I removed my Power Steering belt and am very pleased with the resulting "armstrong steering". It has a sporty feel like the rack-and-pinion steering that the old sport cars were famous for. I haven't been in any marginal traction situations with it but I am sure that I now am more likely to detect slippage. I drove my son's Echo and liked his steering; it's a model with every factory option available so I asked him about his steering. Turns out that his PS belt fell off twice, so the second time he didn't bother replacing it. I don't recommend this for anyone else to do, and it's a MAJOR PIA to do unless you're blessed with long, strong thin tools. I'm still healing some scabs on the backs of my hands. A 14mm 8point socket welded on a foot-long thin bar would be real nice for this.
Update: I was out in heavy side winds today and found the steering somewhat of a handful. These sedans are known for poor aerodynamics but I hadn't found it as noticeable before. I'm further convinced that this steering is more sensitive to road conditions and will continue "beltless", altho I haven't thrown the belt out. BTW the alt belt has to come off to do this mod, so it's good to have a new alt belt handy to put in for the same work. Carry your old one in your car as a spare you know for sure fits.
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
Last edited by denman; 02-14-2011 at 08:58 PM.
Reason: update
I'm still just delighted with it, lots of road feel and has a sporty personality in the curves. Kind of puts some fun in the little econobox. I'll hang onto the old belt but will reinstall it only if I decide to sell the car.
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
After several fuel-ups I'm seeing a significant improvement in fuel economy, .... some will surely be from warming weather, but not having to pump PS fluid is freeing up that little motor, ... my Scangage has fooled me in the past, but it started predicting better fuel economy improvement (2-3 mpg) right away, then the fuel-ups confirmed it. This mod wins on several fronts, but I'd do it just for the sportier feel of the car, ...
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
Looks like a good mod. Toyota does like to have very soft steering. In a small car it doesn't matter as much anyway. Sporty feel huh? I might take the fuse off of m e Yaris to see if that's true.
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Almost 300 views and only one reply? Most be too cold out for elective wrenching, ...
sounds about right. my knuckles have just healed from changing the crank pulley a while back, so I'm not eager to go another round
toyota went with the electric ps pump in 2006 when they changed to the yaris
Looks like a good mod. Toyota does like to have very soft steering. In a small car it doesn't matter as much anyway. Sporty feel huh? I might take the fuse off of m e Yaris to see if that's true.
I saw this post and had to try it. I removed the 50amp EPS fuse on my Yaris and went for a drive.
Steering was pretty stiff a low speeds, but very nice on the highway. Reminded me of my old MGA. The Yaris seems to have a fairly low steering ratio which makes non-assisted steering rather easy and, "sporty," with a more solid feel. I could let go of the wheel and drive for quite a distance before the car began to drift.
But, I remember why they put large steering wheels on cars before power steering was standard equipment. Also, the P/S warning light comes on and stays on without the fuse.
Thx for the updates guys, ... electric PS pumps eh?, ... can the logic board be reprogrammed to cut out the PS light?, ... lemme know if you get any fuel savings that can be attributed directly to the mod, ... my improvement coincides with warmer seasonal temps but it hasn't been THAT warm around here of late, ...
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
sounds about right. my knuckles have just healed from changing the crank pulley a while back, so I'm not eager to go another round
toyota went with the electric ps pump in 2006 when they changed to the yaris
I feel your pain, ... there's very little clearance down there. I was tempted to weld a 14mm socket to a bar to access those nuts on the PS pump. Some cars have rubber plugs on the inner fender and you remove the wheel and go in from the wheel well side. I didn't see any on mine. It took a lot of time and patience, but well worth it IMHO.
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
Thx for the updates guys, ... electric PS pumps eh?, ... can the logic board be reprogrammed to cut out the PS light?, ... lemme know if you get any fuel savings that can be attributed directly to the mod, ... my improvement coincides with warmer seasonal temps but it hasn't been THAT warm around here of late, ...
The reason Toyota went to electric assisted (electric motor driven) steering was to achieve a small gain in mpg over a mechanical assist (belt driven). So you should gain maybe 1-2 mpg by removing the belt, but by removing the fuse on mine, there should be no gain in mileage, just better feed back through the steering assembly.
I am unsure about how to kill the P/S light, but it is not that annoying. No different that the passenger airbag light that is on when someone is in the passenger seat.
None the less, I actually like the electric power steering, but it is nice to know I can disable it very easily.
Hey DMZ, 50 amp fuse?! That tells me something about what the PS pump load is able to be, ... possibly more efficient that running a belt but the added load on the alternator would be substantial, if intermittent. What you lose in the corners you gain in the straights as they say, ...literally in this case where the pump would be idle, ...
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2000 Echo, 200,000kms, aftermarket cruise control (AudioVox CCS-100), Intelligent Battery Guard (CTC), Sirius Satellite Radio, Scangage II, Garmin GPS, synthetic engine and gearbox lubes , Silicone Brake Fluid, Power Steering belt removed, delighted with the "tiny perfect car"
ou all have PowerSteering in your Echo?
I dont, and mine is an 04 original - no mods. I also dont have a wiper on the back window, but I have automatic.
My assessment - without the powersteering, quite hard to do parking, needs 2 hands. But it depends on the TIRES- with original Michelins, with about 3mm of profile it is hard -when driving slow, cornering - but perfect at speed.
I noticed with my new winter tires -Hankook (cheap from Can-Tire) the steeing is much , much better almost like power steering - could be the thread pattern? I'm keeping these on until it gets real hot and then change back to the Michelins. I'll address the fuel consumption elsewhere.
My PS belt snapped during a winter storm a couple years ago and I didn't replace it for 2 years, until my wife complained a little too much, and I was gonna be under the car replacing the waterpump anyway. You should definitely see an improvement in fuel economy.
If you're sure you're not ever going to need it, you could always just cut the belt off. Possibly a bit wasteful but it'll save your knuckles.
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Low Cost, Low Tech Upgrade
It took a lot of time and patience, but well worth it IMHO. 
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