Orbital valve and ram for hyd steering Qs.

[moturbopar]

Hi all, sorry to bug you guys again. I am doing a full hydro swap on my jimmy and am in need of a little info. I have found a some of the parts to do the hydro swap for cheap. I am trying to figure out if the orbital valve I got is correct for hydro steering. The valve is a char-lynn open center, non load reaction. I am not sure if this is the valve I need. Also I have a choice of 2 rams to use. The first is a dual end 1.75 ram with 8" stroke, the other is I think a lion 2" 8 " stroke single ended cylinder. Which of these do you guys think would be better to use?
Thanks

 

[willyswanter]

Open center is correct and load reacting or non-load reacting is up to you. Load reacting means that you will feel the forces acting upon the tires in the steering wheel. It will be more like having a regular steering box. A non-load reacting won't give you hardly any feeling in the steering wheel. I have a non-load reacting and can feel hard hits but not much else. I kind of like it since it doesn't rip the wheel out of my hand like my old steering box used to.

The other question is what is the displacement of the valve? You need to figure out how much fluid volume it takes to move your ram from one side to the other, divide that by how many turns lock to lock you want and thats the displacement you want for your valve. It's usually around 4-6cid.

As far as the ram, if your going double ended you want at least an 1.5" shaft which with that you would want at least a 2.5" bore. That 1.75" double ended probably uses a 5/8" or 3/4" shaft which is way to thin to use for a tie rod. Plus it won't give you much power. The single ended also seems rather small, I would go double ended, it's a balanced system and pretty much a requirement if you go load reacting.

 

[Seventy4Blazer]

i agree with jason on this fully. i am also building my system. i plan on getting a double end ram in a 2.0 inch diameter though. this way steering will be quick enough to drive on the street but powerfull enough to drive on the trail.

personaly i will be going with a load reacting valve, but as said before it is all preferance. i love to feel the road. it isnt hard to change over later, and i have one of each. **no, im not selling either one***

 

[willyswanter]

i plan on getting a double end ram in a 2.0 inch diameter though.

What is the size of the shaft? With a double ended setup you NEED a minimum 1.5" shaft. Now you say a 2" bore because you want it fast. Your going by the old specs when going with hydro assist with a 5/8" shaft. When your using a larger ram with a larger shaft you need a larger bore to use the same fluid volume. A 2.75" bore ram with 1.5" shaft would almost be equal in fluid volume to a 2" bore 5/8" shaft ram.