hydro assist

offroadin 88xj

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2010
Location
winston-salem
I'm looking to do hydro assist on my xj has ford hp d44 welded 5.13 gears and 39.5 iroks it doesn't like to turn lol was wonder what size ram to use and to tap and use stock xj box or do a Durango box and any advice when drilling and tapping the box
 
I have the same axle and setup minus the 39.5's. I am in the middle of installing hydro assist on mine. I will be using a 1.5" bore 1" shaft single ended ram from Surplus Center. I also went back to the xj box from the Durango box. The problem with the Durango box is the bigger bore will make your steering respond more slowly.

Disclaimer: This is my first hydro assist so hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but from what I understand this is the route to take.
 
lilWill said:
I have the same axle and setup minus the 39.5's. I am in the middle of installing hydro assist on mine. I will be using a 1.5" bore 1" shaft single ended ram from Surplus Center. I also went back to the xj box from the Durango box. The problem with the Durango box is the bigger bore will make your steering respond more slowly.

Disclaimer: This is my first hydro assist so hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but from what I understand this is the route to take.
Click to expand...
Got a link to the ram
 
I've done plenty of Surplus center hydro assist installs on several variations of Dana 44s to 60s. From my experience, the throw you'll need for a 44 will be from 6.5"- 7.25" depending on tie rod location (knuckle or on high steer arm). I always use a SC 1.5x8 ram and do internal spacers called shaft collars. You take the ram apart and strip it to bare shaft and stack the 1/2" spacers as needed. On a d44 you want to be exact on throw or itll oversteer and destroy the ball joints over time.
As far as steering box goes, I'm a huge fan of a YJ box. The ratio and bore is perfect.
 
XJsavage said:
I always use a SC 1.5x8 ram and do internal spacers called shaft collars.
Click to expand...

Savage, I found some standoff spacers on eBay that I think I make work, but I'd much rather have something that fits the shaft better. What do you use? Where do you get it or do you make your own? Google and other forums the best I can find is either external clamp style limiters or homemade internal spacers using UHMW.

Edit: I see now how proper terminology helps in searching. "Hydraulic ram internal limiter", "internal spacer", "stroke control", etc. did not get me far. "Shaft collar" pulled all kinds of results. Feeling a little dumb over that one. Still interested in the type you may prefer.
 
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1" SHAFT COLLAR
Most important thing is to make sure the overall OD is no more than ID of cylinder. These are .53" so just a coochyhair above 1/2". And cheap.
 
I'll add too, getting the ram to separate is no easy feat. If you call SC customer service they'll give you a good thouroughly run down on how to get it apart. To pull the shaft from the cylinder, I anchored the fixed end to an eye bolt concreted to the concrete and used my hilift jack with a strap to the shaft end and started jacking.
 
XJsavage said:
I've done plenty of Surplus center hydro assist installs on several variations of Dana 44s to 60s. From my experience, the throw you'll need for a 44 will be from 6.5"- 7.25" depending on tie rod location (knuckle or on high steer arm). I always use a SC 1.5x8 ram and do internal spacers called shaft collars. You take the ram apart and strip it to bare shaft and stack the 1/2" spacers as needed. On a d44 you want to be exact on throw or itll oversteer and destroy the ball joints over time.
As far as steering box goes, I'm a huge fan of a YJ box. The ratio and bore is perfect.
Click to expand...

Are the yj boxes a direct bolt on for a xj
 
Yes
 
offroadin 88xj said:
How many problems will it cause if I don't limit the stroke on the ram I really don't wanna have to pull a ram apart unless I have to
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8" of stroke on a steering designed for 6.5-7.25 would blow the ball joints out. If it didn't break them the first time on the trail they'll wear out very quickly.
 
PSC can make a ram any length you want.... For a price.
 
Link I already posted 1" shaft collar a few posts up.
 
offroadin 88xj said:
Would just one of those be good or would o need 2
Click to expand...
They're a bit more than .5" each so get 3. Make sure its sized appropriately for your ram and do an accurate measurement on your steering lock to lock to get an idea of what you need.
 
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