holeshot

I'd like to have advices from expert and/or knowledgable guys with ram assists. I have two scenarios I need help with.

here's the story #1 :

I've been thinking about that for a while, and I'd like to put a ram assist on my jk (current setup is 3.5" RK lift, 37 mud grappler, lockers front/rear, etc). I'm not fortunate enough to buy a complete kit from psc, so I did some research and found a guy a few hours away who sells custom kits at a very affordable price.

This kit contains the ram cylinder, hoses and fittings, plus a few things to fit on the original steering box. My first concern is the oil flow from the original pump.

Will it be enough to make the kit work properly? will it whine? like the pump was running out of fluid?

will the steering feel too soft, too sensitive, like the complete kit from psc? or it will be stiffer due to lower flow rate?

If it would, is there a way to "stiffen" the feeling of the steering wheel?

I ask because of the story #2 :

A few days ago, a friend of mine bought a 2005 LJ rubi, well outfitted, and of course, has a complete ram assist kit. I drove it a few miles on our way back, and man, the steering feel is WAY too soft/sensitive. It feels to me like it was completely disconnected from the steering box lol. And it made me reconcider my project for the ram assist on mine... I would hate to drive that as a daily, unless I find a way to make it stiffer, and a lot closer to the factory feel.

I am not an expert in the hydrolic world, but knowleadable enought in mecanic, well in fact, its my job.

There's a few things I have been thinking, that could make it work.

- changing the valving in the ram cylinder, much like a shock absorber valving.
- putting a bigger pulley on the steering pump to minimize the flow (on the complete kit of the LJ)
- putting an inline "resistance" on the pressure hose, with a kind of solenoid to switch from full flow to reduced flow, to act like standart rack and pinions on cars, soft steering at low speed, stiffer at high speed. With as simple as a switch in the dash to toggle between the two modes.

And, if there's nothing I can do about it, I might just stick with the standart steering setup and put a sector shaft brace and live with it.

Joe_B

It's dependent on the size of the ram & steering pump.

Running a stock steering pump with a 1.5" ram works. Running the same pump with a 1.75" won't work as well since the stock pump can create enough flow for the larger ram.

Running a high volume pump with a 1.5" ram will create that very sensitive steering. Running that same pump with the larger 1.75" ram works well & it's what's included with the PSC kit.

The WTO setup runs a stock pump with a 1.5" ram. A cooler and or reservoir are recommended to increase the fluid volume to keep everything cool.

Hope that helps a bit

holeshot

Good point there! forgot about the volume of the cylinder itself

I took a look at the conversations I had with the guy who sells the custom kits, and his cylinders are 1.5"x7, I should be fine with the stock pump.

also, the cooler was in my plans already.

Anyone with the stock pump? I'd like to know the feel of the steering compared to stock.

Invest2m4

How much can you spend on a kit? That will help to know.

holeshot

haven't fixed a budget on that mod yet, but i'd say no more than 5-600.

Monte417

The 1.5 ram drives very close to stock if not better with the stock pump. I've driven the psc kit with the 1.75 ram and the high volume pump and it drives close to stock as well just more expensive. IMHO for the guys running 40s the larger ran would be a better fit. For guys like you and me running 37s the stock pump and 1.5 ram will do the job just fine

Invest2m4

Tap your own box. Buy lines and fittings locally. Get a PSC ram and a cooler from speedway motors. That's under $400. Done.

Wrangeler X

I'm doing the stage 3 kit redneck ram. I talked with WTO. For about 20-30 minutes. He answered every question I could come up with. Didn't just give me what I wanted to hear. I feel confident in what he is going to sell me.

Northridge 4x4

holeshot

Well, in this case I try to figure why my buddy's jeep has that soft feeling then.. it was really really easy to turn, i'd say too much for a daily :/

Yeah that was my plan. I have found tutorials on how and where to drill and tap the stock box. I also have a "practice" box, almost new (like 3 months old), that we replaced at the shop because of a leaking sectof shaft seal.

The guy who sells the custom kit sells it for about 260$ CAD, including the 1.5x7 ram and rod ends, fittings for both ends, and the hoses obviously. Will just need a cooler and I should be fine

Otherwise, trail gear sells ram assist kits that are not bad at all I think. Just need to make sure if the 6" stroke is enough.

http://www.trail-gear.ca/hydro-ram-assist-kit-1-5-x-6/

RockTurtle

Few buddies bought kits from West Texas Offroad for their JK's. They use a 1.5" ram... their steering initially felt a little "laggy" but it's only at slow speeds, usually in a parking lot or something and they said that you get used to it quick. Other than that, they are super impressed with them.

I measured the sweep of the knuckles for one guy and I can't remember what it was for the life of me. I want to say it was a touch more than 6".

One thing that you get with the WTO kit is your steering box completely rebuilt w/ a new sector shaft, on top of being tapped for the lines. They also have a service where they will tap the box and rebuild it for 130 usd. If you have a Delphi box (09+) it's plenty worth it, just in case.