PSC steering?

S

strokeherace

Member
Previously my 08 JKU had steering issues and I ended up with a huge transmission cooler on it to help. That was on 35’s and now I’m doing a 13 JKU with 37’s. At what point did you guys go to hydraulic assistance?
 
I would say at 37's, it can be pretty helpful to have but not necessarily necessary. I think it really depends on how you use your Jeep. If it were me, I'd try to get by until or unless you really feel the need for it.
 
What Eddie said. It’s not necessary and if you’re not playing hard on trails where you’re using BOTH your lockers on nearly every obstacle then you really aren’t going to really need it at all. It comes with some (slight draw backs) but when I started playin on harder stuff in Moab and Sand Hollow…. It was a game changer.

On road driving is fine. Where I notice it most on a daily basis is parking lots and going super slow trying to pull into parking stalls. However…. If you’re worried about future steering issues like you had on your first jeep, ram assist is NOT a correction for fucked up steering components, bad ball joints or a bad set up. So make sure all of that is squared away before you go down the rabbit hole of Ram Assist. Now that I’ve had a taste of it, I’ll never go back but if I wasn’t playing hard off road I’d spend the money elsewhere.
 
I should note that if you decide to go with Ram assist, you don’t have to go the full $3000 kit. A PSC ram, some lines and fittings with a good cooler will get you started. You can drill and tap your own steering box and be good to go. I’ve been running my DIY setup hard for a couple years now and it’s been great. If I were to make any upgrades to the system I would add the PSC pump as the stock pump isn’t designed to handle that kind I pressure and it does lag at low speeds a little.

You can build onto that as you’d like or as funds permit.
 
Thanks for the inputs, i have spent a ton of money on parts so I can beat on it and tackle anything I want to try so it will be “adult driven” at all times when off road. Nothing was wrong with anything in the front end of the 08, it ate a pump in Daniel Boone National forest, one in Harlan Ky, one in wind rock OHV. That was on 33’s and 35’s also. After the last one I put a transmission cooler for an RV on the return side of it and had zero issues but still carried a pump and a gallon of fluid with me.
 
I’ll say I’m one of the few that recommend just the PSC big bore without any hydro assist. I run a stock box and it takes some work. My brother in his JK is able to push his 37s with the PSC on/off road without issue.

Only reason I fear hydro assist is it’s another fail point and I have seen it fail three times now. Two sheered of mounts and a busted line.

37” tires should be little issue for a PSC by itself.
 
Fishfam_jku said:
I’ll say I’m one of the few that recommend just the PSC big bore without any hydro assist. I run a stock box and it takes some work. My brother in his JK is able to push his 37s with the PSC on/off road without issue.

Only reason I fear hydro assist is it’s another fail point and I have seen it fail three times now. Two sheered of mounts and a busted line.

37” tires should be little issue for a PSC by itself.
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This is why I keep capped fittings so I can cap the lines at the ram and/or steering box and still have power steering. I would say if you did just get the big bore box… get the one that’s setup for ram assist in the event you want to add it later.
 
I’m running the Box only with 35’s. I Still love it and I’m sure it will do ok with 37’s… But I do bind up against rocks sometimes… I just need to re position or be patient with it. I probably should of got the ported version.. but I was being cheap. I’m cool with it though. I’ll be hitting up Disciple offroad soon for the pump, reservoir, lines and cooler. If only because its the right thing to do.
 
I have the PSC Big Bore XD Adventure Steering Kit. BIG BORE XD Steering Gearbox, High-Performance Power Steering Pump Kit with Remote Reservoir, High Pressure Hose Conversion, Fluid Cooler. I am only running 35s right now and man it made the world of difference for me.
 
After braking my sector shaft on Fordyce, I also upgraded to the PSC Adventure Kit. I'm running 37's on a 2018 JKU Rubicon. The Big Bore XD Heavy duty box is massive and steering has become super light and smooth. I am now trying to figure out replacement for the steering stabilizer. I feel I need to do something because at highway speed the steering just feels light and I really don't feel any input from the road. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm not sure if the ram assist would correct this or possibly the Fox ATS Steering stabilizer. It might just be something that I will get used to. Any thought?
 
slaugero said:
After braking my sector shaft on Fordyce, I also upgraded to the PSC Adventure Kit. I'm running 37's on a 2018 JKU Rubicon. The Big Bore XD Heavy duty box is massive and steering has become super light and smooth. I am now trying to figure out replacement for the steering stabilizer. I feel I need to do something because at highway speed the steering just feels light and I really don't feel any input from the road. I'm not sure how else to describe it. I'm not sure if the ram assist would correct this or possibly the Fox ATS Steering stabilizer. It might just be something that I will get used to. Any thought?
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You eventually will get used to it however I would not suggest just upgrading a stabilizer and rather, just run a PSC ram. That light feeling is due to the fact the system has constant positive pressure and doesn’t require a lot of input. The reason you’re not getting much feedback from the road is because of that positive pressure. Depending on what control arms you’re running and your front drive shaft, you can get away with adding a bit more caster and that might help a bit.
 
If I was to go with the ram assist - will I notice anything while driving on the highway. At lower speeds, the steering is superb, especially low speed turning. I have a HD Rubicon Express 4-Link Long-arm with Fox 2.0 coilovers, Synergy track bar and tie rod and a Rubicon Express Drag-Link. Still running the stock stabilizer. I believe the drive shaft is a 1510? Thanks for your input.
 
I’m guessing the Ram would make it feel even more sensitive.. (Not a bad thing) But a tight setup shouldn’t even need a stabilizer… The stabilizer will just mask loose/worn steering components… have you checked your Toe lately? Whats your tire pressure?
 
The toe was checked during my last alignment which was over a year ago. Tire pressure is around 40. That makes since about what you are saying about the stabilizer.
 
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