another hydro assist question

dyer91

dyer91

Active Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Location
Greensboro
well not being able to steer my 36s caused me to roll my yj awhile back(at least that is what i am going to blame it on). it runs a d30 with a lokrite. i have gone through 3 ps pumps with in the last year and even installed a cooler but that hasnt helped save the pumps. i have the rocky road ott steering kit installed which helped the steering angles dramatically but it still has fairly small tie rod ends so i am worried that hydro assist will just start to break stuff.
my questions are: has anyone used assist on a dana30? or with this type of steering setup? how does it hold up? what are you using: size of ram, upgraded box, high dollar pump? is there a better pump than the stock one that would help(running stock 4.0)? any info would be a help. forgive me for the long winded question and rambling. it is getting frustrating trying to navigate trails once the ps heats up and it gets so bad my wife can hardly turn the wheel in 4 low.:confused: of course i am budget minded so...the cheaper the solution the better. thanks
 
That doesn't add up. I bet there's something else going on. I have a 78 Bronco (much heavier than your jeep) that is on 38" boggers with a front locker without hydro assist. It would be nice, but hasn't been a requirement or caused any pumps to go bad. You should really look at better axles with 36" tires anyway.
 
I'm with Gubni... you're missing something

My WAG... your box is bad & contaminating the pumps with all sorts of little metallic shards = short life and still crap steering.

When my steering box took a crap (luckily, coming OFF the trails on Trail1), I swapped it out, but the pump died shortly. I flushed the system, *THEN* replaced the pump, and it's been fine for 3-4 years. They make filters for the return side (low pressure) to keep the pumps from chewing on the metal chunks...

You may want to work on the brakes too! That way, next time you "can't steer", you can stop and reverse direction before flopping! :lol:
 
the d30 does have cromos so i will keep it for now. the box was replaced about 2 years ago but ya never know what could happen.
 
let's get some more details for the assist on a 30...I'm running the same set up he is and having the same problems. He isn't missing anything...36s w/a 30 and locked = no steering....but i've gone through 2 pumps and 2 boxes in the last 2-3 yrs...and hasn't gotten better. It's only hit the trails hard 5 times..mostly drive it around campus and take it on a trip when a good few people are going.
 
A lot of the steering issues have to do with the geometry of the steering linkages. The further away the drag link is from the center of the axle tube, the better leverage you have for turning. IF it's close to the center then it has to work harder to turn. That's why high steer arms are usually longer. They also help in correcting the angles. If the drag link has to push down and out, then it has to do double duty. I am not sure if the Dana 30 has high steer arms available, never tried it. With a good stock pump, good box, and a cooler, add to that correct steering geometry, you should be good. I think adding assist would be a step in the right direction too.
just my .02
 
I do know that someone makes hybrid knuckles for the 30 so that you can do high steer...but it is $$. It's hard to do a 30 right...i'm sorry, impossible. I'd love to go bigger, but really don't want to put more $$ in a unibody.
 
A good option, if you feel like all the work, is putting cj d30 inncer c's on your d-30 then running d44 outer knuckles and getting the highsteer arms for the d44 knuckles, you can do it cheaper than the mucho expensive d30 high steer knuckles, but it is some work. I thought about doing it to my yj, but decided against dumping any more time into the d30 and go ahead and swap to 1-tons.

Also try getting one of those magnetic powersteering filters for your return hose, you can plumb it inline, just a nice little addition than can save you pumps
 
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