any one ever install a hyd winch on your rig? i got a free one from work 12,000# and am open to sugestions as how to power it. need atleast 5 gpm flow to function am thinking belt driven pump with an a/c clutch like pulley system any idea where i can get that? I think the hyd has good potential for air compesor and to run a snow plow who knows even a generator!! what do you guys think???

 

Any place that specializes in hydraulics can get you the right pump, and they can get you the right size of clutch/pulley as well. You can also get pumps that are driven off electric motors (these can get spendy though) All in all having a hydralic pump on board would be a great thing to have, cause then you can run hydralic assist steering without tapping your steering box, but if you do this be sure to use a disconnect hose (just like on ag equipment) then you can use it on other hydro powered stuff as well.

 

You cant run hydro ASSIST without tapping the steering box. How would you direct the fluid?

 

It would tak a little bit of work and some creative fab work, but you get a hydro box that direct fuild by a turning shaft (easy to find as most ag equipment uses some form or another), nothing to fancy, then you would need one with a saft that runs through the entire box, and you would then splice it into the steering shaft ( easier to do on the older trucks) or you can run a sprocket on each shaft and use a chain to connect the two (a use a spring loaded tensioner)

I came up with this awhile ago and i checked out the parts involved (i couldn't find a steering box that i could actually take a really good look at as all the ones i looked at were in combines and such) and it should work, but there would be a fair amount of work involved though.

 

so you are gonna run a charlynn valve off your steering shaft with a chain and sprocket? What happens if they dont have exactly the same rate of travel? somethings gonna break. It would be a whole lot easier to tap the steering box then to add a full hydro setup to your existing steering and trying to make it work, IMO. But i guess that means you could run hydro assist without tapping the box, But would have to be high to try it. You would also have the same negative effects as full hydraulic steering no road feel and poor return to center.

 

It's not to hard to get ones with the same rate of travel, and yeah it would be way easier to tap the steering box, but where's the fun in that . The easiest way to go about would be to get a charlynn valve with a shaft that runs through it then it could be connected to the existing steering box with the steering shaft beening shortened and connected to that.

This would be a good way fo those rigs that want full hydro steering but want to drive it every now and then, and plus if a hose blows out or something you would have a way to steer the truck to get it fixed.

 

Do they make a charlynn valve with a shaft going all the way through?If you try it you cant just use a single tierod cylinder it would be asymetrical, meaning a hydraulic steering setup with a charlynn valve and a single tierod cylinder will not take the same amount of turns from center to hit lock each way. you have to either use a double ended cylinder or two opposing tierod cylinders cross connected like this ----((((( )))))----

Here are the three possible hydro steering configuations the first one is asymetrical
DIFFERENTIAL This system is made up of one cylinder that has the shaft extend from one end of the cylinder only. This setup gives more turning force one direction than it does the other. This is due to the displacement of the shaft. Also your fluid level in the reservoir will change as you turn.

CROSS CONNECTED This system uses 2 cylinders per steering axle. This is a balanced system, meaning there will equal turning force in both directions. The fluid level in the reservoir should also remain constant.

BALANCED CYLINDER This is a cylinder in which the shaft extends from both ends. The bore size has to be larger on this type cylinder than a cross connected system cylinder to give you the same turning force. But other than that, the system operates similiar to a cross connected system in performance.

 

Sorry for the highjack ranger, what kind of truck are you putting the winch on? What engine and transmission does it have?

 

I don't have the diagrams on my laptop but it's not very difficult to plumb the winch into your existing power steering box. Otherwise you could get a cheap Saginaw pump, maybe even remote resevoir, and use that soley for the winch. I never thought about using a clutch pulley from an A/C compressor . . . clever! The 12 volt hydraulic pumps can be purchsed for a couple hundred bucks . . . not cheap but not rediculously expensive. You can save a lot of money on them by betting your own resevoir rather than buying a pump with a built in res.

The only way I'd use a setup like that for steering is if I was going full hydro. Scrap the steering box and go to an orbital valve with a double ended ram.

 

I dont think a powersteering pump will put out 5gpm under pressure. how many psi does the winch specify? If your transmission has a pto port on the side you could just bolt a pump up there. And a hydraulic clutch pump putting out 7.6gpm at 2000 rpm costs around $350 for just the pump and clutch you would still have to mount and drive it.

 

I run my hydro from an independent saginaw pump right now. Later on when it goes to the trail rig I'm building it will be run from a pto mounted pump-should make it run at a faster line speed I'm thinking. The 12v pump isnt a good idea- they are typically only for intermittent use and dont put out diddly for volume. The clutch pump is a good idea if you are willing to pay the price for the pump and have the room to mount it.

 

One hydro pump i think that would work great for this would be the ones that are used on grain loader 20hp motors to run bin sweeps. They use a remote resivor and the pulley size is about that of an ac clutch. It puts out around 5gpm, and if not its pretty darn close. I remember reading somewhere that, correct me if i'm wrong, PS pumps are around 2-3 gpm.

Thats some great info jesse460, i think that the cross connected system would be an easier way for myself to go about it.

 

Am I correct in understanding that a lower GPM will not affect the power of the winch, only the speed? I assume that as long as your pressure is high enough the winch will still pull its rated load, just a little slow.

I checked good old ebay and there's some decent 12v pumps with resevoirs for a around $350. I think one was rated at 5GPM though I don't remember the PSI.

 

that would be to much power draw to run a 12 volt pump i feel, thats y i wanted a hydro unit. I hate straining the elec. system like that!!! The truck is a 1974 f250 high boy with a 428 cj and a c6 trany divorced mounted t-case which has a pto output but u would have to be moving the wheels to make flow. is there a way i could team up two steering pumps?

 

Teaming up PS pumps will not increase your GPM any. Personally I'd MUCH rather have another electric accessory than another parastitic drain on my HP. I have a 200 amp alternator and dual Optimas so it's no big deal. Those pumps are used on lots of vehicles including snow plows so it's not like they draw a rediculous amount of power. Just my 2 cents.