steering shock absorber

[hunter01]

On some off road vehicles in with the steering linkage I've seen what looks like a shock absorber going side to side, posibly connected to the center link. What is this used for, and is it available for an S-10

[Mikado14]

MY '93 has one as stock, it is a steering damper. Not sure about the older ones.

[movin2stereo]

Mine has one.I have a 98.

[hunter01]

Thats interesting neither my 91 or 02 blazers have one. I guess it doesn't need one. What is it supposed to do?

[vtmecheng]

The damper does just this, it dampens the stearing shock and bumb steer felt at the steering wheel. These are used on trucks with larger tires because of the added force applied by the larger mass/diameter/width on the steering system. I believe the ZR2's came with this damper (am not sure on that one) but most S10's dont have them stock. You only need one if your truck has tires of 31x10.50 or larger.

[hunter01]

Thank you for the info.

[teninpeni]

I have an 1983 S10, extende cab, 15 inch tires and the steering stabilizer shock is stock....