hydro assist for stock steering? (1 Viewer)

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Sep 9, 2016
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Location
Fort Worth TX
Is there a kit on the market for a hydro assist using all stock steering components? Brackets for tie rod and diff and Porting stock box with hydraulic lines? I think I read I need to buy a 1.5x8 ram but need more help.
 
there is and will always bee a DIY component for us .. demand it's pretty low and the parts are out there for you to " assemble " your own " kit "
 
Ya after reading more I’m gonna get with redneck ram and have them rebuild and tap my box and go with their ram kit. I just needs axle mount and tie rod clamp. Looks like I can get it all done for around 800
 
I am in the process of doing this now. Most is summarized in the thread above. Box is rebuilt and tapped, which is very easy to do and just waiting on a few parts to show up before I start fabbing the mount. Went with the surplus centre 10 inch ram which I had internally limited to 9 inch stroke. Only thing I wish I did different so far is to get a ram where the manufacturer could limit it before sending it out. Cost me $100 for a local hydraulic shop to machine one.

So far the most frustrating part of the process is reinserting the power piston into the box and not slicing up the teflon ring a bit. Twice so far, even using a piston ring compressor and I always take a sliver off.
 
So far the most frustrating part of the process is reinserting the power piston into the box and not slicing up the teflon ring a bit. Twice so far, even using a piston ring compressor and I always take a sliver off.

warm it up a bit .. will be more flexible and easy to deal with ..
 
I am in the process of doing this now. Most is summarized in the thread above. Box is rebuilt and tapped, which is very easy to do and just waiting on a few parts to show up before I start fabbing the mount. Went with the surplus centre 10 inch ram which I had internally limited to 9 inch stroke. Only thing I wish I did different so far is to get a ram where the manufacturer could limit it before sending it out. Cost me $100 for a local hydraulic shop to machine one.

So far the most frustrating part of the process is reinserting the power piston into the box and not slicing up the teflon ring a bit. Twice so far, even using a piston ring compressor and I always take a sliver off.
So 9” is what we need for stock steering setup?
 
If working off the rear tie rod, yes, I can confirm that. I believe it is the same for the front drag link.

I externally limited mine. $20 and done.
 
I think I read all that. Lol I was hoping that someone made kits from a setup they had done so I could buy it and install. I don’t trust my fab skills yet and don’t think steering is the place to learn

My fab skills are not great either but you will still have full mechanical linkage in the event something fails. Not like the stock pump is outputting a ton of pressure. Go slow welding the axle 1 inch at a time and you should be good. I am going to use a clamp mount at first to see if that works. Ordered the Ballistic Fab 1.25 inch mount for the Slee tie rod.
 
I have a friend who is a certified Toyota master mechanic. Was, rather. She now works directly with Brian Crower on the cam grinds for the 1FZ-FE they use in the middle east. Anyway, one thing that she told me about the fzj80 steering setup is that the pump design is different than a lot of standard vane pumps (like the Saginaw P or TC pumps) and as a result, can have a whole bunch of unexpected behavior when used in conjunction with hydro assist.

So, a little technical details - a power steering gear box uses a little tiny torsion bar to redirect hydraulic pressure between one side of the piston or the other. Since the ps pump is a positive displacement pump, it typically has a relief built into it, but that's not needed in the majority of cases because when the gearbox is in a neutral (no load on the tiny torsion bar) state, the fluid flows easily from input to output and the pump doesn't have to work hard.

When you run a hydro assist ram, though, there is a certain amount of fluid on one side of the piston that is different (since there's no piston rod) than the other side. All single-ended hydraulic rams are asymmetric like this. But what this means is that your power steering pump is now always slightly compensating and redirecting a bit of fluid from the larger side to the smaller side in order to keep everything free from drifting. This slight load causes the relief to occasionally wear out and, because it's a gear driven pump (inside the motor), will create a localized hotspot near cylinder #1, which leads to differential thermal expansion and a popped head gasket.

So whenever you do hydro assist, her recommendation was that you should probably replace your head gasket or, better yet, just remove it altogether and RTV it. That's what she said anyway.
 
Fake news. Couldn't you just put the head gasket part closer to the top so I don't have to start planning my reply as I read. lol.

I have a friend who is a certified Toyota master mechanic. Was, rather. She now works directly with Brian Crower on the cam grinds for the 1FZ-FE they use in the middle east. Anyway, one thing that she told me about the fzj80 steering setup is that the pump design is different than a lot of standard vane pumps (like the Saginaw P or TC pumps) and as a result, can have a whole bunch of unexpected behavior when used in conjunction with hydro assist.

So, a little technical details - a power steering gear box uses a little tiny torsion bar to redirect hydraulic pressure between one side of the piston or the other. Since the ps pump is a positive displacement pump, it typically has a relief built into it, but that's not needed in the majority of cases because when the gearbox is in a neutral (no load on the tiny torsion bar) state, the fluid flows easily from input to output and the pump doesn't have to work hard.

When you run a hydro assist ram, though, there is a certain amount of fluid on one side of the piston that is different (since there's no piston rod) than the other side. All single-ended hydraulic rams are asymmetric like this. But what this means is that your power steering pump is now always slightly compensating and redirecting a bit of fluid from the larger side to the smaller side in order to keep everything free from drifting. This slight load causes the relief to occasionally wear out and, because it's a gear driven pump (inside the motor), will create a localized hotspot near cylinder #1, which leads to differential thermal expansion and a popped head gasket.

So whenever you do hydro assist, her recommendation was that you should probably replace your head gasket or, better yet, just remove it altogether and RTV it. That's what she said anyway.
 
:clap:
 
If working off the rear tie rod, yes, I can confirm that. I believe it is the same for the front drag link.

I externally limited mine. $20 and done.
Front is less. Slightly under 8"
 

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