Ranger prerunner questions

[tkr]

We're starting work on a prerunner...'93 Ranger....and I have a couple questions.

1. Are the stock steering column and aluminum support bracket strong enough? Or are we better off making our own column and supports.

2. Can the seats..Beard Super Seats...be mounted to the floor like the stock seats, or do they need to be mounted to the cage?

Thanks for the help.

[SPONSOR]

Membership in the largest desert racing community has its advantages - Participate in Forum Discussions - Send and Receive Private Messages - Maintain Public Photo Albums - Access to Groups - User Profile in our Social Network - Increased Access to more Sub Forums - Reduced Online Advertisements Join our community today

[WFODAN]

No ..... The stock steering column isn't strong enough to survive a big hit . Actually it's the aluminum brackets are not strong enough to hold it still . They will let the column telescope into the dash and it will fall down . It's just a nightmare to have to keep tearing the bottom of the dash apart to fix it each time it lets loose . After trying to put mine back together about three or four times every desert trip , we decided to make our own column and ditch the dash .


As for the seats being mounted to the floor ........... I wouldn't do it . I just don't like the feeling of having my seat mounted to sheet metal though . Hope that helps .


Dan Vance

[tkr]

Thanks Dan.

[singlehanded]

arnt the brackets on some years? are there any that are ok cuz I understood that the plastic ones were not good and the others were alright with a hose clamp or two?

[tkr]

The bracket on ours is aluminum with two steel braces. It looks pretty stout...but on the other hand I know how easlily cast aluminum cracks. Our dilema was the safety factor in the collapsing column. But I think with a good cage, and properly mounted seats and harnesses, it shouldn't be necessary.

[Mike_HKmtrsprts]

1. dan has the right asnwer to the steering colum


2. dont mount the seat to the floor!, on my friends f150 we just ripped the material off the stock seat rails and welded tabs to mount the beards to it so the seat still slid forward and back and it works great...Mike

[WFODAN]

It was never a question of cracking the aluminum , but rather the joint telescoping the way it was designed to do in a wreck . It really doesn't take much to collapse one . One good stuff and the weight of just your hands can do it quite easily . Like I said , you can always just keep putting it back together over and over . it's just a bit tough to drive when the steering column lands in your lap when the truck is already getting loose after a big hit . Also after the first time it comes apart it never holds even close to the same again . Just a thought .

Dan Vance

[tkr]

"we just ripped the material off the stock seat rails and welded tabs to mount the beards to it so the seat still slid forward and back and it works great."

that's actually what I meant by mounting them to the floor. But the slider still bolts through the floor. For some reason I just don't feel comfortable not having the seat mounted to something stronger...like a crossbar in the cage.

Thanks for the clarification Dan, I was wondering how much it would take to collapse the column.

[ntsqd]

Haven't looked specifically at a Ranger column, but those I have looked at have two little plastic pins that run thru both of the sliding parts. So the first time it collapses it has to shear those pins. Would be why they don't stay in place as easily after the first time.
It's worth your life to keep the collapsing part, just mount the upper shaft more securely.