Just installed and did a short road test with the Lee power steering pump conversion on my '01 Ex. In my opinion it is totally worth it. Easy, light, smooth, steering. Now she will steer with the brakes applied and barely a groan lock to lock.
Fitment of the kit will vary depending on how stock your driver side engine bay is.
The accessory bracket does require modification, but not in a way that takes significant strength from the pump mount. Nowhere near the material removed to fit a Saginaw P pump. Lee uses the Saginaw N pump.
The reservoir mounting is not friendly with some large case alternators (This is mentioned in the instructions). I've got a 185amp from Nations starter & alternator and some material would have to be removed from the res bracket to line up with the holes.
Also, for those that prefer the upper rad hose that routes outside the serpentine belt, the instructions say to cut that portion off to clear the reservoir. Since my alternator is in the way I didn't do that. I believe from messing around during the install
that it could be modded to avoid that all together. The res would only need to sit about 1/2inch or less rearward to keep that part of the bracket, IF your alternator is not in the way.
I also have IDP T4 conversion, and the turbo to inter cooler pipe does make things crowded just about where the res wants to sit but not prohibitively so.
Easy fix, I'll get some hose and adjust the res location. not sure what that will be yet.
I already knew my steering gear is on its way out, and I'm currently looking into upgrading that in the next few days to complement the pump.
For me, this is a worthwhile upgrade. It's a great pump from a reputable source, and I don't ever have to worry about the pressure hose blowing off from a c-clip wearing out.

 

 

Thanks, I've added that to the list. Currently looking at using the 2011-16 steering gear. Some sparse info around showing that these bolt on the older frames. port size, input shaft coupler, and pitman arm splines are different. What I haven't yet figured out is if the taper
in the pitman arm is the same for the '01 drag link. I'd like to have the beefier gear box rebuilt and ported if I can get it working with the truck.

 

 

I assume you installed this kit? https://leepowersteering.com/product...-7-3-1999-2003

 

Yep, that's the kit. I'm guessing it must be fairly new, searching didn't turn up any reviews or installs. I decided to find out for myself.

 

This is a good point, at the moment I'm just checking out all the options. I like the idea behind using the newer gear, but I admit it might not pan out as good idea. Ideally, I'd like to grab a set of '05-'07 axles at some point, so hydro assist would likely be reserved for that.
Trying to plan things out to be forward compatible, porting for a ram is certainly on the list.

 

 

Pirate4x4 Camo, do you have that on your truck? If so, howe does it steer?

 

 

Now that is a trick res. I put Howe at the top of my list for the gear rebuild, due to the reinforcement they install on the superduty boxes and not hearing of any others doing that. I guess I hadn't scrolled down far enough because I completely missed that filtered reservoir.

 

Back in the day I had a Tommy Lee setup on my race car but for the past 20 years all my systems have been built by Jeff Howe. Both companies are top notch steering gurus, can’t go wrong.

to be honest I am sorta surprised Howe “rebuilds” ford boxes, gonna need to talk to about about that when I see him at KOH

 

I amhaving some issues with my 2000 F250 7.3 diesel 2x4 with about 140K on it. The ps fluid is full but I am hearing a groaning sound when turning and also almost feels like no power steering when turning wheel while sitting still. Being a female and very little mechanical skills or knowledge I am thinking maybe the ps pump is going out...............and wondering when it will leave me stranded. I read in another thread that there could be air in the system causing that as well. The truck is all stock wheels and no lift or anything. Only mods is a tuner of some sort with 3 gauges mounted on the interior driver door post. This was in the truck when I bought it so I have no idea what brand or anything. The truck runs well, just this steering issue that has started the last month or so. The fluid looks good.......but maybe I should compare the look and smell to my other truck's ps fluid for comparison.

So, IF I need to replace the pump, is the Lee pump mentioned above an expensive upgrade? This truck is mostly highway use, sometimes pulling a trailer.

Thanks for your help and suggestions! Any input is appreciated.

 

Flushing the power steering/hydroboost system could solve your problem and it is the cheapest and easiest way to go. Our trucks are heavy and steering while sitting still doesn't work well. Additionally, I can't help but believe that putting that kind of stress on the steering linkage isn't hard on the ball joints and tie rod ends. I avoid turning the wheel when sitting still as much as possible. Here is a video on how to flush the system.

 

Thank you Walleye Hunter - appreciate your time. I don't sit and turn the wheel like that as a practice, just in preparing to exit a location and starting to turn the wheel I notice it is less "fluid" than it should be, then once there is more movement it works better but the groaning sound. I am talking about when preparing to leave a parking space - which becomes a bit of a problem with these tanks, lol. BUT, well worth the parking hassle with all the other good things, IMO. The video on how to flush should be a great help, thanks again! I will start there and see if that fixes the problem!