PA State Inspection

[85_Ranger4x4]

Lol steering wheels were huge!
they could be used to steer boats they were so big lol

And every pickup (not a Ranger) I have driven without power steering steers like one of the ships on Pirates of the Caribbean too. Just keep spinning the wheel one way until it is time to start spinning it the other way.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Shut your truck off, turn the key on, and let it coast down a small hill to about 10mph or so, try turning the wheel, and then decide if its worth a "cleaner" look and 3 more hp.

 

[91stranger]

Shut your truck off, turn the key on, and let it coast down a small hill to about 10mph or so, try turning the wheel, and then decide if its worth a "cleaner" look and 3 more hp.

I agree. Seems like its not worth losing something as convenient as power steering to clear engine bay space. I doubt you will see much hp gain. Maybe on paper but not while driving. Plus this is a ranger, not a 2000hp drag car where every hp counts. We have a pt cruiser that has bad power steering (no power steering at all due to bad rack assembly) and it is fine at high speeds but at low speeds it sucks. and this is a small car just about the same weight as a ranger so I wouldn't get rid of it if I had the option to keep it. But hey it is your truck and you do with it what you want. I am putting my two cents in and saying don't do it.

 

[Shran]

Hacking your truck up is gonna make it real hard to sell later on but you seem to have convinced yourself that it's a good idea - so I say blaze ahead.

My old '94 Mazda B2300 had no power steering and it sucked ass to park.

 

[adsm08]

Hacking your truck up is gonna make it real hard to sell later on but you seem to have convinced yourself that it's a good idea - so I say blaze ahead.

My old '94 Mazda B2300 had no power steering and it sucked ass to park.

Some people cannot be convinced that their bad ideas should not be pursued, no matter what evidence is presented against it, because they use their feelings to make decisions, and not their brains.

 

[91stranger]

Some people cannot be convinced that their bad ideas should not be pursued, no matter what evidence is presented against it, because they use their feelings to make decisions, and not their brains.

HAHA I like that. feelings instead of brains. I still don't see the logic behind removing something as convenient as power steering. I agree that no one is going to want to buy it like that either.

 

[adsm08]

HAHA I like that. feelings instead of brains.

And in America we have a name for those people. Liberals.

I still don't see the logic behind removing something as convenient as power steering. I agree that no one is going to want to buy it like that either.

I can see the advantage in certain scenarios, like autocross or other "street" racing setups where sudden loss of power assist could be very bad. If it was a 97 or older I would have far fewer reservations, because the parts to do it right would exist.

The problem with swapping any year Ranger to manual steering is that the manual setup somehow managed to be more problematic than the powered ones.

 

[planeflyer21]

I had no power steering on my Dodge M770 5/4 ton surplus 4x4...even with the giant steering wheel and after learning to coordinate steering with throttle manipulation, parking lots sucked big giant raw pig feet.

Empty spots at the back of the parking lot, with a straight pull-through to the other side, or backing in became the norm.

About halfway through owning that truck, I bought a Ramcharger suv with power steering and a wheel about the size of the Ranger. No effort at all.

 

[poondobber]

Shut your truck off, turn the key on, and let it coast down a small hill to about 10mph or so, try turning the wheel, and then decide if its worth a "cleaner" look and 3 more hp.

Right, but you’re pushing hydraulic fluid that’s why it’s so hard to steer. You disconnect the power steering, remove the fluid and piston, and things are completely different. Only two things have left me stranded in my ranger in 20 years and 208k miles. One was the power steering.

 

[poondobber]

Hacking your truck up is gonna make it real hard to sell later on but you seem to have convinced yourself that it's a good idea - so I say blaze ahead.

Sell a 20yo rusted out ford ranger. If I took the power steering out and sold it on eBay I would get more than if I tried to sell the truck whole.

 

[Shran]

Sell a 20yo rusted out ford ranger. If I took the power steering out and sold it on eBay I would get more than if I tried to sell the truck whole.

I sold a moderately rusty 1996 2wd truck with 250k on it for $1900 a couple years ago, a beat up 1998 4x4 extended cab for $2500, a nice 1994 Explorer for $1800 and an absolutely trashed 1992 Explorer for $700. A wild guess tells me that all of those were just slightly higher than the price of a used power steering pump. Should I give you more examples?

In any case, you're convinced, so like I said - blaze ahead.