Rubicon PS pump mod

[waynehartwig]

After reading what seemed like a hundred posts on Pirate alone, I decided I was well equiped to do this mod on my 04 Rubicon with 39's and no hydro assist.

What I did was remove the plunger, clean it up and remove all debree from the screen, loctite it and put it back together (there were no shims, it was loctited with a space in there where a shim could have been).

The large spring is 1.78" and I left it at that. I really didn't see anywhere where stretching it to 2" was of any help - just people doing it and having good luck with it. I understand this spring is for min pressure, like when you are just driving straight.

The fitting (the part with the o ring on it) I drilled out to .140 (9/64" - I couldn't find my 5/32 or #27 drill bit?).

Then I vampired out all of the old fluid and re filled it with fresh ATF+4 - I figured this was probably a good thing to do, since it does have ~80k miles on it with larger 35"+ tires.

Now my question is: I really didn't notice much difference where needed - slow moving, aired down, and locked. Even if I'm just sitting in the driveway with the brakes on, I can hardly turn the steering wheel. I see a lot of talk about either increasing flow or pressure to make it better. Before I go doing one or the other, I thought I'd stop in and see what y'all thought.

At this time, I do not have a cooler on it.

 

[Tacoma]

1. get a cooler.
2. increase the pressure, to a point. Engineers figure things out pretty well these days.
3. Get some frickin' hydro assist. You are subjecting your system to extra stresses. It won't work that well, because it's not supposed to. Hence, assist. Do it now! DO IT.

 

[waynehartwig]

Get a cooler, check.

As for hydro assist and etc. I want to go that way, but the wifey is still tight on the purse strings after my last upgrade, if you know what I mean.

Just adding HA isn't that easy here. I need to change the steering gear first as the Rubicon box isn't an ideal one to use. I would like to change it over to a Saginaw box and port that instead. Only problem is the Saginaw isn't a direct replacement and needs frame modifications.

Soo.... I'm trying to buy a little bit of time by doing this first and then maybe in the next 4 months or so upgrade to HA.

 

[Kiel]

I did the mods to my saginaw pump, and there was only a little improvment. Enough that you notice, but not much else. I have a couple extra ports around I'm gonna drill different sizes and see what happens

 

[waynehartwig]

I did the mods to my saginaw pump, and there was only a little improvment. Enough that you notice, but not much else. I have a couple extra ports around I'm gonna drill different sizes and see what happens

Let me know as I'm kind of curious. THis is a Saginaw TC pump, so it should have the same piston etc that you have...

I'm almost wondering if my PS pump is bad/worn out? Stock they are supposed to be 1400 PSI and 2.8 GPM @ 1500 RPM. I wish I had a PS pump gauge laying around....

 

[Meat_]

I modded my pump on the Blazer and didn't notice ****

 

[waynehartwig]

I modded my pump on the Blazer and didn't notice ****

What's all of the hype about then?? Like I said early on, there is TONS of info on this on the web and a lot of people swearing by it. WTF?

 

[Meat_]

If Von hadn't told me that it works to a degree I'd chalk it up to wishful thinking.... but since he said it does help some, I'll go with my rig is too heavy and a spool is too mean to notice any difference.

 

[timpanogos]

... Now my question is: I really didn't notice much difference where needed - slow moving, aired down, and locked. Even if I'm just sitting in the driveway with the brakes on, I can hardly turn the steering wheel. I see a lot of talk about either increasing flow or pressure to make it better. Before I go doing one or the other, I thought I'd stop in and see what y'all thought.

At this time, I do not have a cooler on it.

I find the same thing as Wayne mentions here ... with my full hydro. If I'm in an obstical with no forward/backward motion, turning hard against stuff my steering is much harder than I'd like. I can go to neutral and give it some gas .. this helps alot.

I did put a nice cooler on mine. It helped but not as much as I would like. I know that Mt Logan recommended a stronger pump than the stock one, but I do not know what pump they were using.

 

[waynehartwig]

I find the same thing as Wayne mentions here ... with my full hydro. If I'm in an obstical with no forward/backward motion, turning hard against stuff my steering is much harder than I'd like. I can go to neutral and give it some gas .. this helps alot.

I did put a nice cooler on mine. It helped but not as much as I would like. I know that Mt Logan recommended a stronger pump than the stock one, but I do not know what pump they were using.

To me that sounds like you have the pressure, but not the flow needed.

These TC style pumps are bullet proof and take a lot more of a beating than the P series. A P series can't handle much more than 300*, but the TC can - as long as the fluid isn't burnt. 300+ is real easy to get to with a couple of hard lock turns.

Here are probably the best two threads I found while doing my search...
Here is the P series
and
Here is the TC series

 

[waynehartwig]

If Von hadn't told me that it works to a degree I'd chalk it up to wishful thinking.... but since he said it does help some, I'll go with my rig is too heavy and a spool is too mean to notice any difference.

See... People like this mod, but for yo uand I it doesn't work. What gives?

 

[timpanogos]

If Von hadn't told me that it works to a degree I'd chalk it up to wishful thinking.... but since he said it does help some, I'll go with my rig is too heavy and a spool is too mean to notice any difference.

I suppose I should give the mod a go?

I'm running a clear hydro oil, not ATF ... not sure what diff this might make?

 

[Meat_]

I suppose I should give the mod a go?

I'm running a clear hydro oil, not ATF ... not sure what diff this might make?

I'd just save your pennies and buy a real pump.

 

[timpanogos]

I'd just save your pennies and buy a real pump.

I dropped mt logan a line to see what they recommend.

Anyone here with some good recommendations? Hopefully a direct Bolt on replacement to existing pump/pully

 

[waynehartwig]

I suppose I should give the mod a go?

I'm running a clear hydro oil, not ATF ... not sure what diff this might make?

It can't hurt... Sounds like it might actually do you some good, since you just need more flow. Simply drilling that fitting out to 5/32" (.144 is what htey recommend) should be the thing fo ryou. When you do, just be careful to get out all of the shavings from the fitting. On the side of the fitting, there is a really small hole that is not a straight shot, it's L shaped, so you can't poke a bit through to clean it out. I went fast with my drill, making larger chunks of metal, and then sprayed that hole out good with brake clean afterwards. Not sure what the hole does

 

[notajeep]

I know this is off topic....
On my TOYOTA, I drilled out the pump thing and it made a huge difference. Almost like bumping up to 65HP.

 

[waynehartwig]

I know this is off topic....
On my TOYOTA, I drilled out the pump thing and it made a huge difference. Almost like bumping up to 65HP.

You noticed that much out of 5HP? My K&N was supposed to do 12-15HP and I barely noticed that. Maybe you were lower than 60 before?

 

[Vonski]

If Von hadn't told me that it works to a degree I'd chalk it up to wishful thinking.... but since he said it does help some, I'll go with my rig is too heavy and a spool is too mean to notice any difference.

I suspect the driver is too heavy as well...

I found that the Saginaw pumps typically don't improve (with the mod) as much as the Toyota pumps for some reason. Then again, Saginaw pumps are generally utilized on heavier rigs, so you may be onto something. Or, it may just be that your pump's power output is on the decline.

 

[Meat_]

I suspect the driver is too heavy as well...

That's a given

...Or, it may just be that your pump's power output is on the decline.

The pump was "new" (rebuilt) from GM, and it has totally declined to pump now

 

[cruiseroutfit]

I "think" I noticed a difference on mine... I did a reman'd pump at the same time so its impossible to say which one really woke things up. I still don't have the pressure I would like at idle and standing still, but anything above idle and it moves nicely.