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Hydro Assist DIY

17K views 31 replies 16 participants last post by  Motomez 
#1 ·
I have successfully installed hydraulic assist and want to share some information with everyone that may be interested in doing it themselves. I would say this is a 7 on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10. I do not have torque specs so hopefully someone else can give a bit of info as needed.

Before starting decide if you want to rebuild the steering box while you have it apart. I purchased a rebuild kit from NAPA since I had almost 300k miles. Be sure you get the correct kit as there are different part numbers depending on the number of splines you have on the pitman shaft.

Step 1: Make sure the front tires are straight. Note the position of the pitman arm relative to the steering box. The spline on mine would only allow installation of the arm in 90* increments.

Step 2: Remove the plastic cover over the input shaft and rag joint and slide up on the shaft. Disconnect the power steering lines and drain the fluid into a catch pan. I was able to access this easily with some minor trimming inside the fender well and the extra space with my lift kit.

Step 3: Remove the link end from the pitman arm. They can be removed with some persuation (Hammer) on the arm NOT the link end. This may require a separater available for rent at some local parts stores.

Step 4: the steering box has three bolts through the frame into the box on the back side. Mine had locktight and rust and were a pain to break loose. Remove the top bolt and then rethread it back in by hand a turn or so to hold the box. You can remove the other bolts completely. The box will shift when the oter two are taken out. Lay on your back and remove the remaining bolt and lower the box.

Step 5: If the steering box is dirty plug the box where the lines go and wash it. It is almost impossible to keep things clean on the inside if it is dirty outside.

Step 6: Remove the pitman arm from the shaft. This should require a puller. (Also available at the local parts store)

Step 7: Have another catch pan available. It will get messy in a hurry. Clamp the box in a vise if available. Remove the bolts in the box directly above the pitman shaft. The adjustment bolt and lock nut can be left alone. With a rubber mallot break the cap plate loose. Do not try to rotate the cap only loosen it. You may need to pry with a screwdriver around several sides to get the cap up. As the cap moves up the pitman arm will follow it up. The fluid inside the box will drain when the pitman shaft gets high enough. Pull the shaft and cap out all together. NOTE: The pitman arm will not come out if the box has been turned off center.

Step 8: Now remove the 4 bolts around the valve housing (Where the lines hook up). With the bolts removed tap with a mallot to break it loose. There is a small O-ring where the housings meet together. When separated slide the input shaft and valve housing out together. The input shaft will spin when you pull it out. Once it bottoms out one direction the piston will come out also on the same shaft. If you are not rebuilding the box just put the input assembly in a clean area to await reassembly.

Step 9: Clean out the housing with carb cleaner. You can see on the top of the housing where it has a port in the housing from the valve housing all the way to the end of the box. This will be one of the tap points. The othe is at the area close to the pitman shaft.

Pics in next thread.
 
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#2 ·
Step 10: Tap the box in the locations with 1/8th inch pipe tap. Once tapped make sure all shards of metal are removed from the threads and clean out the housing again. Be sure the fitting at the top will not restrict the flow through the port in the casting. Some minor grinding may be needed. I used a 90* fitting in the top and a straight on the side since there is not enough room to turn a 90*. Put caps on if you are not going to install the ram at this time.

Step 11: Using new fluid, coat the inside of the housing for reassembly.

Step 12: Slide the input assembly back into the housing. The piston will turn as you put it in since it is heavy on one side. Check that the larger O-ring on the valve housing is in place and put the small O-ring in place and put the housings together. Install and tighten the bolts.

Step 13: Turn the piston from the upper opening in the housing till the teeth on the piston face the pitman shaft side. You will need to turn the input shaft back to center to get the piston back to mid bore.

Step 14: Clean the pitman shaft where the seal seats. Clean with carb cleaner and a wire brush and then rinse with carb cleaner. When dry coat with fluid. Check O-ring on the aluminum cap. Drop the pitman shaft into the housing turning the pitman shaft slightly to align teeth. Tap the cap down easily and install the bolts with hand tools. The cap is aluminum and you don't want to bind it. Turn each bolt a 1/4 trun till each is tight.

Step 15: Turn the input shaft from lock to lock. If you feel no increased tighening through the middle of the range you need to adjust the gear lash.

Gear Lash Adjustment: You should use an inch pound torque wrench. Loosen the lock nut and unscrew the adjuster a full turn. Rotate the input shaft lock to lock several times. Start screwing the adjuster inward 1/4 turn at a time. Rotate input shaft several times between adjustments. Adjust till there is no more than 15 inch pounds through the mechanical center. Adjusting too tight will result in a cracked housing. Be Carefull!

Step 16: Paint the housing to make it look purdy!

Step 17: Reinstall the pitman arm. I recommend using some locktight on the pitman arm nut to keep it from backing off.

Step 18: Reinstall the steering box. Put the steering shaft on last so you can make sure the wheel is straight.

If you installed caps on the fittings fill the powersteering reservoir and start working out the air.
When the cylinder is installed do the same as above. The port close to the pitman arm is pressure turning right the top is left.

Parts list:
O-ring kit (If needed)
3 quarts of fluid
2 cans of carb cleaner ( More may be needed if it is real dirty)
Roll of towels
10' Hydraulic hose ( 1/4" ID preffered 2000psi rated)
1-90* fitting 1/8" NPT for the box other end what you preffer
1-Straight 1/8" NPT for the box other end what you preffer
Fittings for the cylinder
Ty-straps
1 hydraulic cylinder 1-1/2 Bore X 8" stroke


Extra fluid capacity is not needed at the reservoir.
I will get pics asap!
 
#6 ·
Mine came out right around $200. That includes the rebuild kit, cylinder, lines, and fittings. I had all the tools needed ,fluid and heim joints plus the metal and welder for fabbing brackets.

keanoknick, I am sure the box is very similar if not exactly the same. If you are going to Ennis this weekend I'll look at yours. I have got to get these pics up.
 
#7 · (Edited)
[/IMG]
Tapping locations.

Cylinder mount bracket.

Tie rod attachment point.

Cylinder lines.
 
#9 ·
AWESOME!!!! hows the driveability on the road?
 
#10 ·
Hardly noticeable on the road. It will not self center quite as easy but turning while stopped is great.
 
#11 ·
Where did you get your hydro cylinder at?
 
#14 ·
With the palm of ONE hand.
 
#15 ·
Great write up and tech! I tapped a box a few years ago and it worked out. I would prefer a hydraulic ram from PSC, though, made in USA!
 
#16 ·
The fittings are 3/8" NPT along with the tap. I guess I had a brain fart.:doh:
 
#21 ·
From what I have read the boxes are all similar. It is easy to find where to tap them when disassembled. Fabricating brackets would be the biggest difference. As for a kit, It could be done but the only part hard to get was the rebuild kit. I may be helping another member do his. If so i will add more detailed pics with explanations.
 
#22 ·
Just wanted to bump this. Thanks Dantheman for the helpful step-by-step instructions. A little leary of taking the steering box apart (red head) i went ahead and did this mod to my truck. The steering box is pretty simple afterall. I mounted mine a little differently, removing one of my dual stabilizers and mounting this in it's place. Its hardly noticeable with my stock height truck. I still am working a little air out in the system but the improvement in the steering at idle is amazing. I am grinning now typing this over how easy i can turn my wheel... Before I used to not be able to move the steering wheel AT ALL at idle, the truck had to be rolling. The steering wheel is a bit slower to spin lock to lock due to the fact the pump is moving fluid through the box and also filling a 1.5" cylinder however the input at the steering wheel encounters almost no resistance turning. I did this for just about $200.
 
#23 ·
old thread but GREAT write up!
Thanks for taking the time to cover this. My 02 was a bitch to turn until i got a hydro set up. Was NOT pleased w/ the PSC quality kit but oh well.
My 08 has no issues but it is good to see a handy man special VS the $1000 for a PSC set up.
 
#24 ·
What about the PSC kits quality was dissapointing?

Im probably going to be doing some hydro assist setup, so id like to get as much info as possible.

Powerstrokejunkie, did you notice any reduction in the return to center after installing the assist setup?

Thanks for the info.
 
#26 ·
I have had a PSC built steering box in my bronco for 5 years now, and i have no complaints. I piece-mealed the rest of the setup though.

He's correct, the ram kind of eliminates the return-to-center, a little. Its really not that bad. I upped the caster to 7º, and it drives real nice down the road. And offroad, it will effortlessly turn my 42s at 6PSI, with the ARB locked in :cool:
 
#27 ·
I paid top dollar for what they said was a "drop in kit" and I still had to have custom hoses and fittings made. Poor instructions..., no wait, I meant to say no instructions and when I called them it was suggested to seach the web as they didn't have any instructions to give me.
I sent my box to them only to have it develop play in it 2 years later. I could have saved about 25% of the cost and gotten a ******* ram set up.
Its great to hear others faired better but I did not and i won't buy from them again.
 
#29 ·
I just installed the PSC unit and all I can say is WOW! it cured all my steering issues. You can turn the truck lock to lock with 1 finger at a stop. I bought their complete kit that bolts on the the Diff cover and the tie rod. I would say it took maybe a little more than an hour to install. I will agree with you that they didnt send any instructions with the kit. When I called they said to download them from their website.
 
#28 ·
Thats why i didnt get the kit; i cant see any two installations going the same way, and didnt want to waste the money on parts i might not need, or find out later i needed stuff i didnt have. What i did was to send them my spare box, and then ordered a ram & heims for it elsewhere. When the box came in i swapped it in with the fittings capped (so i could drve it w/o a ram installed), and when the ram came in i figured out where to put it, took some measurements & had hydraulic lines made up so it all fit like it belonged there. Been running it the same way ever since. I did add a cooler to the return side up in front of the radiator, but thats because this truck spends most of its time off road, and i needed the extra cooling capacity.

That sucks that your box went bad; i know several people who had their boxes rebuilt/tapped by PSC and none of us have had any problems with them.
 
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