AGR Hydraulic Ram Assisted Crossover Steering
Published by Trails Less Traveled on April 9th, 2004
AGR’s Super Box, Super Pump and hydraulic ram assist are all being used on the TLT CJ7. The variable-rate box promotes driveability on-road, while still giving responsive steering off-road. The Super Pump puts out enough pressure and volume to keep the box and ram turning 39.5” Super Swamper tires in almost any situation. The ram is mounted between the axle and the tie rod. All hoses and fittings used were provided by Earls Performance.
3/4” LH and RH thread heim joints were used with 1.25”x.625” DOM tubing for the drag link and tie rod. Rubber boots are used to cover the heim joints and have been filled with common axle grease. These measures have added considerably to the durability and lifespan of the heim joints.
Steering options and configurations on this vehicle are strictly limited by space confinements.
- The tie rod can only be run below the leaf springs in front of the axle. If the tie rod is run on top of the high-steer knuckles, it will cross up with the drag link, even when using a short, flat 6” pitman arm.
- The steering box can be re-located forward as a possible remedy. Unfortunately, that would cause us as many problems as is could solve on our Jeep.
- Another solution is only applicable to the kingpin variety of Dana 60s; The tie rod is on top of the knuckle and behind the axle. This solution might be especially suitable for vehicles using low pinion Dana 60s, as frame notching would be required in the case of our high pinion Dana 60 equipped CJ7.
- All things considered, a low pinion, kingping Dana 60 would probably have been a better investment. The kingpin variety of Dana 60’s have been proven to be stronger and easier to adapt to hi-steer configurations. The combination of kingpin knuckles and a low pinion differential would have allowed the tie rod to have been positioned behind the axle, and above the leaf springs.
- Full hydraulic steering is the last and maybe the best solution for a dedicated trail rig, but our Jeep is still seeing too many street miles for this to be an option right now.
- We will continue to experiment with alternative solutions and post any developments. These are the areas where people building production based vehicles must overcome their limitations, and can all share the progress and solutions. If you are running a similar setup, let us know what’s working and what’s not. We’ll post any good information as a technical resource.
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