Tapping for Hydro Assist ? ? ?

Mac5005

Mac5005

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Location
Rocky Mount
Ok, So i Know where and what size to drill in my steering box, and have the tap, to tap the holes.
I have read all over pirate, and searched everywhere, and can't figure out one little aspect, But I also ahvent pulled the box apart yet to see if It would answer my own question.

I have seen that people needed to cut the end off there tap to keep it from bottoming out in the new holes. I have also heard that it is not necessary to completely dissasemble the box for drilling/tapping, although you then would have to worry abou getting metal shavings/filings inside your box and possibly ruining the seals etc.

So, whoever has done this before, is it really necessary to cut off the end of the tap?, and is it really necessary to completely dissasemble the box?

Just curious, and I already have the Entire seal kit for the box, if I need to tear it down, and reassemble, I can. I was planning on tearing it down all the way, just so I could replace all the seals in the box, but if I dont have to, then it would save some time.

Thanks,
Scott
 
Didn't tear mine down, or cut off the end of the tap...works great. I had an air hose by to keep blowing metal shavings away from the hole as I went. I've also heard coating your drill bit in grease will help collect the shavings so they don't fall into the box but didn't try it for myself.
 
Keep a shop vac on your drill bis & tap when your cutting the steel.
 
To begin with the tap I used is tappered. I drilled the holes, used a magnet to get metal out, turned sector each way to flush with the fluid inside. Tapped a little, test fit, tapped a little more, test fit again, and so on, till it was what I wanted. magnet again to get out metal, then a good swing on the pitman arm(sector shaft) re-installed and no issues for over two years.
 
I did not tear mine down or gring the tap either. Like Jeff said, use the shop vac. I also inserted a small magnet in the holes to pick up any fine shavings as well.
 
Mac5005 said:
Ok,
So, whoever has done this before, is it really necessary to cut off the end of the tap?, and is it really necessary to completely dissasemble the box?
Just curious, and I already have the Entire seal kit for the box, if I need to tear it down, and reassemble, I can. I was planning on tearing it down all the way, just so I could replace all the seals in the box, but if I dont have to, then it would save some time.
Thanks,
Scott
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It depends on the tap you have, but in my experience you will need to cut the tap. Just keep in mind that NPT is a tapered thread. Best to find a short bottoming tap. It also depends on where you're tapping/what box you have, if you use the endcover for pressure then it probably won't matter.

I've done it both ways, but if you're confident you can do it and have the time...pull it apart while you're at it. Just read up first.
 
my tap is a 1/4"-18 National Tapered Pipe Tap
I'm tapping in the standard Saginaw location as in this picture. I'm thinking, I am going to try and drill/tap it w/o taking it apart, and w/o cutting the tap, and see what happens, and if problems arise, then cut the tap and/or dissasemble the box
Thanks again everyone for the help.

4.jpg
 
My box is a standard saginaw, however being that it is an astro van box, and it works backwards that the regular saginaw orientation, then i'm pretty sure my ports for left and right will be reversed. Either way, I'm going to hook up the lines to the ram, w/o the ram mounted, and check the direction of movement so I dont destroy all of the steering
 
braxton357 said:
So it sits on the inside of the frame like the box pictured?
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Correct, It sits inside the frame just like the pictured box, It has the same mounting holes as the 78 monte carlo style box, and the Factory YJ box, however the pittman arm on the astro box comes off the front of the box. This does mean that the box operates in reverse compared to a YJ stock box, that way when you input steering to the left, the tires still turn left.

If you just flip the pittman arm on a standard YJ box then,
left=right, and right = left. This combination would work, but you would then need to mount the drag link behind the axle.

This is why I went to the Astro box. Mounting holes are the same, input shaft is the same, and the lines are the same as a stock yj box. The astro box just allows the front stretch and still keep mechanical steering linkage. Also, the astro box allows you to still use standard Saginaw box modifications.
 
I took my box apart and would not do it again. Was ball bearing and a lot of small parts that where a PITA to deal with and to top that off it leaks now and did not before. As far as the tap just start out with a tapered tap and move to a bottoming tap. If you think you got some chips inside then just fill the box leave the lines unhooked and turn the pitman arm back and forth and that will pump the chips so they do go through your pump. Do it a few times and that should get most everything out.:popcorn:
 
it's intimiadating but easy as hell...

we did mine without any prior experience and 2 pages of pictures printed out from pirate.... simple... and scary... but in the end it all worked out great and was almost as easy as changing the oil =)
 
When I did mine; I tapped it, ground some off the bottom of the tap and tapped it again. This is to let the fittings sit a little deeper in the housing for strength. I used an old racing tranny cooler on my return line to the resivoir so it would hold more fluid. Jack the frt off the ground and turn hard left and right and you may want to bleed it at the fittings on the cylinder also to get all the air out.
 
I took my box apart to tap it, and I also had to cut the end of the tap off because it was bottoming out before it had cut deep enough. The box was super easy to disassemble and put back together. Stock 85 FS Bronco PS box. I used a fairly large tube and fin style A/T cooler on the return line. I also pulled the fitting out of the pump on the pressure side and drilled it out for more flow.
 
I'm using ORB (o-ring boss) to JIC adapters on mine so I could tap with a straight tap instead of tapered and and so I can leave the adapters in the box if I needed to switch hoses. Just another way to get the same results.
 
i'm running a 1/4" NPT to 3/8" NPT adapter right out of the box that will stay there, and then after those I am running 3/8" swivel adapters, that allow me to change anything/everything w/o removing the adapters that are threaded directly into the box
 
The problem most run into is that the lower hole is shallow and there's no room for error when using NPT threads. That's why some have to cut the tap off. With NPT being a thread seal I've had better luck getting mine to seal with the straight tap and ORB fitting.
 
CYJKrawler said:
The problem most run into is that the lower hole is shallow and there's no room for error when using NPT threads. That's why some have to cut the tap off. With NPT being a thread seal I've had better luck getting mine to seal with the straight tap and ORB fitting.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that really helps. That gives me a good heads up, and I may end up doing something similar to yours and possibly use the SAE 6 fitting, which I think I can pretty easily get a tap for (9/16) and it seals w/ an o-ring, and is same thread as my ram.
 
I've done it numerous times and will be glad to help.
 
just did a new 1 for my jeep. was in a hurry and didnt pay attention. I tapped a Tj box as a replacement for my yj. not sure if it will be an issue or not. the tj box is missing the upper mounting hole. so it only has 3 bolts holding it on versus my yj with 4
 
Wow holy zombie thread. Pretty good info and a great picture showing where to drill and tap.

I bought two taps and cut the end off of one. Tapped it to 1/4npt and then used 1/4 to 3/8s adapters, then 3/8s hoses and then adapters for the 3/8 npt to jic -6 at the ram.
 
Yep. YJ box, drilled and tapped to 1/4 npt and 1/4-3/8 npt 45 degree swiveling elbows, 3/8 npt hoses and 3/8 npt to sae 6 at the ram.
 
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