Steering Dampener - to replace or not to replace?
 

1993 Toyota 4x4 22re manual Pickup - driven mainly without load but occasionally hauling wood from the great outdoors

I'm chasing down some squirrely steering issue and received helpful advice from this forum on replacing the steering coupler. Before going that route, I wanted to make sure the steering dampener wasn't the culprit. It's an Old Man Emu that is around 12 years old and 17k miles. I unhooked one of the two bolts holding it on and it still feels stiff except when extended almost out all the way with about 6 inches left. At this point it has much less resistance and is easy to move back/forth. Is this normal or a sign that my dampener needs to be replaced? how long do dampeners normally last?

Thanks,
JARED

What do you notice about the steering? Does your steering wheel not stay center when driving straight? Is there vibration?
It could be a bad alignment or the steering coupler in fact.
The OME stabilizer sounds old. Wouldn't be a bad idea to place it. The OEM on from Toyota is like $400, so I'd steer clear from that one.

The truck normally turns on a dime and is responsive and drives straight but recently feels like I have to turn the wheel more at higher speeds and especially under load. No vibrations. I'm leaning more towards a new stabilizer and going with either a Dobinsons or the same Old Man Emu. Thanks for the insight!