Daily Driving with assist

RockHales · Jan 9, 2017

Long story short,good friend of mine sas'ed a Tacoma with all the right parts but did not go with hydro assist (it is not a trailer qween,it gets driven to and from the trails and some DD). He has been told by two online company's he can't street drive with hydro assist. Idk which two told him that but please throw your opinions out so I can show him they are fawcking nuts,or that I am one :****: Back drop,Tacoma on 35's trail gear Sas kit with coil overs. He has a bad shoulder and that the whole point is I'm trying to help him turn the wheel better. Thanks.

Rokcrler · Jan 9, 2017

Re:

They are nuts.
McMinn drove his yj at 60mph+ with tons and assist.

Peter and girlfriend new drive it and said it handles great

Rjhoward32006 · Jan 9, 2017

Technically speaking its probably not illegal since there is a mechanical backup. But still a tad bit unsafe. Would I drive one with hydro assist on the street? Yes, knowing I might have a problem at some point, I'd have spare hoses, caps for the pump and cylinder, and a little extra fluid in the toolbox

what does every one else say?

fabricator1 · Jan 9, 2017

I daily drove a one ton jeep with hydro assist for 10 years. Never a problem

RockHales · Jan 9, 2017

PSC is the one who told him not to do it :****

I just found out)

Moto85 · Jan 9, 2017

With 40's mine drove like a dream up to 60. It won't go any faster. :driving:

It drives better even on road with the assist, than without it.

TBItoy · Jan 9, 2017

I daily drove a Toyota with assist for years. Assist ram is the best steering stabilizer there is!

Just don't put a huge ram on it that will slow the steering down, the internal valve in a steering box isn't really made to flow the extra oil for the ram.

What steering pump/box setup does he have on it now?

IMO the companies "can't" recommend their products for street use for liability reasons.

dwa2469 · Jan 9, 2017

I thought you can do assist on the street, but, not full hydro. :dunno:

4byfan · Jan 9, 2017

If it has assist and blows a hose and loses fluid it's no different than blowing a regular hose with non assist. End result is no power steering. This just for liability purposes I would think.

RockHales · Jan 9, 2017

dwa2469 said:
I thought you can do assist on the street, but, not full hydro.

bingo!!! but like 4byfan said it's only for liability reasons I'm sure.

creepycrawly · Jan 9, 2017

I daily drive a TJ with PSC hydro assist and it is great. I've driven a couple of full hydro TJ's on the street and that is a whole other animal. Hydro assist is fine.

kmcminn · Jan 9, 2017

Re:

Rokcrler said:
They are nuts.
McMinn drove his yj at 60mph+ with tons and assist.

Peter and girlfriend new drive it and said it handles great

Bingo.

The YJ did awesome. I like to think my jeep was setup perfect though.

xjmarc · Jan 9, 2017

Mine does fine what little pavement it sees. Colby Bean drives his ZJ everywhere on tons and 40s and its full hydro now, was assist for years.

Juan_Hong_Loe · Jan 10, 2017

If I'm not mistaken Ford actually had a factory assist cylinder on some year model truck... Found the link I remember reading.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-hardcore-tech/455-stock-ford-hydro-assist-steering.html

sexxy · Jan 10, 2017

One of my boss's has been daily driving and trail riding a jk with hydro assist. Only issue we have had was the ram bolt stripped out of the aluminum housing. We replaced it with a different bracket made of steel and had no more issues.

al1tonyota · Jan 10, 2017

Assist will deffinetly not be a problem! depending on how the system is setup full hydro is no physical problem either! Legally full hydro is a no go but assist is perfectly legal! Several companies sell assist kits for big lift trucks!

slytowncrawler2 · Jan 11, 2017

Most yer old hauler trucks have assist. Hell even newer ones. I've ran full hydro 75mph one hand on the wheel. Take yer time an do it right. Assist will be fine

gottagofast · Jan 12, 2017

If your steering system doesn't work for the street then it doesn't belong on the trail either..

This "if you blow a line" horse **** is just that.

What if you blow a brake line, what if you blow a fuel line, what if you drop a tie rod end, what if a suspension link fails....

All can be fatal.

BIG_Country · Jan 12, 2017

Hydro assist should not be a problem but like said before, I'd carry spare hydro parts for it (just in case) plus I would not cheap out on hoses or clamps, just to be on the safe side.
It should drive fine on the road. Back in the day my brother and me drove a cab truck with full hydro on the road...it was fine as long as you planed your turns and stayed under 55mph....but that was before we new better and didn't have a trailer to haul it around on