Ford Bronco PSC Steering Upgrade - Steering The Juice In The Right Direction

If you do a lot of off-roading with a stock steering system, you're bound to wear the factory stuff out quickly and require some upgrades. Our '93 Bronco, The Juice, finally let go after sliding down an impossibly steep face of slickrock while in Moab, Utah, last year, with all four tires locked up in a full brake. The front passenger tire hit level ground first, and the entire vehicle bounced as the full force of the impact was absorbed by the front end of the Bronco. Everyone was OK, but the steering gear was hurt. We drove trails the rest of the week without the help of power steering. We needed some help in order to get the Bronco turning again, so we called the experts at PSC for advice

Our solution came in the form of the PSC kit based on a Ford Super Duty steering system. We never thought that we'd describe steering components as "beautiful," but they sure looked pretty when we opened the box and saw the shiny new pump, gearbox, reservoir, and cooler. The components we got weren't part of a packaged kit provided by PSC, but rather chosen individually for our particular application. Tom Allen, who runs the show over at PSC, told us these Super Duty steering components have become popular with those who own prerunners or race trucks, and that these parts would do us well in a high-speed vehicle.

The gang over at Off-Road Evolution in Fullerton, California, was happy to help us get everything together. Interestingly, our biggest problem during the install had nothing to do with the parts PSC sent us-everything went on as it should have. However, we had neglected to realize that the larger sector shaft on the steering box would require a pitman arm with a larger splined hole.

It only seemed fitting that we have a nice new steering wheel to turn the PSC components, and we immediately called Grant Products to order one up. We like their diamond grip wheels, and chose the 13.5-inch diameter Club Sport 452. This is a smaller diameter than the stock wheel that came with our Bronco, and we liked the sporty feel that it provided.

We quickly realized that the steering wheel is the driver's primary interface with a vehicle, and as such it should not be overlooked when other performance mods have been made. The added comfort and grip of the Grant wheel enhanced our driving experience

Update
We took the Bronco up to Moab again this year, shortly after it was ready to run, and really railed the thing on the sandy roads north of town. Unfortunately, we finally blew the 140,000-mile-old transmission, so it's back to the shop for now. But we were pleased with the feel of the steering, which was noticeably smoother and exhibited much less play than the stock setup. There was still a healthy tension as we turned the wheel, which gave the steering a stout, in-control feel. And we loved gripping our hands around the Grant wheel. We predict that we won't need to deal with the steering guts again for quite some time.

PSC sent us a whole box of...        read full caption PSC sent us a whole box of goodies to cure the Bronco's steering ailments. They even provided us with hydraulic-assist components, which we chose not to use on this particular application-we were in a hurry to hit the trails and installation would have required more fabwork than we were interested in doing.	Some women think jewels are...        read full caption Some women think jewels are beautiful-guys like us admire truck parts in much the same way. The drop pitman arm we had previously used didn't fit on the new box so we had to search another one down. A week later, we had four different pitman arms-none of which fit our steering box. Finally, both Revtek Suspension and Icon Vehicle Dynamics came up with the solution at the same time, both providing us with the correct one. The arm turned out to be a unit designed to fit Super Duty model years 2000-2004.	The PSC pump was matched to...        read full caption The PSC pump was matched to the pulley that was also provided. We were glad to note that our serpentine belt length stayed exactly the same-a good thing to know if we ever find ourselves needing one in some remote backwoods town.
The sharp-looking aluminum...        read full caption The sharp-looking aluminum fluid reservoir was mounted next to the stock coolant and wiper fluid reservoirs. An overflow tube directs excess fluid down into a catch can.	We mounted the finned aluminum...        read full caption We mounted the finned aluminum cooler above the twin-traction beam front-end of the Bronco. After a hard day of running trails, everything looked just as it should have. The steering box is visible at the right-hand side of the photo, with the correct pitman arm bolted to it.	Being that this is a larger...        read full caption Being that this is a larger unit than the stock Bronco pump, we used a grinder to shave a bit of exterior metal off both the new pump and the steering pump bracket. It took some doing, but we were able to make everything fit without major modifications.
Here, the included pulley...        read full caption Here, the included pulley wheel is pictured after a tough day of use. Although it was necessary to use the PSC pulley, it didn't require us to change the length of our serpentine belt.	In order to get the Bronco's...        read full caption In order to get the Bronco's steering wheel off, we needed to use an inexpensive wheel puller what we purchased at the neighborhood auto parts store. A ratchet is used in conjunction with the puller in order to pry the stock wheel from the column.	Once the stock wheel was off,...        read full caption Once the stock wheel was off, we bolted on the handsome billet aluminum cover provided with the optional installation kit. A rubber cover is provided with the wheel itself, for those who choose not to purchase the optional kit, but we think it's definitely worth the coin.
The wheel itself went on easily....        read full caption The wheel itself went on easily. Five small Torx bit bolts screwed right into the face of the wheel, securing it to column and pulling it close to the billet cover. Nothing tricky here.	We popped the center cover...        read full caption We popped the center cover on to the wheel and were done for the day. This Grant wheel, the Club Sport 452, has diamond grips at ten- and two-o'clock, which feel great and provide a non-slip surface that kept us firmly in control when we hit the dirt after the installation.