Steering hydro assist

[VAL]

Has anybody done a hydro assisted steering on the stock set up on a 10 bolt? is it possible?

 

[da_raabi]

You mean power steering? lol thats what I think when you say "hydro assist"

 

[Georgeb]

Like this?
http://ck5.com/forums/resources/west-texas-off-road-hydro-assist-steering-system.67/

 

[VAL]

You mean power steering? lol thats what I think when you say "hydro assist"

Not exactly, I meant hydraulic ram assisting the existing steering system.

 

[VAL]

Like this?
http://ck5.com/forums/resources/west-texas-off-road-hydro-assist-steering-system.67/

This is exactly what I meant, except for the crossover set up. Adding the ram to the stock steering configuration set up that solid axle squares come with.

 

[Georgeb]

I imagine it would just be a matter of fabbing up some brackets and modifying the drag link. My 76 F250 had hydraulic ram assis for power steering. You may be able to borrow some design ideas from that setup.

 

[VAL]

The reason I ask is, I'd love to tighten up my steering. My truck has every steering component brand new, from ball joints to tie rods to wheel bearings, and gear box. and it has the proper drop pitman arm, and raised steering arm, dual steering stabilizers, and I'm still not satisfied with the minimal play it has. Once you put big tires on these squares, you need extra help. Maybe its just wishful thinking I guess, wanting my tuck to drive like the new Chevy's with rack n pinion steering.

 

[kickdeez]

The factory push-pull steering setup seems to work okay for stock ride height and tire size, but once you start to lift it and put bigger tires on it, the steering leaves a lot to be desired. I know you have sunk a good bit of money into new steering parts, but if you really want to improve the feel of your steering, I think your best bet would be to swap to crossover steering. Just my opinion. I run crossover steering on my suburban, and I don't have any issues with how it feels or steers.

If you throw hydro-assist into the mix on a stock setup, I think you will start blowing through tie-rod ends. Hydro-assist is tough on parts. I run it on my rock crawler, and cant keep a set of rod ends on it. I am switching to heims.