Hydro assist steering speed (want it faster) (1 Viewer)

['74 UA FJ]

Guys with hydro assist:

Hydro assist is awesome. Steering is easy even bound up in the rocks. However, my steering is kind of a pain in higher speed hill climbs. I have to turn the wheel like a damn banshee if I want to turn fast. I have a 4 turn box now which is probably part of the problem. I had a 3.5 turn before I did the hydro assist and steering speed wasn't really an issue(when it would turn).

Any suggestions or comments? Do you think it's the 4 turn box or that the box just doesn't put out enough fluid fast enough to work the ram? I think it's probably a combination of the two...

 

[Medusa]

As the name implies, the hydraulics only "assist" the steering box -- they don't change the gear ratio in the steering box itself (a 4-turn box takes 4 revs of the input shaft to go from stop to stop, with or without hydro assist). If you want it to be "quicker" you will need to go with a 3-turn box.

 

[Eskimo]

What he said.. and also remember you'll be moving more fluid with each revolution, so your P/S pump needs to be able to keep up with the demand.

 

[Huroneymoose]

The diameter of your ram will affect the flow of fluid. Bigger ram, slower movement because more fluid is required.

 

[Tapage]

What he said.. and also remember you'll be moving more fluid with each revolution, so your P/S pump needs to be able to keep up with the demand.

The diameter of your ram will affect the flow of fluid. Bigger ram, slower movement because more fluid is required.

In the same line, if you are using a PS pump that was good enough for your Box alone .. and now you are adding another place to be filled .. your pump must be mathed with new requirements ..

It happen to me that my pump wasn't enough to keep the box speed and the ram ...

If that's the case you will feel you have 1seg fast movement ( easy steering ) then like a stop and then again steering ..

this time gap it's the time that your pump take to fill your ram cylinder ..

 

[LT]

You can shim the pressure valve on your saginaw pump to produce more fluid flow through your system. It helps out a little bit for a better reaction time but once again it comes down to the amount of fluid volume your entire system can handle.

powersteering

 

['74 UA FJ]

You can shim the pressure valve on your saginaw pump to produce more fluid flow through your system. It helps out a little bit for a better reaction time but once again it comes down to the amount of fluid volume your entire system can handle.

powersteering

Interesting read.

"[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If it does have a shim remove it and try that. I don't recommend doing anymore than that if you are going to run hydro assist but if you are just trying to get more power out of a stock system and that does not give you enough then you can place a small washer in the bottom of the piston housing beneth the spring."


The first sentence above seems to say that you should remove the shim to increase pressure. Then in the next sentence it says to add a shim.

Am I reading this wrong? Which one gives you more pressure?
[/FONT]

 

['74 UA FJ]

As the name implies, the hydraulics only "assist" the steering box -- they don't change the gear ratio in the steering box itself (a 4-turn box takes 4 revs of the input shaft to go from stop to stop, with or without hydro assist). If you want it to be "quicker" you will need to go with a 3-turn box.

Thanks, but this is elementary.

Will the ram be able to "keep up" with the 3 turn box? You will need more flow going to the ram in a 3 turn system than in a 4 turn.

Has anybody run a 4 turn saginaw box with assist and then changed to a 3 turn box with the same ram with good results?

 

[Mark W]

Increasing pressure does not affect flow.

IF your pump is not moving sufficient fluid for your system to move quickly, the result will be sudden stiffening of the steering... as if all power assist has failed (which is what has effectively happened). It will be a momentary thing, as soon as the pump catches up the power returns.

You do not need any more fluid regardless of the box, unless you change the rams to larger ones. All that matters is how quickly the ram is asked to move. Obviously if you are spinning the wheel as fast as you can with a 3 turn box, you will be asking the ram to move a bit quicker than with a 4 turn box, but in a real world situation, the difference is not a lot. It *is* there though, and if your flow is marginal it may push things over the edge.


Mark...

 

[CruisinFJ60]

Thanks, but this is elementary.

Will the ram be able to "keep up" with the 3 turn box? You will need more flow going to the ram in a 3 turn system than in a 4 turn.

Has anybody run a 4 turn saginaw box with assist and then changed to a 3 turn box with the same ram with good results?

like mark also said.

Its fluid flow that is most important.

 

['74 UA FJ]

Increasing pressure does not affect flow.

IF your pump is not moving sufficient fluid for your system to move quickly, the result will be sudden stiffening of the steering... as if all power assist has failed (which is what has effectively happened). It will be a momentary thing, as soon as the pump catches up the power returns.

You do not need any more fluid regardless of the box, unless you change the rams to larger ones. All that matters is how quickly the ram is asked to move. Obviously if you are spinning the wheel as fast as you can with a 3 turn box, you will be asking the ram to move a bit quicker than with a 4 turn box, but in a real world situation, the difference is not a lot. It *is* there though, and if your flow is marginal it may push things over the edge.


Mark...

Based on this, my flow is fine with my 4 turn box. I can spin the wheel as fast as I can and not have a shortage of flow.

Sounds like I should switch to a 3 turn box and then attack the flow issue if it surfaces.

 

[LT]

Interesting read.

"[FONT=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If it does have a shim remove it and try that. I don't recommend doing anymore than that if you are going to run hydro assist but if you are just trying to get more power out of a stock system and that does not give you enough then you can place a small washer in the bottom of the piston housing beneth the spring."


The first sentence above seems to say that you should remove the shim to increase pressure. Then in the next sentence it says to add a shim.

Am I reading this wrong? Which one gives you more pressure?
[/FONT]

Some had shims and some didn't. Mine had a shim so I removed it and put everything back together, others do not have a shim so you would add one to create more pressure.

They also talk about drilling the fitting to a larger size to increase flow rate from idle to low rpms.

 

[brokenparts]

Some had shims and some didn't. Mine had a shim so I removed it and put everything back together, others do not have a shim so you would add one to create more pressure.

They also talk about drilling the fitting to a larger size to increase flow rate from idle to low rpms.

I drilled out my old orifice on my pump and it worked great... no whining.

 

[Tapage]

I drilled out my old orifice on my pump and it worked great... no whining.

I did in my TC type too .. but also I'm runnun an small pulley and mine whine like a ...

 

[camcruiser13]

i also have a drilled out pump on my ram, works well

 

[Poser]

I did in my TC type too .. but also I'm runnun an small pulley and mine whine like a ...

whine?

As in the pump making a noise or the belt slipping on the small diameter pulley?

Thanks, but this is elementary.

All class OP.











.

 

['74 UA FJ]

I drilled and tapped my 3 turn box and put it on today. Works fine except at low idle there isn't quite enough flow. I'll do the mod on the pump and see how that works.

Good info in here guys.

Also, I need a longer pitman arm because my wheels aren't turned far enough at full lock.

 

[Combat Chuck]

Also remember that increasing the hydraulic flow and force into the ram increases the odds of shearing studs on your knuckles.

Good Luck!

 

['74 UA FJ]

I've got the 6 studs on each side, so hopefully that won't happen.

 

[CruisinFJ60]

I've got the 6 studs on each side, so hopefully that won't happen.

I sheered an ARP off recently... I really think I should do the 6 shooters myself but they co$t $o much $$!

on topic, let us know how it keeps up after drilling it.