AMP Power Steps

[Muscleford]

I am having the same problem. They retracted perfectly for 6 months. As of two weeks ago the passenger side leaves a 1/2 inch gap when retracted. I can push it as it retracts and it closes the gap, but now on its own it doesn't close fully like before.

I and everyone who rides in my truck love the amp research side steps!

I contacted Amp-Research and they had me submit a warranty claim with proof of purchase and and a video of the step. I did that on Tuesday and am waiting for a response. The person I spoke to said it sounded the motor was stripped. My thinking is it is either the gear on the motor or the gear it engages on linkage assembly or both.

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[deleriumtremor]

I am in the same boat as a few above.

I installed my Amp Powersteps on my ‘21 FX4 maybe a year ago. It was a fussy install to get them aligned properly and operating correctly, a few times back and forth with the bolt up sequence, before they would retract completely, but finally got it working the way previous installations went on other make trucks.

A month or so ago, they quit retracting fully on both sides. They leave about an inch or so gap up front on both sides.

My guess is ours were marginal enough that the inevitable grime that accumulates (we are off road a lot and in the winter it gets pretty gnarlly up there), there is enough drag to halt the retraction on the front pivot.

I will try remounting when the weather gets a little better in the spring (the garage floor tends to get pretty messy in the winter).

If I can’t get them working well again, I may deinstall them, as they don’t look right at this point.

I think if I had it to do over on this particular truck, I might choose one of the other alternatives with a motor on all four hinge points. I went with AMP on this install as I had great success with them on my GMC’s.

 

[Muscleford]

They sent new motor which when the weather gets better I will install. Mine started acting yours then started making terrible noise. They do an upgraded one with two motors, perhaps the these could be retrofitted.

 

[deleriumtremor]

They sent new motor which when the weather gets better I will install. Mine started acting yours then started making terrible noise. They do an upgraded one with two motors, perhaps the these could be retrofitted.

I spent some time "fiddling with the mounting points, torquing in different sequences" as per the advice from the company and still no joy so far. I need to really clean the front operators so I can get some serious lube on them to see if that will help. Longer term, even if that does the trick, I am skeptical it will hold up under the mud load they get every other trip we take in the winter.

I am also going to try shimming the operators in various ways with some shim stock I have on hand to see if I can get the alignment a little better to eliminate the problem.

Finally, if none of that works, I will inquire about the ability to retrofit the four motor option, although I seriously doubt that will be a no cost option and I am really not in the mood to spend any more on these steps.

If I can't get them operating flawlessly I will probably deinstall them. The way they sit now with the front half opened slightly, it acts like a scoop for mud when off-road in the winter (like 10lbs of mud caked on the first half of the step), not good.

 

[Muscleford]

I spent some time "fiddling with the mounting points, torquing in different sequences" as per the advice from the company and still no joy so far. I need to really clean the front operators so I can get some serious lube on them to see if that will help. Longer term, even if that does the trick, I am skeptical it will hold up under the mud load they get every other trip we take in the winter.

I am also going to try shimming the operators in various ways with some shim stock I have on hand to see if I can get the alignment a little better to eliminate the problem.

Finally, if none of that works, I will inquire about the ability to retrofit the four motor option, although I seriously doubt that will be a no cost option and I am really not in the mood to spend any more on these steps.

If I can't get them operating flawlessly I will probably deinstall them. The way they sit now with the front half opened slightly, it acts like a scoop for mud when off-road in the winter (like 10lbs of mud caked on the first half of the step), not good.

I went to install the replacement motor and found both sides operating flawlesly. Not sure why but ok for now.

 

[LB'sTremor]

I spent some time "fiddling with the mounting points, torquing in different sequences" as per the advice from the company and still no joy so far. I need to really clean the front operators so I can get some serious lube on them to see if that will help. Longer term, even if that does the trick, I am skeptical it will hold up under the mud load they get every other trip we take in the winter.

I am also going to try shimming the operators in various ways with some shim stock I have on hand to see if I can get the alignment a little better to eliminate the problem.

Finally, if none of that works, I will inquire about the ability to retrofit the four motor option, although I seriously doubt that will be a no cost option and I am really not in the mood to spend any more on these steps.

If I can't get them operating flawlessly I will probably deinstall them. The way they sit now with the front half opened slightly, it acts like a scoop for mud when off-road in the winter (like 10lbs of mud caked on the first half of the step), not good.

They have a 4 motor option like the Rihno's?

LB

 

[deleriumtremor]

They have a 4 motor option like the Rihno's?

LB

They do make a 4 motor option, they call the PowerStep Extreme, unfortunately I just checked the availability and they don't make one for the Ranger, only F150 and up. Looking at it, it likely wouldn't have been an upgrade option anyway.

I will fiddle with it some more with shims and such, but right now, I am thinking they likely will be coming off. Too bad, I love the steps otherwise.

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