How much should I expect to pay to have hydraulic steering put on a 1992 Ranger 361v with a 175 Mariner? Where is the best place around the Tyler/Lindale area?

$1000-$1300 for parts/system/Hydraulic oil. Removal of old helm/cables & install new helm & cables $600-$900 , hooked up, system bled, & ready to go would seem fair.

installation shouldn't be nearly that expensive. I did my previous boat start to finish in about 3 hours with only basic hydraulic/mechanical skills and tools.

Don't disassemble the old steering cables.....just use a cutoff wheel and cut em off. Then pull em out of the boat.

Hardest part on my install was inlarging the helm hole in the dash since a hole saw is useless without a pilot hole. Second hardest was uncoiling the tubing and running it in the boat.

Figure 3 hours at around $125/hr max! If it takes them longer to do the job, they are milking you for money.

Thanks guys. Was just wondering if it is worth the investment on a 92 boat.

It took you 3 hrs. He didn't say he wanted his old cables cut off. I just put an entire job estimate from start to finish, out the door, paying someone else to do it. . The hydraulic system alone is $1100-$1300. Labor at $125 per hr is going to be 3-6 hrs = $375 to $750. Sure, if you just want to chop & hack to get em out it'll be faster. Depends on shop. A QUALITY remove/install/bleed system costs more, but worth it. Should be close to $2000. My first guess was $1600 low side $2200 high side.
As for is it worth it? Doesn't matter the yr model of boat. To me its a safety issue on any boat with 150hp or more. I won't run my 250hp without Hydraulic. The real question is, Is it worth it to you? Are you keeping the boat for a long time or selling it? Only you can answer that one.

Curt you helped me install the hydraulic steering on my first boat that I did it on, it only took us a couple hours. Hardest part as Steez said was cutting the hole slightly larger without a pilot hole, and also we had hell pulling the old steering wheel off, with the half moon key kind of stuck a little. If you go Hydraulic steering, you can do most, if not all of install on your own. I installed helm and hoses, then took to my buddy's shop and had him bleed system is all. After watching him bleed (he does have a cool bottle to do it) I think someone could bleed it on their own with some common sense. Go ahead and get you that steering it's well worth it, keep an eye out on the used/resale market. I bought a brand new seastar pro system for 800 bucks to my door.

I'm just really saying that should be high end of it. I sent him a PM. It also depends if those steering cables have zip ties all along them like a certain boat Ronnie & I worked on. If done right from factory he won't have any problems & it may be a quicker job. I hope it is for him.
And yes, I got my full system for $900 to my door. They were both the higher pressure rated pro systems also

Call or drop an email to Tommy at Rockwall Marine. His guys are installing one on my boat now.

I had a 1986 Ranger and decided it was not but I was pretty much the only one that drove the boat. I have the guns to handle the torque but not everybody does. My ex use to drive it but she never really drove fast where torque was an issue. Now that I have a boat with hydraulic I kind of miss the feel of cable steering but I am probably weird.

I didn't "chop and hack"! On the contrary, I'm extremely detail oriented when it comes to mechanical stuff . I simply used a SnapOn 1HP cutoff wheel and cut the cable and jacket at the same time. It was simply faster, more effective, and less chance of damaging the boat by cutting the rusty [censored] if I had to pull it out in one chunk, it would likely have scratched the gel coat or made a mess of the carpet. ......and took a lot more time.

I don't work for a boat shop.....and for that reason, I guess I'm free to do it "my way". Honestly? My need to know something is PERFECT is why I will not let someone touch my stuff.

3 hours, in my driveway with my wife turning the wheel starboard to port and back over and over to help me bleed the system was all it took. I could probably shave 30 minutes off my time if I had to do it all again. I wasted 30 minutes warming the hydraulic tubing and putting tension on it to make it straight so I could run it neatly inside the hull.

Again.....I see, and fix!!!, hack jobs all the time in my line of work.