Hydraulic assist waggy 44

[GroversXJ]

I'm trying to add hydraulic assist to my new waggy 44 I'm swapping in and I measured the throw of the Tie Rod and got 8.25 inches.

The thing that confuses me is everywhere I read about this online they say a d44 only needs a 6 inch ram and only d60's use the 8 inch ram.
Anyone else using an 8 inch ram on a d44?

 

[POSJ]

Throw depends on the distance between the ballpoint/kp and the tierod mount point...shorter distance would require a shorter ram. Adjust your steering stops to limit it to the 8" ram throw. What you measured is correct.

 

[GroversXJ]

I was sure what I measured was right I just didn't expect it on a d44. Thanks for the input.
A coworker tells me I'll need a larger reservoir for the fluid than the stock pump mounted unit with a ram or it will puke fluid one direction and starve the other. Have any of you done ram assist with the stock reservoir?

 

[Jbh97009]

You really should have a larger resi, and you definitely want a cooler in there too!

To use it to its full potential you might want to do some research on pumps and ram's too

 

[GroversXJ]

I already have a cooler for the install, but I haven't gotten a new/larger reservoir yet because I've heard conflicting views on it so far.

 

[wishihad1]

dont make it more complicated that it needs to be. I run an unmodified 8 inch ram on mine. along with a completely stock steering system (no cooler, or additional reservoir) has worked great for 4 years. I have repeated my system on 6 other jeeps with no issues.

 

[POSJ]

California gets pretty warm, I would put a cooler on it imo...my ram and pump got hot and sluggish in Arizona.

 

[XJ_ranger]

Throw depends on the distance between the ballpoint/kp and the tierod mount point...shorter distance would require a shorter ram. Adjust your steering stops to limit it to the 8" ram throw. What you measured is correct.

Or call one of the manufacturers and get a custom ram, and keep the extra 1/2" of steering travel.
Make sure to check your u-joint to shaft clearance though.

That extra turning comes in handy when you really need it. :wave:

 

[GroversXJ]

I don't want to loose any turning radius by doing this which is why I bought a drop waggy pitman arm for the extra length to match the length of the arms on the knuckles, but I also would prefer the cylinder to bottom out before it hit the knuckle stops to prevent putting undue stress on the ball joints. Loosing the .25" of radius will be fine with me.

I have already bought my 8" ram from surplus center and my cooler is the tranny cooler that I stole from an old radiator end tank that was broken.

It does get pretty toasty here in the summer (like 115-120F) so I'm a little concerned about overheating everything.

 

[POSJ]

Loosing the .25" of radius will be fine with me.

You aren't losing .25" of steering, you are losing a significant amount of degrees of turning. Think about your steering throw...4" either direction, don't think of it as .25" but think of it as 1/16 of you steering throw. That is actually a significant amount overall.

 

[FloydXJ]

8" will be dandy...thats what she said... I have a high output pump, stock res, 8" ram, cooler, and drop waggy pitman arm and am very happy with it. I hit my lca's in both directions with 3.75" backspace, so 8" is pleeeenty of turning.

 

[GroversXJ]

8" will be dandy...thats what she said... I have a high output pump, stock res, 8" ram, cooler, and drop waggy pitman arm and am very happy with it. I hit my lca's in both directions with 3.75" backspace, so 8" is pleeeenty of turning.

Is that with a waggy 44 as well? I'm glad you mentioned your wheel backspace too because I'm going to be buying new wheels soon and was going to get some with 4 inches of backspace. Maybe I should consider more backspace to keep the weeks out from the vehicle.
My ram and gearbox rebuild kit will be showing up tomorrow so I will get into it soon.

 

[GroversXJ]

You aren't losing .25" of steering, you are losing a significant amount of degrees of turning. Think about your steering throw...4" either direction, don't think of it as .25" but think of it as 1/16 of you steering throw. That is actually a significant amount overall.

Yes it may be 1/16th of the total but its only 1/32nd on the left and the same on the right. There are many people who go ram assist with a 6" or even an 8" ram so I'm not the only one loosing a few degrees. If the cost to gain the few degrees is to buy a custom ram for a few hundred then once again I can live with less than that. The surplus center ram for $100 is money well spent.

 

[Digger87xj]

my d44 ford came out to 7"

 

[blondejoncherokee]

my ford bronco or f150 dana 44 with stock knuckles and a WJ pitman arm on a PSC 4 bolt box came out to 7.25" of throw .

 

[FloydXJ]

Is that with a waggy 44 as well? I'm glad you mentioned your wheel backspace too because I'm going to be buying new wheels soon and was going to get some with 4 inches of backspace. Maybe I should consider more backspace to keep the weeks out from the vehicle.
My ram and gearbox rebuild kit will be showing up tomorrow so I will get into it soon.

Yes, it is a waggy D44.

 

[GroversXJ]

Great info! I just finished rebuilding my gearbox today. I wasn't going to rebuild it because I used a magnet and grease while drilling and tapping the box but I got the rebuild kit on amazon for just over $20 and figured it was worth my time. I did find one large chip down inside the box but that was it, but it will be peace of mind knowing it won't go out on me due to skipping steps.
I wanted to mount the ram today but ran out of time.