Good morning folks,
I have been reading for the past couple of weeks about hydraulic assist, so yes, i have searched this site and many others regarding the topic and cannot confirm what I am looking for. Only saying this in hopes that the first reply I get won't be "search!" I try to do most of my own upfront research.
Quick history: I had installed a redhead gear coming up on 2 years ago now and it was great! Tightened up the sloppy mess i had in the steering wheel and loved it. We do take this truck into the rocky mountains and pull our camper with it frequently. When i say we take it into the Rockies, I mean we actually off-road with it to get to our camping spots. So needless to say, my steering system sees a decent amount of stress.
I have been having trouble steering at low speeds again and I can hear noises when the system is warm. I have replaced pump and hydro-boost thinking there is no way the Redhead gear is bad already. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that the Redhead must have seen too much stress.
The Plan: So I want to help keep the stress on the gear lower this go around with a Hydraulic assist ram.
I have ordered a Blue Top steering gear with the tapped ports for hydro assist - Should be here tomorrow.
I have install a new 07+ power steering pump, which from my understanding contains more veins - my research led me to believe this would help with the added load of an assist ram.
I am looking at buying a PSC ram with 8" of stroke, but i want to be sure this isn't too little or too much stroke.
The Question: Can anyone who has installed an assist Ram chime in on what size they purchased for their setup?
Link to the PSC Hydro cylinder I am looking at: LINK
Can anyone advise me if going to the local hydraulic shop and picking up a ram that is similarly sized will get me pretty much the same results?
Are there any other pieces of advice others could offer regarding the power steering system? Or anything else for that matter.
Maybe this isn't as complicated as I am making it out to be, but want to be sure I am getting everything right. I will try to take photos and can do a small write up since i can't really find much in depth information out there on the topic. Maybe I am using the wrong keywords!
Getting ready to be away from home for an extended period, so hammering out all the maintenance on this thing. EG the rockers were getting pretty bad, so cut them out yesterday and getting ready to tack the new ones in this week. Oil change, fluid check, stainless brake lines, etc! Also looking to put a power steering cooler on it since the whole system is torn apart anyway. Picture of the rig as of a couple months ago when we were getting ready for a week out in MOAB. I know the pic says four days, but we enjoyed it so much we extended our trip to 7 haha!
Thanks in advance for any constructive input that others can provide!
I have been reading for the past couple of weeks about hydraulic assist, so yes, i have searched this site and many others regarding the topic and cannot confirm what I am looking for. Only saying this in hopes that the first reply I get won't be "search!" I try to do most of my own upfront research.
Quick history: I had installed a redhead gear coming up on 2 years ago now and it was great! Tightened up the sloppy mess i had in the steering wheel and loved it. We do take this truck into the rocky mountains and pull our camper with it frequently. When i say we take it into the Rockies, I mean we actually off-road with it to get to our camping spots. So needless to say, my steering system sees a decent amount of stress.
I have been having trouble steering at low speeds again and I can hear noises when the system is warm. I have replaced pump and hydro-boost thinking there is no way the Redhead gear is bad already. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that the Redhead must have seen too much stress.
The Plan: So I want to help keep the stress on the gear lower this go around with a Hydraulic assist ram.
I have ordered a Blue Top steering gear with the tapped ports for hydro assist - Should be here tomorrow.
I have install a new 07+ power steering pump, which from my understanding contains more veins - my research led me to believe this would help with the added load of an assist ram.
I am looking at buying a PSC ram with 8" of stroke, but i want to be sure this isn't too little or too much stroke.
The Question: Can anyone who has installed an assist Ram chime in on what size they purchased for their setup?
Link to the PSC Hydro cylinder I am looking at: LINK
Can anyone advise me if going to the local hydraulic shop and picking up a ram that is similarly sized will get me pretty much the same results?
Are there any other pieces of advice others could offer regarding the power steering system? Or anything else for that matter.
Maybe this isn't as complicated as I am making it out to be, but want to be sure I am getting everything right. I will try to take photos and can do a small write up since i can't really find much in depth information out there on the topic. Maybe I am using the wrong keywords!
Getting ready to be away from home for an extended period, so hammering out all the maintenance on this thing. EG the rockers were getting pretty bad, so cut them out yesterday and getting ready to tack the new ones in this week. Oil change, fluid check, stainless brake lines, etc! Also looking to put a power steering cooler on it since the whole system is torn apart anyway. Picture of the rig as of a couple months ago when we were getting ready for a week out in MOAB. I know the pic says four days, but we enjoyed it so much we extended our trip to 7 haha!
Thanks in advance for any constructive input that others can provide!
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