Hydro Assist Steering

[Volcom]

Anybody running it? My brother just bought me a PSC hydro assist pump for my birthday last Friday. It's nice when you have family that understands what a wheeler needs for his rig :D

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/b-day-2.JPG

I still need to buy heims, bolts, a cooler, hoses, and make some brackets and a larger reservoir. Should be nice to turn in the rocks and on the slickrock again :cool:

[Volcom]

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/001.JPG

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/002.JPG
Front shot, ram is hidden away behind the tie rod


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/003.JPG
Closeup the the bracket I fab'ed. The two rings on the outside hold the center pinch clamp. I kinda got crazy with the tack welds and burnt through one of the outer rings (nice bugger weld). I didn't want to weld the bracket for the ram directly to the tie rod like most people suggest. The reason for that is if you ever need to change the length of the tie rod, you have to loosen the jam nuts and spin the tie rod. You would have to adjust your tie rod in full turns and could throw out your alignment.


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/004.JPG
Backside of bracket, I got this piece from Trail Gear.


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/005.JPG
The other bracket from TG welded on the top of the housing.


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/006.JPG
Hayden 401 Tranny cooler, works perfect for hydro assist.


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/007.JPG
Couldn't have tapped that in a better spot! I was worried the fitting wasn't going to clear but it did!


http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/hydro-assist/008.JPG
Side shot of the ram.

[AxleIke]

NICE!!! Great work man.

Get er painted and then get some new meats!!!! LOL

[Volcom]

NICE!!! Great work man.

Get er painted and then get some new meats!!!! LOL

What's wrong with my current meats :D (they are probably the worse tires I've seen on a truck :eek: )

I can afford the black spray paint but not new meats. I actually don't know when I'll be able to afford new tires. My wife and I are expecting a little boy sometime in December. Two kids and a new house doesn't leave much in terms of Toyota $$. I'll survive though :D

[thefatkid]

Nascar called, they want those tires back.

I know all about the kid and house stealing all the truck money, I can't get my truck fixed.

Nice work on the ram, I agree that you still need to set toe on a truck that is "driven"

[Volcom]

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/chinamans/004.JPG

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/chinamans/005.JPG

Better pics of my Nascar slicks :D

I used my hydro assist for the first time this weekend at Chinamans
http://www.rockfrogs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2062

It worked out well in the rocks with the full time locker. I couldn't even tell it was in 4wheel drive. I did have a mishap with the 1/4" wall DOM tie rod though. Ended up bending it (my jam nuts loosened up, the tie rod rotated, the ram rotated down, and my hydro bracket made contact with driver's side u-bolt plate). I didn't know it was touching and it self clearanced itself :eek: :eek:

http://www.rockfrogs.org/Pictures/AE/chinamans/003.JPG

[mrdoug]

How's this working out long term? Hayden cooler keeping up with you? Any chance you remember the specs on your ram (stroke and diameter)?

I've heard of some taking the ram apart to add a spacer to correct the stroke for the toyota knuckles. Did you have to deal with any of that?

Anything you would have done different?

[Volcom]

How's this working out long term? Hayden cooler keeping up with you? Any chance you remember the specs on your ram (stroke and diameter)?

I've heard of some taking the ram apart to add a spacer to correct the stroke for the toyota knuckles. Did you have to deal with any of that?

Anything you would have done different?

Crap, I didn't know you bumped this thread until you said something in the other. Sorry about that. Should have PM'ed me and told me to awake up :flipoff4:

Hydro has been working great since I finally got it setup correctly (I broke the ram, my own fault, I had the ram too close to the driver side U-bolt plate and bumpstop). Hayden cooler has been fine. I'd go bigger if you can. More fluid, lower temps. Ram is a PSC 5.25 stroke 1.5" diameter. You don't want to go to a 2" ram if you run the stock PS pump like I am.

I'd 90% sure that's how PSC got this ram to 5.25. Just a .75" spacer inside a 6" ram. Here's the steps my brother did to make his 8.25" throw ram down to a 6"

Adding Spacer to Ram
My ram had 8.25” of thrown, but I needed less than that for tie rod. I have a good friend who has access to a lath and he turned me a hard plastic spacer. My spacer has a 1.25” outer diameter and a ¾” inner diameter. The following steps are showing the disassembly of a hydraulic ram.

Step one – remove snap ring
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_1.JPG

Step two – Remove rod assembly (it just pull right out)
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_2.JPG

Step Three – Remove nut on rod assembly
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_3.JPG

Step Four – Add spacer (spacer in white) and retighten nut
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_4.JPG

Step Five – Press rod assembly into ram housing and reinstall snap ring
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_15.JPG

I'd step up to a good power steering pump if you can afford it. I've been using the stock 22RE pump. It does fine but whines like a bitch when it gets hot. I usually pop open the hood on the trail during breaks to let it cool off. I also am using the stock reservoir. It's not big enough. You can take some 3.5" exhaust tubing and cut a stock reservoir in half and weld a 4-5" piece of tubing between the two halves for a poor man's larger reservoir. I plan on doing it sometime.

[Volcom]

Couple of tips I've learned about hydro assist.

Make sure you mount the ram as close to parallel to the tie rod as possible. You don't want the ram at an angle.

My first setup (as shown above) was OK. I liked the clamp but for some reason, whenever I would turn the wheels side to side, the ram would rotate the tie rod and work all the jam nuts loose. I even tried to rotate one TRE all the back and the other all the way forward and then tighten the jam nuts. Still had issues. When I redid the front steering after bending up the tie rod and breaking the hydro ram, I got rid of the TRE's and went with heims. I also straight welded the driver side bracket to the tie rod rather than use that clamp. I don't have a problem with the jam nuts backing off anymore.

Here's some updated pics of my setup.
http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/016.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/017.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/018.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/021.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/022.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/023.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/024.JPG
It makes slight contact at full steer L&R. I have a new bolt with the head half shaved off to replace it.

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/025.JPG
Frontside of diff bracket to show the radius cut to fit the curve of the housing.

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/026.JPG
I just used the TG tie rod bracket I had bought from the first time I installed the assist. I cut it down and just welded it to the tie rod rather than having it on a clamp.

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/027.JPG

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/028.JPG

[Volcom]

Here's what my first tie rod looked like after making contact with the driver's side U-bolt plate :eek:

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/003.JPG

TRE's were fine, knuckles were fine, knuckle studs were fine,

Here's what it did to my bumpstop and frame :rolleyes:

http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/006.JPG

Broken ram
http://volcom.rockfrogs.org/hydro-assist/008.JPG

[mrdoug]

Crap, I didn't know you bumped this thread until you said something in the other. Sorry about that. Should have PM'ed me and told me to awake up :flipoff4:

No worries. I really want to go HA right off the bat, but the more I priced it out, the more I decided to just throw the TG stabilizer (that I already have from the kit) on and get my shit on the trail, then add HA later. But I'm book marking this thread for when I do.

Thanks for the info.

[Mythica]

I need a spacer like that! My ram has more travel than my axle u joints do, so i found out anyway. :rolleyes:

I was going to send it back to PSC, but this looks pretty simple!

Aaron still know the guy with the lathe?


Crap, I didn't know you bumped this thread until you said something in the other. Sorry about that. Should have PM'ed me and told me to awake up :flipoff4:

Hydro has been working great since I finally got it setup correctly (I broke the ram, my own fault, I had the ram too close to the driver side U-bolt plate and bumpstop). Hayden cooler has been fine. I'd go bigger if you can. More fluid, lower temps. Ram is a PSC 5.25 stroke 1.5" diameter. You don't want to go to a 2" ram if you run the stock PS pump like I am.

I'd 90% sure that's how PSC got this ram to 5.25. Just a .75" spacer inside a 6" ram. Here's the steps my brother did to make his 8.25" throw ram down to a 6"

Adding Spacer to Ram
My ram had 8.25” of thrown, but I needed less than that for tie rod. I have a good friend who has access to a lath and he turned me a hard plastic spacer. My spacer has a 1.25” outer diameter and a ¾” inner diameter. The following steps are showing the disassembly of a hydraulic ram.

Step one – remove snap ring
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_1.JPG

Step two – Remove rod assembly (it just pull right out)
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_2.JPG

Step Three – Remove nut on rod assembly
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_3.JPG

Step Four – Add spacer (spacer in white) and retighten nut
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_4.JPG

Step Five – Press rod assembly into ram housing and reinstall snap ring
http://rockfrogs.org/Pictures/EE/hydro_assist/ram_spacer_15.JPG

I'd step up to a good power steering pump if you can afford it. I've been using the stock 22RE pump. It does fine but whines like a bitch when it gets hot. I usually pop open the hood on the trail during breaks to let it cool off. I also am using the stock reservoir. It's not big enough. You can take some 3.5" exhaust tubing and cut a stock reservoir in half and weld a 4-5" piece of tubing between the two halves for a poor man's larger reservoir. I plan on doing it sometime.

[Volcom]

I need a spacer like that! My ram has more travel than my axle u joints do, so i found out anyway. :rolleyes:

I was going to send it back to PSC, but this looks pretty simple!

Aaron still know the guy with the lathe?

I do but he doesn't work for the company that he machined the spacer. I've got access to a lathe or 2 (actually my grandfather has a small table unit he bought for me but I haven't cleared off space in my garage to put it anywhere) but I don't have the time to get one machined any time soon. Too much going on in Dec, sorry.

[CUBuff 4Runner]

Rodger Brown will make any size spacer you want.

[Mythica]

No worries Aaron. Busy time of year!

Who is Roger Brown?

Jeff, where you on 115 Friday, right near 3rd st? i though i passed by you headed to the trail.

[Volcom]

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/index.shtml

[CUBuff 4Runner]

No worries Aaron. Busy time of year!

Who is Roger Brown?

Jeff, where you on 115 Friday, right near 3rd st? i though i passed by you headed to the trail.

That was me.. I was heading home from my parents cabin.. I was considering running the trail, but I had wheel stud issues and a load of wood in the back..

[mrdoug]

Rodger Brown will make any size spacer you want.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/index.shtml

I don't see these listed specifically (or I missed them), I assume this would be custom order work? Did you just give him the specs (ID/OD/length)? or does he already have that info and you just whisper the magical words "HA spacer for Toy knuckles"?

[CUBuff 4Runner]

I don't see these listed specifically (or I missed them), I assume this would be custom order work? Did you just give him the specs (ID/OD/length)? or does he already have that info and you just whisper the magical words "HA spacer for Toy knuckles"?

It was a while ago since I ordered mine from him. It is a special order part. I gave him the dimensions and he had it to me pretty quick.

[AxleIke]

Nice work on the steering Aaron! Looks great, and super beef! Gotta get out next year with you southern dudes, if my truck ever gets done.

[mrdoug]

It was a while ago since I ordered mine from him. It is a special order part. I gave him the dimensions and he had it to me pretty quick.

Perfect. Thanks. Great thread, I'm book marking for when I go HA