Steering Problems and Questions

[Zenobian_84]

Hey all, I've had my truck for almost 2 months now, and ever since I bought it, I always wondered if it had power steering. As you can tell from the picture below, it's just your average 2.5 I4, and if it does in fact have power steering, where would the power steering pump / filler reservoir be?

 

 

 

The PO told me that the steering problem that was there (truck is a PITA to turn when you first start taking off, or when you're trying to park) and told me that all I had to do was adjust the steering box that's located behind the radiator to fix this problem.

 

1. Would this fix the problem, and how should I go about adjusting the box (other than using the simple star head to adjust the screw)?

2. What should I look out for when adjusting this box, and what could happen if I overtightened or under tightened it?

3. Do these symptoms I'm having even sound like they would be caused by the steering box, or could it be another culprit entirely?

 

Appreciate the feedback; and I still have a lot to learn. :hmm:

[philbert001]

You do not have power steering, therefor, it'll always be difficult to turn without the truck rolling. It is very easy to swap in a power steering setup. Go to the junkyard and pull the pump and box and lines all as one unit, and you won't even have to bleed it! The pump would be located where your uppermost pulley is located on the drivers side. I would take all the pump bracketry from donor vehicle too, as I'm not sure how far in the differences are. Probably just like the non AC trucks. The non AC idler pulley bolts right on where the compressor would in an AC truck, so I'll assume the power steering setup would translate the same way.

Adjusting the box probably won't make it easier to steer. (But power steering sure would!)

Upon a second look at your pic, it looks like you'll need at least the bracket for the front side of the pump.

[Zenobian_84]

You do not have power steering, therefor, it'll always be difficult to turn without the truck rolling. It is very easy to swap in a power steering setup. Go to the junkyard and pull the pump and box and lines all as one unit, and you won't even have to bleed it! The pump would be located where your uppermost pulley is located on the drivers side. I would take all the pump bracketry from donor vehicle too, as I'm not sure how far in the differences are. Probably just like the non AC trucks. The non AC idler pulley bolts right on where the compressor would in an AC truck, so I'll assume the power steering setup would translate the same way.

Adjusting the box probably won't make it easier to steer. (But power steering sure would!)

Upon a second look at your pic, it looks like you'll need at least the bracket for the front side of the pump.

Thanks phil. Good advice, but how long give or take would you imagine that I would have to spend installing the PS setup? So if I ever wanted to do it, I would already know. My guess is at least 3-4 hrs?

[Garvin]

With all the correct tools, I can have it swapped in a matter of an hour. So say like three hours if this is your first time doing it. The hardest part of it all is taking off the pitman arm. If you have a pitman arm puller and a set of sockets and wrenches then you shouldn't have any issues tool wise.

[philbert001]

Yup!

Or, if you can't come up with a pitman arm puller, just knock the drag link end out of the pitman arm, and use the junkyard box, with it's pitman arm still on.

[philbert001]

Probably the very best mod you could do!

[Zenobian_84]

Starting to think that the PS pump wouldn't be that bad of an idea. Thanks for the input and help guys, I appreciate it. :thumbsup: