Hydro assist on a Dana 30

[grandmaster]

Need some opinions here....

Just put in a new steering box a few weeks back when mine broke off the unibody. Before I put it in I ported it for hydro assist so I wouldn't have to take it back out again to do it. I've got a good feeling I am going to compete in the stock class of OSRC but was thinking of throwing the hydro assist on before that.

Have any of you had experience with putting it on a Dana 30?? Not my choice of axle but don't have the money to upgrade right now. I just want opinions on whether or not it is a good idea. It will only cost me ~200 to get it all up and running. I'm running 33's with beadlocks so my pressure is at about 8psi. Let me know if you have any other questions and thanks in advance.

 

[Spork]

Isn't that kind of like putting lipstick on a pig?

 

[BCGPER]

I'd do it. You're not out all that much, and can always reuse all the parts on a future axle.

 

[Gravy]

I'd do it. You're not out all that much, and can always reuse all the parts on a future axle.

agreed.

well accept for the ram, you'll need a 6" travel ram for a d30 and most bigger dana axles need a 8" travel cylinder

plus it will take some of the force off the steering box and you won't break them off the frame anymore

surplus supply for the cylinder will get you a good one 3/4" piston, 1.25"-1.5" body, 6" throw for less than $125

Then just shoot over to evco or any other hydraulic hose supplier and get hoses made.

 

[X1994J]

I have a 6" ram I'll sell you for cheap. I had it on mine but it wasn't enough throw for the 44. PM me if you're interested.

One thing to consider is if it's your daily driver... I put hydro assist on mine and now it sucks a** to drive on the street. Mine is not my daily, but I do like to drive it on the street sometimes. I'm in the process of trying to remedy the problem without removing the assist.

 

[grandmaster]

agreed.

well accept for the ram, you'll need a 6" travel ram for a d30 and most bigger dana axles need a 8" travel cylinder

plus it will take some of the force off the steering box and you won't break them off the frame anymore

surplus supply for the cylinder will get you a good one 3/4" piston, 1.25"-1.5" body, 6" throw for less than $125

Then just shoot over to evco or any other hydraulic hose supplier and get hoses made.

Yeah I was thinking I could use it all over again too...but if anything I can just sell the ram when I go to a 44 if I'm going to the use the 8". I currently have all the part numbers for everything I need....hoses/cylinder/and fittings/ which comes out to $120 plus shipping ($2) so it isn't really all that bad. All of this is from the surplus center.

I have a 6" ram I'll sell you for cheap. I had it on mine but it wasn't enough throw for the 44. PM me if you're interested.

One thing to consider is if it's your daily driver... I put hydro assist on mine and now it sucks a** to drive on the street. Mine is not my daily, but I do like to drive it on the street sometimes. I'm in the process of trying to remedy the problem without removing the assist.

I am sending you a PM....maybe you could send a few pictures with it to see if it is anything I want. Not a daily driver anymore so I don't need to worry abou it there.

 

[leorn]

I have a 6" ram I'll sell you for cheap. I had it on mine but it wasn't enough throw for the 44. PM me if you're interested.

One thing to consider is if it's your daily driver... I put hydro assist on mine and now it sucks a** to drive on the street. Mine is not my daily, but I do like to drive it on the street sometimes. I'm in the process of trying to remedy the problem without removing the assist.

I'm a toyota guy, so take this with a grain of salt. If you don't decide to get a cheap used 6" ram, I would get an 8-inch ram and limit the travel so that you can reuse it on your next rig. Also I had to drill out the restrictor in my steering pump when I did my assist. It makes the ram react much faster, and for me, it made my 4runner much safer on the road. Maybe there is a similar mod on you rig.

Also on toyotas you usually triple the size of the reservoir and add a cooler to the system. I just got a tranny cooler off of an old ford van at the junkyard. I've been running it for maybe 4 years with no problems.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Why not just throw a Wagoneer 4 bolt box on with an inline cooler? Should be plenty for running 33's.

 

[1995zj]

A Waggy 4-bolt box doesn't help turn the tires though....

Hydro assist kills two birds with one stone.....Less stress on the unibody and makes turning the tires a helluva lot easier....

I say go with the hydro assist. You can usually reuse most that stuff if you swap a different axle in anyways, and what you don't reuse can be sold to help recoup some costs.

 

[X1994J]

I'm a toyota guy, so take this with a grain of salt. If you don't decide to get a cheap used 6" ram, I would get an 8-inch ram and limit the travel so that you can reuse it on your next rig. Also I had to drill out the restrictor in my steering pump when I did my assist. It makes the ram react much faster, and for me, it made my 4runner much safer on the road. Maybe there is a similar mod on you rig.

Also on toyotas you usually triple the size of the reservoir and add a cooler to the system. I just got a tranny cooler off of an old ford van at the junkyard. I've been running it for maybe 4 years with no problems.

Yeah, a lot of guys do the pump mod and drill out that port, I am running a smaller diameter pulley from PSC, an 8" ram from Surplus Supply, and 3/8" hoses from Evco. I was running the smaller ram and 1/4" hoses before and it was streetable. With the large ram and 3/8" hoses it makes driving on the street sketchy. I still need to do a cooler before WOTR's.

Why we're on the subject of hydro assist, maybe some of the more knowledeable guys on here can tell me if they think this will work. So I was running a smaller ram, 1/4" hoses and the ram speed was slow enough it was streetable, I even drove it on the freeway this way. But the 6" ram wasnt enough stroke to give me lock to lock steering, so I went with a bigger ram (8" stroke) and 3/8" hoses. Keep in mind before I installed any of this I installed the 1" smaller than stock PSC pulley on the pump to boost the pressure. I like to occasionally drive my rig on the street, so I picked up a couple needle valves from work, I am going to put them inline and turn down the pressure going to the ram. In my mind this should technically make it more streetable as the ram will be getting less fluid and less pressure, so it should slow it down enough to make it driveable on the street. Does this idea make sense?? Or am I headed in the FAIL direction????

 

[muddyjeep]

Dana 30 hydro

I have Hydro assist on a Dana 30. Works great !
Here is a pic of how its mounted, just for an idea to get ya started.

Hydro Assist Ram mount 001 (Small).jpg
Hydro Assist Ram mount 002 (Small).jpg

 

[muddyjeep]

Here is the West Texas Offroad pump mod. I wouldn't add any washers under the spring
in the piston, it seems to be too much pressure!
http://westtexasoffroad.homestead.com/powersteering.html

 

[grandmaster]

So what would be the recomended size of hose for my application? and about 36" is what i read if I remember right. I do want a quick response if i can...but I won't be driving it on the street. Thanks for all the info so far and the pictures!! Everything is helping a lot. Keep it coming.

 

[grandmaster]

Also....willl i need to add a bigger resivoir?? I plan on doing the p/s cooler at the same time....but do I need more of a resivoir??

 

[jevyguy]

I like to occasionally drive my rig on the street, so I picked up a couple needle valves from work, I am going to put them inline and turn down the pressure going to the ram. In my mind this should technically make it more streetable as the ram will be getting less fluid and less pressure, so it should slow it down enough to make it driveable on the street. Does this idea make sense?? Or am I headed in the FAIL direction????

Makes sense to me and it will probably work great.

On mine I installed quick release fittings at the box that dont leak when you unhook them. I put 1 male and 1 female fitting on the box so you dont screw up putting the hoses on right
Before I unhook them I turn my steering wheel all the way to the lock so that the ram in compressed all the way. then I just unhook my lines and plug the two hoses together. This way the fluid in the ram passes from one side to the other and acts like a steering stabilizer. It seems to work good for me on the road.
If you don't turn your steering wheel before unhooking the hoses you will only be able to steer one direction because the fluid capacity of the ram is different for each side

 

[X1994J]

So what would be the recomended size of hose for my application? and about 36" is what i read if I remember right. I do want a quick response if i can...but I won't be driving it on the street. Thanks for all the info so far and the pictures!! Everything is helping a lot. Keep it coming.

I would run 3/8" hoses. Mine seemed like it wasn't getting enough fluid with 1/4". My ram is mounted all the way to the passenger side and my hoses are 45" long, they're plenty long.

 

[X1994J]

Also....willl i need to add a bigger resivoir?? I plan on doing the p/s cooler at the same time....but do I need more of a resivoir??

You shouldnt need a bigger reservoir.... all the setups i've seen people are running the factory reservoir.

 

[_Auzzy_]

Here is the West Texas Offroad pump mod. I wouldn't add any washers under the spring
in the piston, it seems to be too much pressure!
http://westtexasoffroad.homestead.com/powersteering.html

let us know how it goes, i need to get more pressure for my full hydro setup.

 

[grandmaster]

I won't do that mod quite yet...I will install it all and see how it works to decide if I want to do it.

 

[Gravy]

Why not just throw a Wagoneer 4 bolt box on with an inline cooler? Should be plenty for running 33's.

Says the guy who's never run a locked front end with hydro assist
IMO take advice from people who have ran hydro assist.


muddyjeep's setup works well and isn't twitchy. I'll bet Cory's is better without the smaller pulley.

Makes sense to me and it will probably work great.

On mine I installed quick release fittings at the box that dont leak when you unhook them. I put 1 male and 1 female fitting on the box so you dont screw up putting the hoses on right
Before I unhook them I turn my steering wheel all the way to the lock so that the ram in compressed all the way. then I just unhook my lines and plug the two hoses together. This way the fluid in the ram passes from one side to the other and acts like a steering stabilizer. It seems to work good for me on the road.
If you don't turn your steering wheel before unhooking the hoses you will only be able to steer one direction because the fluid capacity of the ram is different for each side

Sounds like you'd have to rebleed the system everytime you hooked it back up.