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Hydro Assist Question

VAhasnoWAVES

VAhasnoWAVES

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lake City, Mi
i am in need of replacing my box (for certain reasons i am replacing, not rebuilding) and found a good price on a durango box. before the install and while its still clean, even if i cant pony up for assist right away, i want to drill and tap it for hydro assist. i plan on installing a cooler as well.

my question is two part...

baring any changes to the system, the gear box being the only variable... how does the system changing using a stock gear box vs the quicker ration durango box? will i need to revise my ram selection, upgrade the stock power steering pump, or make some other adjustment?

and...

i have a factory mopar transmission cooler that i have verified is clean of debris. is there any reason i cant use this as a power steering cooler, or do i need one specific for power steering fluid?
 
You will need to modify the internals on the Durango box to get you the range of motion you need. That means tearing it completely down. If you don't have the right tools, it can be fun.

I have rebuilt over 100 boxes, Durango's included. How are you going to do the ports? Are you replacing the cap, milling it, or drilling the body?

Make sure and get the balls back in the right order and know how to adjust the lash. I gave up doing boxes because the replacement seals were all crap and I had probably half of them leak. Best of luck.

Oh, by the way, I personally don't like the faster rate box. It made my rig a bit twitchy on the road. Don't forget to make a thicker spacer.
 
I have the durango box with a surplus center ram.
at low engine speeds, it can be a little sluggish, with a blip of the throttle to bring fluid velocity up.

If i were going to do it again, i would run the smaller stock box, to require less fluid from the pump.
 
old_man said:
You will need to modify the internals on the Durango box to get you the range of motion you need. That means tearing it completely down. If you don't have the right tools, it can be fun.

I have rebuilt over 100 boxes, Durango's included. How are you going to do the ports? Are you replacing the cap, milling it, or drilling the body?

Make sure and get the balls back in the right order and know how to adjust the lash. I gave up doing boxes because the replacement seals were all crap and I had probably half of them leak. Best of luck.

Oh, by the way, I personally don't like the faster rate box. It made my rig a bit twitchy on the road. Don't forget to make a thicker spacer.
Click to expand...
what modifications are you speaking of?

i thought the throw was the same, just a different ratio... so less turns lock to lock. is my understanding wrong? i was planning to drill and tap the body, tearing it completely down in the process. what modifications do are you speaking of? it looks strait foward from everything i can find. i am aware of the ball orientation.



the amount of turns lock to lock has never been an issue for me. so i dont have my heart set on a durango box, just found a good price. would i be better off just going with a kit like something from west texas?
 
stay away from the durango box. go with a stock box.
 
souske said:
at low engine speeds, it can be a little sluggish, with a blip of the throttle to bring fluid velocity up.

If i were going to do it again, i would run the smaller stock box, to require less fluid from the pump.
Click to expand...

I ended up buying a kit from Redneck Ram using an XJ box, but in talking to them before hand this was basically the same advise they gave me.
 
I ran a stock taped box, with a surplus center ram, with 37's and no issues. That setup is still alive today under pats rig with 37's
 
VAhasnoWAVES said:
what modifications are you speaking of?

i thought the throw was the same, just a different ratio... so less turns lock to lock. is my understanding wrong? i was planning to drill and tap the body, tearing it completely down in the process. what modifications do are you speaking of? it looks strait foward from everything i can find. i am aware of the ball orientation.



the amount of turns lock to lock has never been an issue for me. so i dont have my heart set on a durango box, just found a good price. would i be better off just going with a kit like something from west texas?
Click to expand...

The mods include removing a large ring from inside and taking the circular cap and grinding 4 bosses, besides the drill and tap. Without this the pitman arms doesn't have enough through to turn the wheels lock to lock. Most peeps go with the Durango box because the ram is bigger and gives you more turning power.

As for low speed power, I recommend going with a smaller diameter pulley.
 
I used a Durango box modded like Old Man mentions along with V8 ZJ pump with westtexas mod. The ZJ pump had a larger pully which I replaced with a smaller one from another jeep pump I had from another I6 motor. It works fine so far but I haven't stressed the system yet properly. It sounds like an upgraded pump may be in my future when I get a ram in the system.
 
the V8 ZJ uses the same pump as an XJ. the pulleys are different diameters though. do you mean the V8 WJ pump? I think that pump has been used to upgrade the stock pump.
 
old_man said:
The mods include removing a large ring from inside and taking the circular cap and grinding 4 bosses, besides the drill and tap. Without this the pitman arms doesn't have enough through to turn the wheels lock to lock. Most peeps go with the Durango box because the ram is bigger and gives you more turning power.

As for low speed power, I recommend going with a smaller diameter pulley.
Click to expand...
none of that sounds very intimidating, but i hadnt seen them before. are these modifications durango box specific, or something that needs to be done with the stock gear box as well?

concerning throw, an important note that i forgot to make is that i will be running a waggy pitman arm and running high steer on a D44. idk if that changes things in regard to throw or not.

and an overdrive pulley was on the list of things to get.





POLAR_JEEP_04 said:
the V8 ZJ uses the same pump as an XJ. the pulleys are different diameters though. do you mean the V8 WJ pump? I think that pump has been used to upgrade the stock pump.
Click to expand...
that was my understanding of stock pumps as well...
 
old_man said:
The mods include removing a large ring from inside and taking the circular cap and grinding 4 bosses, besides the drill and tap. Without this the pitman arms doesn't have enough through to turn the wheels lock to lock. Most peeps go with the Durango box because the ram is bigger and gives you more turning power.

As for low speed power, I recommend going with a smaller diameter pulley.
Click to expand...

I just did the durango box swap, in my research I found 99% of people just slap them in and run them with no issues going lock to lock.

For me I have my stops turned out due to OTK tie rod clearance to OE coil buckets so I couldn’t say if I have full lock to lock.

Just what I found researching recently...YRMV...
 
I have two Durango boxes running. I definitely like the upgrade. I want to try a smaller pulley but when I consider it I get into never resolved considerations of cause and effect:

Namely...
How will the smaller pulley work with the standard belt?
Can I make up for that with a smaller belt?
Can I make up for it with a larger idler pulley?
Can I make up for it with a larger alt pulley?
Should any of the above three be done and what will the affects be on the other belt driven components?

I can't really guess at any of those but I will eventually get the smaller pulley. If the belt seems loose, I will try to find a smaller belt. Then I'll just go from there or back out depending on what i see.
 
whitexj98 said:
I just did the durango box swap, in my research I found 99% of people just slap them in and run them with no issues going lock to lock.

For me I have my stops turned out due to OTK tie rod clearance to OE coil buckets so I couldn’t say if I have full lock to lock.

Just what I found researching recently...YRMV...
Click to expand...

I think old man is explaining how to set the box up for future hydro assist.
 
I run a stock box that I drilled and tapped, stock pump, cooler and a Surplus Center ram. Just like everyone else.

It's a great/cheap setup. I've got about $150 in the whole deal.
 
Red99XJVT said:
I think old man is explaining how to set the box up for future hydro assist.
Click to expand...
The mods in question have to do with allowing the Durango box to rotate the same amount as the standard box. The Durango box actually has a ring added to prevent it from cycling as far one direction, and the circular pressure cap that covers the bore has bosses cast in to also limit the cycling in the other direction. By removing these, you can make the box cycle farther from lock to lock.

Many people would not notice that the tires don't turn as far without the mods, but they don't.

As far as the smaller pulley, yes you have to go with a shorter belt.
 
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