Power Steering Upgrade/Hydraulic Winch, Part 1

[R.E.M.]

Power Steering Upgrade/Hydraulic Winch, Part 1&2, **UPDATED**

This is part 1 of a 3 part upgrade. This requires three parts because I need to keep my minimally-funded DD driving... daily.

The goal of this upgrade is to address one problem and incorporate a new component.

Problem: wheeling with 33s on the stock steering system is my main problem when on the trail. Power steering fluid sprays out from the pump somewhere and has to be refilled throughout the day. This really sucks, is frustrating and wastes fluid.

New component: Mile Marker 10500lb hydraulic winch. This is a carry-over from my last 4x4, so I'm going to use it despite the arguments. And I like being different.

Part 1 is to make the most of my stock system; meaning the pump and steering box are not changing. Part 2 is a new PSC high flow, high pressure pump with remote reservoir. Part 3 is hydraulic assist (not anytime soon).

Throughout this research process I became quite familiar with hydraulic fittings, sizes and thread types. Based on the pump I want to use I settled on a standard to use to keep things as common and simple as possible. I did piece everything together from FIVE different sources to keep costs down. Ebay, Amazon, PSC, Surplus Center, and a local hydraulic shop. I spent a LOT of time reading, looking and learning before I ordered anything. And things actually went according to plan. I'm still in shock about that

With the addition of a hydro winch, the flow goes in this order:
1. Pump
2. Winch
3. Steering box
4. Cooler

(Part 2 will include a reservoir after the cooler)

Every fitting in the system is now a -6 JIC (or AN, they are interchangeable but adhere to different standards that really don't matter in automotive applications) with exception of the line between the cooler and pump, this is just a hose nipple with clamps. This was nice because I got to reuse both high pressure lines that came with the winch.

New 16mm to -6 adapter and bent-tube elbow at the pump outlet:

Winch inlet (left) and outlet (right). Both sides have 1/4"NPT to -6 adapters and the same elbows as before:

Steering box inlet (foreground) with 16mm to -6 adapter and another elbow, and low pressure outlet with 17mm to -6 adapter:

New power steering cooler. Inlet on bottom with a 1/4"NPT to -6 adapter and outlet on top with a 1/4"NPT to 3/8" ID hose barb. My least favorite part about this how I routed the line from the cooler to the pump. I'll have to do something different for long term. But given the space, my options are limited:

And finally back to the pump:

The system is filled with (only needed one bottle, but I was prepared for a big mess):

So far there's not much to report except that it's not leaking with street test driving! And I wired up the winch and it is operational. I'm sure it's severely underpowered. Also, my winch mount is not yet adequately secured to be winching.

I'm not expecting STRONGER steering, just steering that doesn't completely suck. I almost bought the pump first. But then got realistic and admitted I would have to do all the above before I could use it, so this is all the unglamorous stuff needed to go ALONG with a high performance pump. Aside from figuring out how to mount the pump and reservoir, that should be a fairly simple half day job when funds catch up. And if I want to go with the fancy PSC reservoir, I could make that Part 1.5 before the pump and run that.

If anyone wants a list of parts and sources, I'd be glad to post that up.

 

[dbleon]

Man!! no a/c condesor allows for sooo much room !!!

 

[lovetoski]

that's cool - what pump do you have in mind?

 

[Elbert]

if you are gonna run a hydraulic winch why not figure out how to adapter a pto driven hydraulic pump.

 

[R.E.M.]

Planning on the PSC SP1200X. I'd link to it but the PSC website is jacked.

PTO driven pump? I don't think that's necessary.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Very sweet

This is your pump, right?

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/hi-fl...itting-10-jic-return-drilled-mount-holes.html

 

[R.E.M.]

Very sweet

This is your pump, right?

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/hi-flow-tc-type-pump-w-6-jic-male-pressure-fitting-10-jic-return-drilled-mount-holes.html

That's it!

 

[Tapage]

nice .. this is how I did mine using your target PS pump and reservoir ..

what I didn't do .. and I need to it's the 16 and 17mm adaters to AN - 6

 

[R.E.M.]

Part 2 Update!

It's alive!!

Wow, after having removed the stock PS pump and going manual steering for 2 months this is NICE.

Ok, so it's been a while but I now have progress to report. I mounted the PSC pump and filter/reservoir and plumbed the system, found the right length belt and filled it all up with a mix of Redline and Royal Purple synthetic PS fluids. The first couple days of driving it was hard not to accidentally oversteer

I made no permanent change to anything under the hood; everything can be removed and put back to stock. I did no welding (because I don't have a welder) and the only fabrication tools I used were a jig saw and drill press.

Mounting the pump:

Given the mounting location of the stock PS pump (at the freaking top) I knew that it would not work with a remote reservoir. Since I have the stock AC compressor bracket just hanging out down there at the bottom of the engine with nothing in it, I decided to use that location so the reservoir would be the high point of the system. I used 1/4" aluminum plate (easy to cut with a jig saw) to use as an adapter between the pump and the bracket:

As the way things typically go, the above photos are my first attempt at the adapter plate. Two problems with the above configuration:

1. The pump inlet fittings interfere with the alternator.
2. The water pump/alternator belt interferes with the upper plate mount bolt.

The fix? New adapter plate except the pump is clocked 45 degrees CCW. This actually worked better for the routing of the inlet line, too. The bolt interference? See those two counterbored holes? Turns out I didn't need to do that. So, the lower of the two is used as the plate mount bolt. Attempt #2 worked great, and uses half the raw material.

What about adjustability? Well, I just got lucky with this. I was planning on shimming the pump front or back with washers to get the belt to line up, but the belt lined up perfectly with no shimming. The belt is on the AC compressor pulleys.

Pump mounted:

Mounting the reservoir:

This part went great. Except for when it didn't.

I like this reservoir a lot due to the multiple mounting options. It has threaded holes on the back AND bottom of the base as well as that ring clamp that is commonly used. I didn't have any good existing mounting location in that area of the engine bay, but I did have great space as you can see in the photos. Using material that I had in the garage a very stout mount was made very easily.

I used existing holes in the frame and drilled and tapped the 3/4"x6" aluminum plate to match the two frame holes. This got bolted using M12 bolts. Yes. Stout. At the top of the plate I drilled two through holes for the reservoir bolts. Done.

Remember when I said it didn't go well? I completely ruined the threads on the outlet of the reservoir and fitting. I had them together at one time. Upon the final fitment of the reservoir fittings, I threaded the outlet fitting in by hand (as we always do) then cranked it down with 32mm socket. Crap. It wasn't in all the way before it was done turning. When I tried to back it off, it said no. Took it to work and clamped it in the vise (yeah I still don't have one of those) and put all my weight on it with the breaker bar. I was very sad when I got it out:

I called up PSC and got to speak with Kelvin. Told him what happened and he had a new one sent out in the mail to me! Of course the old is being sent back. Man, that almost ruined everything. Classic isn't it? The easiest things cause the most problems.

Here is a shot of the reservoir all plumbed in and belt on. Notice the short run of hose between the reservoir and pump:

I can't believe how effortless the steering is now. Before it was a chore to turn the wheels lock to lock sitting in the driveway. Now it's one finger. Or the palm of my hand.

Same as my first installment, improvements can be made in hose routing and hose shortening. But, I like each choice of fitting. I have bent elbow -6 fittings where I need them in the high pressure side and low pressure. I have right angle fittings at each end of the low pressure -10 hose. Everything is -6 (3/8" ID) except for the line between the reservoir and pump.

I haven't done any significant testing like using the winch or steering with a tire against a curb.

If anyone wants specific info just let me know. So far, I'm very pleased with this PSC pump. I can't wait to go wheel again and hopefully not have steering be my limiting factor.

 

[Jentuh]

Jealous of your set-up! I would prefer a PTO pump however…

Slightly off-topic: Does anyone know the type of thread on the steering mechanism connections? I'm looking into changing my pressure and return lines due to corrosion, but can't figure out what coupling type it is...

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Awesome setup!!

Have you plumbed in the winch yet? If not, will that be part 3?

 

[R.E.M.]

Jealous of your set-up! I would prefer a PTO pump however… Slightly off-topic: Does anyone know the type of thread on the steering mechanism connections? I'm looking into changing my pressure and return lines due to corrosion, but can't figure out what coupling type it is...

The pressure and return thread sizes are M16 and M17, respectively.

Yes! The winch is connected. I tried winching out a shrubbery one time with the stock pump last summer and it didn't work. Put the winch in low and hit the switch - PS fluid sprayed like a fountain out of the shaft seal! It was so cool I had to hit it again. The hood was up so I could see it all. What a mess.

I'm hoping the steering box doesn't fail next.

 

[ntsqd]

FWIW I'd suggest changing the hose ends on the suction line to also be the formed tube type of 90° Any restriction on the suction side will cause cavitation in the pump, and you really don't want that. Can also do away with those hose clamps by using the Push-Lock/Barb-tite type of hose end. Those do not want hose clamps on them. Using clamps will cut the hose liner and cause them to leak. On "mission critical" systems I have used a thin tye-wrap cinched down snug, but not tight, between the two barbs on the hose. I've also done something similar using two or three wraps of safety wire.

 

[neilhans]

Its fantastic and pictures are clearing structure of pumps in proper manner. It's appreciable and I like it.