More power from power steering

[holyford86]

Has anyone successfully gotten more power out of the power steering on ttb trucks? I've been doing a bit of research on it and haven't seen a ton.

Right now I've got a good low mileage used factory steering gear installed, after having terrible luck with reman units leaking or having tons of play in either the input shaft or sector shaft (or both). A large cooler (it's a trans cooler from an auto truck) and one of the unicorn Cardone conversion P pumps. I feel it's a pressure related issue, adding rpm doesn't seem to increase assist any measurable amount, unless I'm thinking about it all wrong.

I've read about pressure and flow mods that can be done to the pumps but am hesitant to do them and damage the only unit I have.

I have no issue swapping to a different steering gear but research tells me finding a pitman arm to work with my steering may be difficult. I've seen some people adding a small hydro assist cylinder as well, but not sure if it'll be worth the effort.

Anyone have any other ideas or experience?

 

[franklin2]

Not sure what year you are working on, but do you realize the same steering box that steers most year rangers is the same box that steers full size f350 trucks? You should not have a assist problem. Unless the belt is slipping. Or there is something wrong with the pump and it's not building enough pressure.

 

[holyford86]

Not sure what year you are working on, but do you realize the same steering box that steers most year rangers is the same box that steers full size f350 trucks? You should not have a assist problem. Unless the belt is slipping. Or there is something wrong with the pump and it's not building enough pressure.

Its my 86 which runs a Dana 35, is 4.0 swapped, and is on 33 inch tires. Yes, I'm aware the "D9" box was run on pretty much everything, it's part of the reason why this doesn't make much sense to me. I've been running this exact pump for over 100k miles, this has been an issue since before I installed it, with the old "C3" pump, through a handful of gearboxes as well. I've just kind of dealt with it, it's starting to bug me more now (Or I'm just getting weak in my old(er) age, haha.)

 

[4x4junkie]

I believe it to be a pump pressure issue, combined with a drop pitman arm that is longer center-center than the stock arm (my '94 always struggled a bit with this from time to time). However I don't have info on how much additional pressure the box can handle.
A hydro-assist ram is probably the most practical option. Are you running the stock (Y-link) steering? Or you have a K-link or crossover setup on it?

 

[holyford86]

I believe it to be a pump pressure issue, combined with a drop pitman arm that is longer center-center than the stock arm (my '94 always struggled a bit with this from time to time). However I don't have info on how much additional pressure the box can handle.
A hydro-assist ram is probably the most practical option. Are you running the stock (Y-link) steering? Or you have a K-link or crossover setup on it?

I didn't realize that the drop pitman arms have a longer center to center dimension, although it's been 15 years since I swapped to one so I might have at the time. I will see if I can rent a power steering pressure gauge and see if there's a pressure range or limit in service data. I've seen a bronco guy running a small 1.5 ish inch ram and claimed a decent improvement in assist as well. I am running the stock Y link, yes.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

This might be a stupid suggestion but could you find a bigger pulley for it?

Then it would be spinning faster then normal at whatever RPM and pumping more fluid and should in theory give more assist.

Not sure what kind of pulleys you could find though.

 

[franklin2]

If you do some research on the pump type you have, it may have a spring/plunger setup you can take out of the back of the pump and modify. Most of them do have a pressure relief valve that will bypass pressure if it gets too high. I wonder if that is leaking?

The main fault with these boxes, they got cheap and did not use replaceable bushings in the pitman arm shaft. There is a company called redhead https://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/aboutprocess that installs needle bearings in the housing. For extra money they will also install aux ports for a assist cylinder if you wanted one.

 

[holyford86]

@franklin2 I think I'm going to try testing/adjusting the pump pressure when the snow melts and get it as high as is safely allowable for the box. It's a saginaw p pump so pressure and flow mods are well documented.

Its become apparent in the reman boxes I've gotten that the stock of boxes is getting worn out, I'm talking 1/8 or more of sector shaft play on a brand new reman. The one I have now is from a low mileage 4x2 Ranger and has no play, hopefully it lasts a while. I've looked at redhead but the sticker shock still has me, haha.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

This might be a stupid suggestion but could you find a bigger pulley for it?

Then it would be spinning faster then normal at whatever RPM and pumping more fluid and should in theory give more assist.

Not sure what kind of pulleys you could find though.

Good idea.
Pretty sure smaller would be faster.

 

[Blmpkn]

Yeah smaller pulley on the pump would make it quicker

 

[holyford86]

This might be a stupid suggestion but could you find a bigger pulley for it?

Then it would be spinning faster then normal at whatever RPM and pumping more fluid and should in theory give more assist.

Not sure what kind of pulleys you could find though.

I've considered it, but I'm not sure I'll be able to find a belt to work, I'm already running a 117.7 inch belt, haha.

 

[Curious Hound]

This might be a stupid suggestion but could you find a bigger pulley for it?

Then it would be spinning faster then normal at whatever RPM and pumping more fluid and should in theory give more assist.

Not sure what kind of pulleys you could find though.

Wouldn't a smaller pulley cause more rpm? Smaller pulley would turn more rotations for one full trip around the belt. A larger crank pulley would also raise driven pulley rpms. As in, when an underdrive pulley is installed at the crank, all the accessories slow down.

 

[holyford86]

@Curious Hound you're right, I read too fast.

 

[don4331]

This might be a stupid suggestion but could you find a bigger pulley for it?

Then it would be spinning faster then normal at whatever RPM and pumping more fluid and should in theory give more assist.

Not sure what kind of pulleys you could find though.

Smaller pulley increases flow rate only - it does nothing for additional pressure until you get to the point you overwhelm the relief valve (and the pump probably cavitates before then).

Smaller pulley is an OK idea when including hydroboost and you want enough flow for both the steering and the brakes. But in most cases, its just sapping power.​

I learned to drive on F100 4x4 with FE and manual steering/brakes; I had to have the seat close enough that I could properly muscle the wheel and brakes. No sitting so far back that I could barely touch the bottom of the steering wheel with finger tips. @holyford86 - I'm not saying you do, but when I was teaching my kid's friends to drive manual, there were a lot that sat back far enough to be able to text.

 

[holyford86]

@don4331 that's kinda what I was thinking as well, increasing rpm doesn't appreciably change assist at all. It's a single cab 86 and I'm about 6 feet tall, I can rest my wrists on the top of the wheel when I'm sitting in the seat properly.

I did some research on max pressures for the gear box and pump using the heaviest vehicle I'm certain that ran both that pump and that gear, 1995 K3500 for the pump, 1995 F350 4x4 for the gearbox. 1500 psi is about the safe limit when running on a tester for both of them. Oreilly rents a pressure and flow tester that is compatible, once the weather is warmer I'll test and see.