacky ideas

[Leon27]

... and welcome to the forum 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_steering#Electro-hydraulic_systems  ---------> Golf Mk3 Ecomatic had an electric steering pump?!

http://www.deylan.co.uk/golf/ecomatic/index.htm -------- Yeah it did!

But I think it had a normal hydraulic one and an EHPS pump so when the engine turned off the EHPS would function. It might have not been running constantly (only judging by what I've quickly read) Totally stand to be corrected here.

On a personal note though this will involve a lot of work... and to get it to work will be another story

http://www.cameronsoftware.com/ev/EV_PowerSteering_Install.html

http://www.k20a.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58599

I'm with the comments above.. If getting a GTI is not an option for you then unfortunately I think this idea would be far too counter productive for the BHP gain. I know its a 1.4 but for the time being, enjoy it

[Khare]

Leave him alone Khare, you used to have wacky ideas

That I did, that I did 

[C05M1N]

It's not the case of GTI not being an option because actually I chose the 1.4 over the GTI, but I use it mainly as a city/almost-all-day-long-driven car, so I need high mpg.
Actually at first I thought that too, complicated lots of garage time and all that, but after some research I found that the perfect electro-hydraulic pump donor would be a 99 and up opel/vauxhall astra/zafira, because is just plug & play. The astra/zafira also doesn't have electronic complicated , speed steering ( or so I think, I haven't found anything about that, so if anyone does please let me know before I start this madness).
Also I saw the honda guy thread before I posted here but I was not going to go through all of that for electro-hydraulic steering, ***k that.
The advantage of the astra/zafira pump it is that you don't need cooling ( or so they say ). So theoretically is plug & play.
Check out this picture so you can see what I mean. You can see the pump on the left. Also I would get a good deal for the pump and plumbing, about 50£.
Oh, and the work I would do it myself.

I don't know how long this picture is going to stay there but I'll upload it again when is deleted.

[thai-wronghorse]

I really can't see any worthwhile gains from the amount of effort involved on this.

[trog_nfs]

It's not the case of GTI not being an option because actually I chose the 1.4 over the GTI, but I use it mainly as a city/almost-all-day-long-driven car, so I need high mpg.

I wouldn't have picked the 1.4 as an economy car. My GTI gets better mpg than my 1.4 ever did, was just a too smaller engine for the weight of the car, and the engine tech is rubbish, as its an old SPI design.

The 1.6 is a better fit, in either 75bhp or 100bhp (if you can find it) guise

[Khare]

It's not the case of GTI not being an option because actually I chose the 1.4 over the GTI, but I use it mainly as a city/almost-all-day-long-driven car, so I need high mpg.

I wouldn't have picked the 1.4 as an economy car. My GTI gets better mpg than my 1.4 ever did, was just a too smaller engine for the weight of the car, and the engine tech is rubbish, as its an old SPI design.

The 1.6 is a better fit, in either 75bhp or 100bhp (if you can find it) guise

Ditto, chose the wrong car, both for performance and economy