Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

i hear you on the possible failures of an ARB but ive installed 5 of them in my own rigs and never had an issue just be smart about where you run you lines and over kill with the air and electrical.

 

The two Richmond, VA U4 teams run them. I'll be putting one in my front axle.

 

I'm looking at my budget to get this thing back out its tires and out the door and I don't see ARBs in my near future. I might be looking at lockrites and a cobbled togeher hydro assist to help the front end turn.

Which raises the question, what are some cost effective options for hydro assist without dropping $2k on PSC parts from RST. We go that kit for another truck and I wasn't impressed, especially for the price.

 

You could get the pre tapped box and ram from psc and rhen buy your hoses from discounthydraulichose.com and save some $$$. i used that site when i needed hoses for my steering box with good results. The f150 is an option, while it kicks ass on the street, offorad its not the best. It works but it still binds up a bit, i will probibly be sending it to west texas offroad for a drill and tap and hydro assist in the near future. My f150 box was like 300 bucks from rock auto and its forward swing if you need that.

 

I should said I've got a Toyota box already, not drilled and tapped though. I found instructions on how to do that on Marlin, can't say I'm really excited about the job though.

I have a local shop that can make hoses. Had to use them for the PSC kit install before since the hoses they sent were of complete random and useless lengths. Not to mention there wasn't enough to do the job.

Do I have to swap pumps or is the factory PS pump up to the job?

 

$150 to $200 at a tractor supply can take you a looooong way.

 

Explain

I love me some Tractor Supply

 

They have rams, hoses, fittings, etc. A buddy with a full size Blazer did his hydro assist with all Tractor Supply stuff about 4 years ago and hasn't had any issues.

 

I ran the stock PS pump a while. It'll work but a TC pump is more better. I bought a ram from PSC, a cheap cooler, hoses from local hydro shop, used TC pump off pirate, and a resi/filter from http://www.aluminumgastanks.net/billet-accessories/ way cheaper than PSC and spin-on filter

Edit: If you are going to use your stock pump a bit, I have the correct 17mm to 6JIC banjo you need to run a hydraulic hose off the stock pump. Shipping and its your.

 

Check out surplus center as well for hydro assist setups.

http://www.surpluscenter.com

 

Clarify for me, I'm probably having a moment of retardation. TC?

 

Thank you

 

Evreyone i wheel with (37s and up) are using toyota pumps except one guy who is using a tc pump, but he also did a v8 swamp. Whatever you do run a cooler, my truck pukes fluid all over the place when it gets hot.

 

Field serviceable fittings (rebuildable) are worth the few extra $.
Makes you able to replace a hose with 2 wrenches and some replacement hose fairly quickly.

 

Im still lost on the TC pump thing. We talking Scion TC, initials of a manufacturer that escapes me, something else? I'm lost, but I appreciate the hell outta of the information

 

I was gonna try to get QD fittings from my local hydro shop. Seems like it would make like a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about fluid loss evertime I need to take a fitting loose

 

GM type 2

 

Quite frankly, I don't understand what you are referring to. Most rigs I see around these days have either PSC or Howe parts. Both products are of great quality, Howe being a bit more over the top. Expensive? Sure, but I think it is totally worth it for what you get. Steering is the one area I would not cheap out on a build. My steering with PSC parts is waaaaay more responsive and smoother on 40"s and 1 ton axles than when I had IFS and 33"s lol.

When my parts got ordered PSC was not advertising a "kit" for Toyotas, so it was a custom order. Perhaps they have the kits back in stock now? Dunno...
Also, not sure where the 2 grand for parts comes from. But my parts cost $1,450 shipped for everything including fluids (PSC pump kit, rebuilt steering box drilled/tapped, steering pump bracket, ram, steering shaft and u-joints, hoses and fittings, pulley, etc.) Ok, that's close to 2 grand but not quite

There are write ups on Pirate about people that have done it for couple hundred bucks sourcing parts from websites highlighted above (especially the hoses) - assuming you have the time to piece everything together correctly. There some stories of guys that ended up with a hack/ghetto set up, so do your research!

What's your tire size? I've heard that lock rights tend to grenade with big tires.