22re power steering swap; worth it?
 

I have a 1991 2wd Standard cab. This beast of a machine is running a whopping 2.4l 22re with the bullet proof w55 5speed. Now, with all this raw, primal power behind the wheel, I find that the armstrong steering isn't for me. As much as my old lady loves my marble chisled arms swollen at the end of a long day of driving, it gets exhausting and I am seriously considering throwing in a power steering system. What are the pros and cons of doing such a task? Is it worth the money and hassle?

I've not messed with the power steering systems, but I'm replying mostly to say I enjoyed your writing

As for the swap, I can't imagine it would be terribly hard to get the pump, reservoir, steering box, and associated bracketry from a junkyard and do the swap.

If you're looking for even more, i see a lot of stuff about a hydroboost upgrade

Thanks Magnet! Everything I tend to find online doesnt have any reference pictures and lots of comments about strange fittings and hoses being too short. Now I'm no RedSeal mechanic, and as mechanically inclined as I am, I get equally frustrated. If I can make an afternoon of this swap with all the correct parts; that would be optimal. Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the hydroboost!

You shouldn't have any problems swapping parts over from another truck in a salvage yard as long as you find one similar to yours and take all of the needed parts. If you take all of the factory power steering system from a similar donor truck, there shouldn't be any weird fittings or too short hoses because it was installed on another Toyota truck at the factory.

My Truck came with power steering, so I cannot comment on how difficult the swap will be, but I don't think it would be too difficult.

A hydroboost setup will need to be custom made.

:safari:

One of the best upgrades I’ve done. I have a 4wd so a little different Ps box than 2wd. Off-road is a drastic difference for the better and around the parking lots is much easier.

I used an 89 and later box on my 86, so I had to shorten the steering shaft by about 1&1/2” (2wd shouldn’t require that). The whole job took about 2 hours to complete. Make sure you have all the screws, the right pullies, and brackets. I had to through bolt the reservoir. There is a youtube video of how all the brackets go. Some 4 part video;


I used this post on marlin as my guide;

https://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=48187.0

Collect the parts and do it. You will be thrilled.

Thanks everyone for pointing me in a more precise location. I suppose this will be a project for after my wedding. Other priorities right?
In all seriousness though, i appreciate the information. Ill fill you in on how this swap works out for me:)

I have been thinking about this as well. It sure is hard to turn around in the woods without the power steering.

I found this other forum post when I was searching for more info for adding power steering to my 1990 toyota pickup:

Toyota nation thread on power steering for a 91 pickup