Full Hydro Orbital Valve on stock pump?

[DonRP]

I'm about to order parts for my full hydro steering for my 84. I have to move to full hydro due to the anount of lift I now have. My Question is - is anyone running full hydro off of the stock steering pump? If so what size orbital valve did you use? I'm looking at 6.0 to 7.2 cu in pumps right now and just want to make sure I'm in the right ballpark. I'm trying to stay on a budget and just use an orbital valve and cylinder with an auxillary filter running off of the stock pump rather than spending $1200 or more on a full kit. I have to move to full hydro due to the anount of lift I now have. I'm now at 19 inches of lift - I know a bunch of people will say lower it but I HAVE to have my rig as high as possible since I use it exclusively for access to my house during floods where we sometimes have 4 to 5 ft of water over the road (nope - can't just use a boat because there are a few high spots that prevent that too.). Thanks for any help ya'll can offer!!

 

[ktmoutfront]

Small orbital valve with a stock pump obviously flows less fluid at a lower pressure. If connected to a large ram, the ram will be slow and week. No matter what valve and ram you run, at least upgrade the pump to a high output unit.

 

[375 H&H]

years ago, i installed a Ford 302 into an old agricultural loader. i used the stock '70s ford power steering pump, orbital valve and a 2"x12" or so cyllinder for the steering system. it worked fine. it was a very powerful system (the diameter of the cyllinder is a factor here) and fast enough to keep with input at all but idle rpm. the two downsides i encountered is the single ram system acted faster in one direction than the other and the system heated up quickly until i installed a healthy cooler. a larger resivore is a given.

keep in mind that speed and power of the system will be dependent on the design of the mechanical system (length of the tie rod knuckles, ect) as much as the hydraulic system.

 

[DonRP]

I'll be using a fairly small cylinder (2"x8"), so I'm thinking that the stock pump might be enough to get me started. I have talked to at least one other person out there running off of the stocker - anyone else? Any suggestions on a pump upgrade if I have to go that route? Thanks for the feedback.