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Hydr Assist performance question

M

Mudstud

1/2 ton status
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I have a moded factory pump and a PSC 1.5"x8" cylinder. When driving down the road the steering feels like it has a ton of slop in it. Is this normal for assist? Is there anything I can do to tighten the response/steering up a bit- Like maybe adjust the sector nut a tad?
 
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there shouldnt be "slop" in the steering, but you did say its modded so that opens up a can-o-worms. id call the company that did the modding.

of course the first place i would look for steering slop would be front end components, drag links, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. etc.
 
Are you sure it is sloppy & not just slower than before. I would think that with a 1.5" ram you would not even notice.

I barely noticed mine being slower with a 1.75" ram.
 
I don't think there is actual "slop" in the system, it just "feels" that way. Gotta correct more then I used to to keep it straight down the road. Course this is a different box too. Also, there isn't much, if any return to center after a turn. Member this is hydro assist so the draglink is still there connecting all the parts together. If I turn the response should be immediate. It's just so easy to turn now that it may just take some getting used to. That one finger turning sitting still is pretty sweet.
 
Other than being able to turn sitting still, not much. This is a pretty much trail only rig so it's being given the off road prefererential treatment. I'd rather be able to turn left and right lock to lock off road and suffer some streetability.
 
Wonder if your "new" box is loose. Also, are you still using a factory rag joint steering shaft setup? If so, switching to an XJ shaft might take the rag joint play out of the picture.
 
No, I'm not certain but the more I drive it if more air does come out you think that will increase steering feel?

The box felt tight- very little if any play between turning the input and seeing the sector start to turn.
 
I havent installed my hydroassist yet, but I know when my friend installed his he had all kinds of quirky steering issues until all the air came out.
 
Good to know. Based on what people have told me this is pretty typical of assist- Just learn to deal with it. Riding Sunday, we'll see how it does. Is a neck extension for more fluid cpacity absolutely nesesary? I hate to cut up a good pump for the neck.
 
With a single ended ram the neck extension is a must. The res doesn't hold enough fluid otherwise.
 
If it still has air in the system it will burp fluid when you turn the engine off.


In my experience unless the rag joint is old or already wore they will not cause sloppy steering. If you install a new one & your steering system is RIGHT, They last a looong time.
 
Went riding this Sunday and it did pretty good. Towed it to the trail but drove it back home. And for all that are wondering IF YOU CAN FLAT TOW a hydro assisted truck without issue, the answer is YES. The steering was much better on the road going home. I could hold the wheel still and it'd go straight. No constant steering correction was needed. I was aired down to about 12psi but it still felt pretty good. I'd drive it to work if it was registered. I could feel the death wobble wanting to come on at times but it never did. I id add a rad hose onto the neck for extra capacity. My only real concern is the gear box still has a little turn in it after the wheels meet the stops. The axle doesn't seem to being pushed sideways when its stressed so I ASSUME the extra flow of fluid is just bypassed in the pump so no real issues (frame cracking) should occur from that. Am I right in thinking this?
 
Mudstud said:
Went riding this Sunday and it did pretty good. Towed it to the trail but drove it back home. And for all that are wondering IF YOU CAN FLAT TOW a hydro assisted truck without issue, the answer is YES. The steering was much better on the road going home. I could hold the wheel still and it'd go straight. No constant steering correction was needed. I was aired down to about 12psi but it still felt pretty good. I'd drive it to work if it was registered. I could feel the death wobble wanting to come on at times but it never did. I id add a rad hose onto the neck for extra capacity. My only real concern is the gear box still has a little turn in it after the wheels meet the stops. The axle doesn't seem to being pushed sideways when its stressed so I ASSUME the extra flow of fluid is just bypassed in the pump so no real issues (frame cracking) should occur from that. Am I right in thinking this?
Click to expand...

My steering box is the same way. It does put a little stress on the drag link ends. Mine has been that was for several years and the rod ends are still tight.
 
Anyone else want to say something about the extra bit of turn left in the gear box after the wheels hit lock to lock?

You know, bad stuff like "OMG don't do this! Mine was set up like yours and it ripped my whole front end out from under the truck- catostrophic failure awaits you if left as is." No body with that kind of story for me? :haha:
 
Mudstud said:
Anyone else want to say something about the extra bit of turn left in the gear box after the wheels hit lock to lock?

You know, bad stuff like "OMG don't do this! Mine was set up like yours and it ripped my whole front end out from under the truck- catostrophic failure awaits you if left as is." No body with that kind of story for me? :haha:
Click to expand...

No stories. Mine is only a little bit on each direction. What we do is just turn all the way and just back off a little. I have seen aftermarket steering gears where you can set you system up and then send the box back and have the stops adjusted.
 
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