Why is steering difficult?

[orgmark]

Why is it hard to turn the wheel? Fluid level is
good. No sound when steering. Wheel just seems
to stick. Have a 97 4WD Ranger. Ive heard of new
technology where power steering is adjusted
relative to speed. Can I spray lubricant somewhere?

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

You could have seized balljoints on the front axle, jack the front end up (both sides at the same time) and try to move the steering back and forth by hand.

 

[MAKG]

Anything up front could be binding. On that one, you have rack & pinion steering, right? I'd suspect the R&P unit, but the way to check is to pop the tie rod ends out with the front wheels in the air, and turn the wheels and steering wheel to see where the resistance is.

 

[exbass94]

Nope, 1997 still had TTB with a steering box. It was the last year for it though.

 

[MAKG]

That test can still separate balljoint binding from steering linkage binding, but it's not going to be able to isolate where in the linkage the binding is occurring.