Best non hydro steering setup

[Krawler00]

Well, Mike, Mark, you might have another Jeep to do then! Hope to have a little extra cash after the axles go in to do this. It is way overdue! My box hates me! Richard, does that swap give more power to turn bigger tires or is it just a stronger box. Right now I fight with mine on just 33's! So I know the box is just about shot anyway.


From the phone

[Krawler00]

Randy, what are you running in yours? When I drove it at RR it was real nice.


From the phone

[ranger11]

Yo yo.. Dont drag me in this one..I havent post in here until now {no}

[lt99ls1]

I'm not up to speed on the hydro type steering systems.
What makes them poor on the road?

You don't want full hydro on the street because they rely on the engine to operate. If you engine dies, you have no steering.

That depends on the orbital valve you have.

[mdo817]

I'm not up to speed on the hydro type steering systems.
What makes them poor on the road?

You don't want full hydro on the street because they rely on the engine to operate. If you engine dies, you have no steering.

That depends on the orbital valve you have.

Larry is right, I can move mine just not much because I'm a wimp, but a slower (less cu. in.) valve is easier to move.

[Ben H.]

Ok, that makes sense. I just know that is the big reason most people avoid it on street driven rigs.

[Metro]

 {popcorn}

[Logan]

Ok, that makes sense. I just know that is the big reason most people avoid it on street driven rigs.

The big thing I've always read is usually the systems that are reactive at slower RPMs, become twitchy at higher RPMs on the road.

[Ben H.]

Looks like I've been reading/paying attention to the wrong stuff.

[Will]

For the guys that have driven with full hydro on the street, I was wondering about how the vehicle tracks going down the road.

From driving fork lifts and tractors with hydro steering I feel like the wheel is always gonna stay where you leave it. For example, when you're coming around a corner with standard power steering and you let go of the steering wheel, the tires will turn back straight because that's the least resistance on the system. I feel like it would be pretty sketchy to drive for that reason, and I think Mark mentioned something about it after he got his stuff mounted up and drove it a bit.

Are there ways to get around that which lets the ram collapse without hydraulic power behind it?

Does hydro-assist mess with the tracking at all?

[ranger11]

The orbital has to be a return to center in order for the steering not stay "stuck" The way I look at it is the guys running 100+ mph in the desert arent crashing from it. So there has to be a way to have a stable hydro steering set up. Logan is right with the engine rpm increase the pump puts out more causing more pressure and less force to turn the wheels. And so is Mark the higher number orbital decreases the steering wheel turn ratio, making the steering quicker. I went a different route on my orbital and will see where it puts me.


I would assume hydro assist will do the same because its pretty much adding extra power to the tie rod.

[Logan]

Also a big plus a lot of people with hydro assist list, is that there is still a mechanical linkage from the steering wheel to the knuckles (system redundancy).
I've done a lot of reading on hydro vs assist and am still undecided on which way I'm going to go.
Ultimately though you still hear similar complaints to hydro assist that most have to full hydro. Too slow, Too fast, twitchy at speed, etc...
It's all about properly sizing your ram, pump, and steering box/orbital.