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Hydro assist Slow in the rocks.

I was looking in to all these mods and such not too long ago because I couldn't hardly turn my 37's if I wasn't rolling. So I decided to start by getting a $14 seal kit at the local O'parts house and rebuilt my pump, now I can turn stop to stop on dry pavement without a problem.

Before spending all of your hard earned money assisting and modifying everything don't forget the basics. How long has it been since it had a fresh pump? You might be surprised what a few cheap O-rings can do.
 
I never had power problems with the cheap surplus center 1.5in ram , stock pump with fitting drilled, and 42s.

I think the 1.75 ram is the reason you had slow issues
 
twoslo4five0 said:
that's all decided buy the ram and the orbital valve. full hydro really holds no bounds BUT you can still get it wedged up (I don't care what anyone says) when decending if you get all the weight of the truck on the front axle.
Click to expand...

Full hydro doesn't mean unlimited power/speed, it's really fed by the same pump/flow and doesn't get as much help from the mechanical side. All things being equal, you can actually get a bit more power from a big hydro assist system than you can from full hydro (the gearing in the steering box helps more than the bit you get from the manual control in the full hydro steering control valve).

NorCal_Chris said:
I never had power problems with the cheap surplus center 1.5in ram , stock pump with fitting drilled, and 42s.

I think the 1.75 ram is the reason you had slow issues
Click to expand...

I did ok with my surplus center ram on my blazer for a while (hydro assist), but it was killer on pumps. Literally every six months (at best) for 3-4 years. It steered ok, but because it was undersized (1.5"), it was working the pump really hard all the time because it needed more pressure to make the same force that a bigger cylinder would make at lower psi.

As for speed, in my opinion, if you have properly done hydro assist (i.e. internal box mods and not just tapped cap etc.), properly sized hoses and a high pressure/high flow box, most can steer plenty fast. Hydro assist is almost guaranteed to slow steering compared to stock, but the better the pump/hose system the less evident this is.

Tangent over, to twoslow4five0, what size tire and what do you use it for?
 
twoslo4five0 said:
I bought that, and sold it. What pump did you use to run. I'm a waiting a email from KRC to really make my decision. I'm not against full hydro just our last trip at big dogs we spend half the night trying to get a truck back that had a bad pump (brand new) It kept locking up and slinging the belt, made for a real long night. 6k prolly didn't help it either.
Click to expand...

PSC Motorsports, HI-flow P-Series.....Got the whole kit from them.

twoslo4five0 said:
that's all decided buy the ram and the orbital valve. full hydro really holds no bounds BUT you can still get it wedged up (I don't care what anyone says) when decending if you get all the weight of the truck on the front axle.
Click to expand...

The biggest issue I've had is keeping the belt tight enough. One of the things I do need to do is add a two belt pulley to the pump....Have all the parts, just need to get it done.
Your right, full hydro can still bind up if pushed to hard while wedged between two un movable rocks on the down hill....But I guess that's better than ripping a box off the frame or breaking a knuckle.

When are planning on getting the 44s?...It would be kinda stupid to spend the money now, only to find out later with 44s the system isn't up to the task....How many times do I have to tell you?...Plan and build for what you will end up running....You save money and time in the long run.

Oh and yes, size does matter when comes to your wheel (amongst other things):D
 
About to go to 44s and a 10 inch steering wheel (lets hear how that's to small )
Click to expand...


Exactly what I run on my buggy...including the 10" steering wheel... :D

44" TSL's beadlocked and aired down, thats a lot of rubber to turn on dry asphalt or concrete. :eek1: I invested in a PSC setup from the start... Pump, Steering box, Lines, Reservoir, Cooler, Ram... and I can turn the wheels with one finger at idle, on concrete/asphalt,standing still....:waytogo:


I am in the process of building my own setup on my GMC using a mixed bag of parts to try to match the PSC parts as close as I can. but I am only porting the caps on the steering box. I will use a PSC ram, just because for the money it comes complete with the rod ends and weld on tab brackets.

I am going to go thru the pump completely and use some common sense building it and open up ports etc for better flow. I will also do the valve modification found on redneck rams website.

I'm not saying I will be able to match the performance of PSC's setup, but I won't be spending a truckload of money either... will just have to see where it all goes and how well it works.



You might try finding a larger crank pulley instead of a smaller P/S pulley.
depending on your pulley setup on your engine, you might be able to increase the pump speed only without affecting all of the other accesories...

On my old blazer I had a seperate V groove pulley on my SBC that drove just my P/S pump and it was the biggest single groove pulley on the crank...:dunno:
 
FOR MUD said:
PSC Motorsports, HI-flow P-Series.....Got the whole kit from them.



The biggest issue I've had is keeping the belt tight enough. One of the things I do need to do is add a two belt pulley to the pump....Have all the parts, just need to get it done.
Your right, full hydro can still bind up if pushed to hard while wedged between two un movable rocks on the down hill....But I guess that's better than ripping a box off the frame or breaking a knuckle.

Ive never seen one break from just crossover and the rod in the stock location (in person of corse). Hydro assist takes the stress off the box, ask jon he doesn't run any brace on his box.

When are planning on getting the 44s?...It would be kinda stupid to spend the money now, only to find out later with 44s the system isn't up to the task....How many times do I have to tell you?...Plan and build for what you will end up running....You save money and time in the long run.

these tires just fell in my lap, had no plans to run anything this big. it just happened. Good theory till you get married :D

Oh and yes, size does matter when comes to your wheel (amongst other things):D
Click to expand...

there ya go
 
wasted wages said:
Exactly what I run on my buggy...including the 10" steering wheel... :D

44" TSL's beadlocked and aired down, thats a lot of rubber to turn on dry asphalt or concrete. :eek1: I invested in a PSC setup from the start... Pump, Steering box, Lines, Reservoir, Cooler, Ram... and I can turn the wheels with one finger at idle, on concrete/asphalt,standing still....:waytogo:


I am in the process of building my own setup on my GMC using a mixed bag of parts to try to match the PSC parts as close as I can. but I am only porting the caps on the steering box. I will use a PSC ram, just because for the money it comes complete with the rod ends and weld on tab brackets.

I am going to go thru the pump completely and use some common sense building it and open up ports etc for better flow. I will also do the valve modification found on redneck rams website.

I'm not saying I will be able to match the performance of PSC's setup, but I won't be spending a truckload of money either... will just have to see where it all goes and how well it works.



You might try finding a larger crank pulley instead of a smaller P/S pulley.
depending on your pulley setup on your engine, you might be able to increase the pump speed only without affecting all of the other accesories...

On my old blazer I had a seperate V groove pulley on my SBC that drove just my P/S pump and it was the biggest single groove pulley on the crank...:dunno:
Click to expand...


cool part about the KRC pump is that you can change the flow by changing fittings, o rings, ect. I don't know all the details on that yet. I think you can adjust up to 1 gpm more or less (3-4 gpm) Im really leaning towards theyre pump as its a one and done deal.
 
Just a quick update to this, I added a remote fliter (ph8a) a remote reservoir, reman ac delco hydroboost pump that is modded, and a large cooler with a fan. I havnt bled the system yet as Im running amsoil 5w syn. tractor tansmission fluid and still the 10 inch wheel. Im hoping to get my fuild and a belt tomm and will report back (hopefully success) tomm.

Link to the fluid im running

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/gene...8-what-power-steering-fluid-should-i-use.html

whipped this together

10009856_10152348992666323_7012679712502412005_n.jpg
 
10 inch wheel works good if you ever have to drive with handcuffs on...just saying
 
So you drilled the piston out larger than 5/32"? I thought I had read somewhere that the hydroboost pistons were already 5/32". Or did you just skip that step?
 
mine was not, this is a hydroboost pump as you can see it has 2 return lines but was just under 5/32 and had 3 (yes 3) shims in with the piston. I took 2 shims out and left 1 in.
 
Never updated this, I installed a reman acdelco hydroboost pump, cooler and reservoir and am running amsoil tractor fluid. Last outing great results.
 
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