hey everybody

ive had hydro assist on my XJ for about 6 months now. it works pretty well, for the amount of money ive got into it. im running a stock pump (did all the mods possible), stock box, and a surplus 8X1.5 inch ram.

it works great, for what i originally wanted. i never have a problem turning 38s no matter what ive got my front end bound up in. and it always takes the same amount of "pressure" on the wheel whether im on flat ground, or if im about to flop with all my weight on 1 tire.

problem is, it isn't as easy to turn the wheel as i was expecting it to be. most people seem to report being able to turn their wheel with 1 finger. even if this is a stretch, mine is no where near that easy. id say it takes the same amount of work to turn the wheels as stock, just its stronger if that makes any sense.

i was looking tonight at PSCs pumps on polyperformance and it seems they run around 175. im at a loss for being able to homebrew anything else up for the stock pump so im thinking this is the only way to go

anybody?

Did you do the redneck ram mod?

http://westtexasoffroad.homestead.com/powersteering.html

How old is your pump? It just may be wore out.

I turn my 36 tsl's with no problem.

I did the same thing as you. I upgraded my stock pump by drilling out the fitting and doing the shims. Then put the hydro assist on it. I got more power but I never got the one finger ease that everyone talks about. Now that I am moving to 38.5" I don't think my system would have a chance.

After blowing my system up the last time I took the Jeep out, I just ordered a PSC pump and have to put new seals in my box.

I will let you know how it works out.

Also are you running a cooler? What for fluid? I have a big cooler and Amsoil Synth power steering fluid.

Also are you running a cooler? What for fluid? I have a big cooler and Amsoil Synth power steering fluid.

I have a big transmission cooler on mine with just regular PS fluid.

I ran stock pump with a cooler with my hydro assist and it worked fine.

yea...did the redneck ram mods, and while i did see some improvement, it wasnt much

im running plain old ps fluid, and no cooler. but i know it isnt a heat issue because even if i just fire it up in the driveway to move it around, or go wheeling for 2 hours it feels the same

xjcrawler sounds good...just get back at me whenever you know how it works

yea...did the redneck ram mods, and while i did see some improvement, it wasnt much

im running plain old ps fluid, and no cooler. but i know it isnt a heat issue because even if i just fire it up in the driveway to move it around, or go wheeling for 2 hours it feels the same

xjcrawler sounds good...just get back at me whenever you know how it works

The pump is coming today. I am not going to be able to put it on and fix the box until this weekend. But I will keep you updated.

you need more pressure to make it easier, or a larger diameter ram and more flow. I agree you want a new pump, or hit the gym...:flipoff2:

I run a smaller diameter ram, 1"bore I think, 5/8" rod.

Did the Redneck mods and I could push the jeep against obsticals with 35's and no issues now with 38.5s.

But if your getting a new pump, get a PCS, one is in my future as the stocker won't hold up to Assist and hydroboost.

i just got a good deal on an AGR pump. worth installing? :D

i never have a problem turning 38s no matter what ive got my front end bound up in. and it always takes the same amount of "pressure" on the wheel whether im on flat ground, or if im about to flop with all my weight on 1 tire.


Sounds like you have plenty of pressure, and a lack of flow.

A lack of flow can easily be perceived as a lack of pressure if you're trying to turn the wheel too fast. If you're trying to turn faster than the pump can supply fluid to the box and cylinder, you effectively create a pressure drop in the system and lose the power assist.

The question of how fast is 'reasonable' is why people pay money for upgraded pumps. With hydro assist and a stock pump, you're asking the pump to supply easily 1.5x the amount of fluid in a given time span, and with a minimal decrease in line pressure. With what we do, sometimes you just reach the design parameters of a part, especially a stock one.

I'm currently running the upgraded PSC pump (with a high-flow fitting on the high-pressure line) to a stock steering box that I drilled and tapped, with a 1.5" x 8" ram. I also have the external reservoir from PSC. It turns fast as shit and I actually put more restriction back into the fitting because I ran into problems with vague steering response and cavitation in the pump above 3000 RPM. I don't think the plastic reservoir on the stock pump holds enough fluid to run a hydro-assist setup hard for any length of time, and in the early days of running it (and having to muscle through the smaller flow rate) I heated it up enough to crack one of the seams on the plastic tank.

Eventually you just get to a point where you outgrow stock stuff. I ran it for a year and a half, then upgraded because I got sick of how slow it was, and how often it overheated. How many of us still have Dana 35's? :D

thanks for the help everybody

i asked this question a while ago on naxja, and they made it seem like there had to be something "wrong" with my setup because everybody elses worked fine. but over there the few people running hydro assist are usually on 35s or less.

i figured it was just a limiting factor of my stock pump. I think im going to deal with it for a while, as ive got more pressing issues right now (frame plating, armor, etc) but when the time comes ill be looking into PSC

I have not had any issues with mine. Turns easy enough for me. I ahve been looking into the GC pump. Have you checked on that? Is about half what the PSC pump cost.

I hear about people using a 4 cylinder pulley on the pump because it is smaller and therefore turns faster, is that just a bandaid for running a stock pump and trying to pump more fluid?

Depends.

You can check it by sitting at idle and trying to cut the wheel lock-to-lock as fast as it'll let you. Then rev it up to 1500 RPM or so and see if anything changes.

I have the smaller pulley from PSC but I haven't put it on yet, mostly because I've been happy with it and I've still got a tiny bit of a cavitation issue at high RPM's that I don't need to make worse with a smaller pulley. I think if I drill a new fitting about 1/32" less and put the smaller pulley on it would be nice.

Also, the rubber hose from the reservoir to my pump is pretty soft, it wouldn't surprise me if it's collapsing at higher flow rates and restricting the pump that way.

FWIW I've never heard of a difference in the 4-cylinder pulleys vs. the 6-cylinder, and I looked around for a while before I just got the one from PSC. Not sayin it ain't true, but you might want to double-check your source before grabbing one.

Depends.


FWIW I've never heard of a difference in the 4-cylinder pulleys vs. the 6-cylinder, and I looked around for a while before I just got the one from PSC. Not sayin it ain't true, but you might want to double-check your source before grabbing one.

I have not either. I think I have 2 different ones at the shop. If I can remember I'll measure them tomorrow.

If I remember right, I believe it was Fullsize XJ saying that.:confused:

check out the WJ 4.7 pump
http://naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=946090

Measured the Pump pully I have and it is the same as the 4.0L one I have on my 94.

called psc today on this same thing about pulleys. its not reccomended to run a smaller pulley than 6". I've been looking at krc pumps today they have up to 1450 psi vs 1500 psc claims but krc can have the flow bmped up to 3.7 gpm on cast model vs only 3 gpm on psc. I really dont know whaat route i want to go running my hydro assist....