K5 Hydro Assist

[wlwarnke]

Just finished this upgrade.

I built the tie rod out of 1.5” x .250 DOM with threaded inserts and HD Tie Rods (ES2010).

Got the ram kit from WTO.

1.5” ID tube clamp from Barnes.

The WTO kit came with hoses, hardware, ram, weld on tabs, and fittings.

I had already rebuilt and ported my gearbox back when I did crossover steering. I had the JIC6 fitting ready to go a capped off.

Steering is definitely lighter and takes a few miles to get used to after being stiff for ever.

To make bleeding the system quick and easy, I saved connecting the lines to the gearbox for last. I then used a syringe to fill the lines and the cylinder, then removed caps and connect to the box. I only had to move the tires lock to lock 4 or so times, too off the resi and was hood to go.

I finally found a use for the hose clamps I got from Amazon. Had to file them down to get a snug fit. Then made a bracket out of 1/8” angle to secure the hoses at the bump stop bracket.

All in, I’m about $600 at most.

I can finally palm the wheel lock to lock sitting on concrete with 35s and 30psi.

 

[CalSgt]

Cool project, it looks great. The ram sits nice & parallel to the tie rod too

 

[wlwarnke]

Spend the extra time to make it all fit and clear. It’s tight in a few spots on the 10 bolt with a little over 8” stroke lock to lock.

I’m very pleased with the results. I honestly feel like this would benefit any solid axle truck. Especially GM K Trucks and heavy ass diesels.

Just getting the stress away from the frame and steering box has got to help tremendously.