Installed mine yesterday:
2 hours to dissasemble, drill, tap, clean and reassemble the box:
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/box.jpg
Then four more hours to fabricate the ram mounts, and hook it all up, and test.
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/ram1.jpg
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/ram2.jpg

Now all I have left to do is re-route the hoses (want to ramp it and such first), weld a skid to the bottom of the bumper to protect the fitting on the box, and add a cooler.

Phil

turned out nice, i hope i can get a similar setup, is that the original steering box

Nope, it's a swapped in YJ box. TJ boxes all leak sooner or later, better to not be bothered with them.

Phil

Is that a 1.5x8" ram that you went with?
Northern?
What all did you do to the pump?
Nice work.

I am interested in how you did this. How did you know where to tap into the box? What size tap and fittings did you use? and last and not least, what size is the ram?

It is a 1.5x8" from Princess Auto here in Canada.

Pump is a stock high pressure TJ unit.

Phil

Originally posted by Insayn
I am interested in how you did this. How did you know where to tap into the box? What size tap and fittings did you use? and last and not least, what size is the ram?

I think you need to do a search for some of that stuff ;)

For the fittings I used 3/8" NPT

Phil

What's the general concensus on ram size? Are there any reasons why you went with the 1.5 inch ram instead of the popular 2 inch?? I've heard reaction time is a factor?? Thanks

Never tried any other ones on my Jeep - but I sure do like the 1.5"
Drove it to work 25 miles this morning. Man it handles GREAT!
:beer:

Phil

Go 1.5" not 2". The 1.5" ram is not nearly as easy to find and is 2X the price most of the time so that is why the 2" is most often used. 1.5" rams have plenty of power and 2" rams are slow.

CJDean, would you still recommend a 1.5 ram for Full hydro steering, or would a 2 be better for that?

looks good, I'll have those new 1.5" rams pretty soon should make mounting them alot easier

Hey Lakerat. my box is on the way to your shop now!! do it up good!!

will do, make sure you include your name and number so we can call you when it's ready.
If it comes in before friday i'll rush it out. but i'm leaving for TTC saturday and won't be back till the 10th.

I would bet that the 1.5" would still be best but since you will only be pushing the ram I woud bet that most any GM pump would have enough GPM to run that fine. Will this be going on the street at all? If so I would bet that the 2" will be less twitchy.

i think 66cjdean is right, if your wanting to run the ram for full hydraulic a 2 inch will be less twitchy. sinch you aren't going to have to run a gear box also.

Yep, when I originally instaled the Redneck Ram, I had the 2" ram and it was SLOW.....and a little jerky. Now that I have the 1.5" ram, its quick and smooth. Just remember to install a cooler or remote reservoir. I'm also toying with the idea of fabbing some kind of baffle on the pump housing so as to keep it from running dry when the Jeep is vertical.....anyone have any ideas?

Here are the 1.5" Ram & Lines that Matt hooked me up with:

http://www.sierrarockcrawlers.com/community/rocktoy/Hydro1%20(small).jpg

...and here they are installed:

http://www.sierrarockcrawlers.com/community/rocktoy/Mounted%20Ram1%20(small).jpg

http://www.sierrarockcrawlers.com/community/rocktoy/Mounted%20Ram3%20(small).jpg

Originally posted by TheLakeRat
i think 66cjdean is right, if your wanting to run the ram for full hydraulic a 2 inch will be less twitchy. sinch you aren't going to have to run a gear box also.

Thanks, that is what I expected to hear.

On a full hydro, wouldn't shortening the length of the steering arms in relation to the centerline of the knuckle speed up the steering reaction? It will put more stress on the arm but the range of motion would be shorter creating faster steering???...And you would be able to use a shorter stroke ram!!

we'll normally the problem on a full hydro setup is the exact opposit of what your talking about. they are too thwitch or too fast. Longer arms would be the way to go but i don't know if that would solve the problem.

How do you get the front plate off? I can not seem to get that inner C ring off!

I just hammered a nail in the hole to get it started, then pulled it out with vise grips. It helps a lot to hit the cap in a bit with a hammer to release its grip on the ring.

Phil

it would but you'd loose power.
the difference between a 2" ram on shorter arms and a 1.5" on longer arms might be negligable though......might be cool if you had several mounts on the arm, like some guys do with axle mounts for coil over suspensions.....you could move the ram end from hole to hole depending on whether you wanted slower power offroad, or quicker steering on road......assuming of course you're thinking hydraulic assist and not full hydro.

also for the ram length, with hydro assist, it not reall important as long as it's long enough, since the steering box for lack of a better term "vents" at lock, so the ram can't over extend.

Originally posted by riksnacjnow
On a full hydro, wouldn't shortening the length of the steering arms in relation to the centerline of the knuckle speed up the steering reaction?
..And you would be able to use a shorter stroke ram!!

I saw a bunch of threads on home brew setups, including this one which was great, but they all address YJ and TJ boxes, are CJ boxes the same and are the tapping points the same as well? Thanks

All Saginaw boxes are the same.

Now that this thread has resurfaced, I should point out, that the cap repeatedly blew even with re-enforcement on it.

I eventually tore it down and drilled it TheLakeRat style.

Here's what it looks like now:
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/newsteeringbox.jpg
http://jeep-club.irtech.com/phils_mods/newsteering.jpg

Zero problems since this change.

Phil

Thanks guys, 1TONTJ, do you have a real detailed pic of where you and WestTexas put that second fitting? Thanks, I really don't want to screw this up. Thanks for responding.

Here's a good picture of one of TheLakeRat's boxes (pictures are from a review of the redneck ram on bc4x4.com)
http://www.bc4x4.com/pr/2002/ram/hydro1.jpg
http://www.bc4x4.com/pr/2002/ram/hydro2.jpg

I did mine like his.

Hope that helps.

Phil

Phil, thanks for the pics and link!

Originally posted by 66CJdean
Go 1.5" not 2". The 1.5" ram is not nearly as easy to find and is 2X the price most of the time so that is why the 2" is most often used. 1.5" rams have plenty of power and 2" rams are slow.

i agree 100% and have driven both

Originally posted by Madmarx
CJDean, would you still recommend a 1.5 ram for Full hydro steering, or would a 2 be better for that?

i did and i love it i have 2 ... 1 1/2" x 8" rams on mine and it is fast enough to drive on the street