hydro steering for the streets?

long story short i most likely will be picking up a parts jeep in trade for a POS truck i have in my driveway. its got the normal high dollar things fancy 4.56 gears, long arms, resi shocks, and either hydro assist or full hydro steering. my question is would it be smart of me to run that hyrdo steering set up on my DD? i remember somewhere that full hydro would be a not so smart thing to run on a DD.


-Ian

Which does it have? Assist or full? Assist is fine. Full hydro would be completely stupid on a dd. Bust hose = bust your face.

i run an assist on my dd but not sure if id run a full hydro. theres something that bothers me about not having a way to steer if i blow a line.

Can i ask why you are more trustworthy of a mechanical steering system over hydraulic?

You can quite as easily bust a steering joint or box.

I had a TRE pull apart on my Dodge while towing 9,000 lbs. Luckily it happened in a parking lot while making a U-turn, because if it had happened on the Tacony bridge headed outta Philly, things probably would've ended badly.

A local girl died a bunch of years ago when a street sweeper lost a hydraulic line and veered off the road, plowing her car into a guardrail.

Shit happens. Maintain your junk, make sure the lines are routed safely, and go down the road. I wouldn't mind driving a full hydro rig around as long as the orbital was set up properly.

lowrange2 said:

Which does it have? Assist or full? Assist is fine. Full hydro would be completely stupid on a dd. Bust hose = bust your face.

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i forgot, all i remember in the phone call was hydro and steering. i'll be calling him back today and figuring out the details some more.

what are there for hydro set ups for jeeps like this? i'm only familiar with the Howe Pre-Runner or Trophy truck set ups.

Depends on how much fabrication you want to do and how much money you want to spend. The sky is the limit.

Big-Gaz said:

Can i ask why you are more trustworthy of a mechanical steering system over hydraulic?


You can quite as easily bust a steering joint or box.

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I don't the odds being the same. Maintain your joints and a mechanical steering setup will be fine. Hydraulic lines bust when they feel like it.

lowrange2 said:

I don't the odds being the same. Maintain your joints and a mechanical steering setup will be fine. Hydraulic lines bust when they feel like it.

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Um, what?

Maintain your hydraulic lines and they WON'T bust when they feel like it.

lowrange2 said:

Hydraulic lines bust when you continually exceed the bend radius or chafe through the lining.

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Fixed.

Not rocket science.

If it's good enough to trust driving 100+ MPH in an Ultra4 race, I think something as piddly as everyday street duty should be OK.

I've blown up zero hydro lines, but I've terminally broken 3 tie rod ends. Maybe I should change all of my vehicles to full hydro; the odds seem way better.

just dont get caught. full hydro isnt legal for use on the road. assist is fine cause there is still a mechanical connection.
mike

94xj6.5 said:

just dont get caught. full hydro isnt legal for use on the road. assist is fine cause there is still a mechanical connection.
mike

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Prove it. :read:

sunburned said:

Prove it. :read:

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it all depends on if the cop knows what hes looking at.

i think he means show a specific law that specifically says that full hydro steering is illegal.

Not to be a smart ass, but the street sweeper referenced in this thread was probably street legal. Some forklifts are street legal and full hydro. I think the hydraulic steering myth is just like the beadlock 1. If enough people say it, it must be true? I think we would all be blind and have hairy palms if that were the case.

RoyalXJ said:

it all depends on if the cop knows what hes looking at.

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I agree, but like Vette said, every steering is going to have its weak link. Even if I run a regular tie rod/drag link setup with hydro assist, if that one heim or TRE breaks on the driver's side, my steering is toast, no matter how good the hydro system is.

I don't see many people having trouble with their hydro lines. In fact, a friend of mine just discovered he had a hole in his radiator because a hydro line (or fitting, not sure) rubbed a hole in the aluminum. I'd say they are pretty durable.



Oh, and judging by the five tickets I got from the one dick cop that pulled me over, actual safety was none of his concern. Not being able to see my plates perfectly clearly, front bumper 3" too high, and 3 seperate tickets for me having my doors off (removing safety equipment, etc). All fines too, not even repair orders. Obviously more concerned with revenue than road safety. I'm sure I could have had the shittiest steering ever and he still was too dumbfounded by my missing doors.

Everyone who have worked on heavy equipment can testify that hudralic hoses although are very durable have unpredictable failure. Out of the blue one go out for no explained reason sometimes where the fitting and hose meet other times the failure occurs along an otherwise perfect lenght of hose.

Regular inspection of the hoses could/should give an indication of a possible failure in areas where the hose/s contact metal parts of the equipment. Likewise, regular inspection could/would show possible failure points in the regular all metal steering linkages. Generally, on a street driven vehicle, shakes, shimmy and noise preceed all mechanical failures in the steering system. Not so with hydralic hoses. I am/a heavy equipment mechanic with experience in both European and US made construction equipment. Proper inspection usually show potential failure on mechanical parts before they occur. Not so with hydralic hoses.

There are equipment that never had to replace some of hoses for 15-20 years. There are also mechanical parts that never had to be replaced for the same amount of years. Take your pick. For highway use, I prefer to have mechanical linkeage with hydralic/power assist.

For those who referenced heavy equipment usine all power steering,....How many heavy equipment do you see going down the highway at 70+ MPH?