Adjusting/Changing Power Steering Pump on recent PS + HB Conversion

[bfoldy]

After 20 years with manual steering and brakes, I recently upgraded to power steering and hydro boosted brakes. While I expected it would take some time to get used to, TBH, I'm not loving the experience so far. I believe everything is operating as designed, however, I'm finding the power steering too light and the braking too sensitive for my liking. (Essentially, I wish a little more effort were required from the driver) I'm reaching out to see if anyone has some guidance on whether an alternate pump or if adjusting the flow rates of my system would make things feel a bit heavier and more natural.

Here are some details of my setup:

• Tires: 33" x 10.5"
• Power Steering Box: Brand new PSC unit from Tom's
• Power Steering Pump: Saginaw dual return pump from Wild Horses
• Hydroboost Unit: Also brand new from Wild Horses

I'm seeking advice on if there is a more optimal pump, or if adjusting the flow rates or pressure down can help achieve a more balanced steering and braking response.

Has anyone here done similar adjustments with inline flow restrictors or pressure reducers? Any insights on what flow rate settings might work well with this setup?

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[SteveL]

Relax. Its your body adjusting to the upgrades. Drive it a bit and get used to it. I did end up adding the wilwood proportioning valve to adjust the front/rear bias. If the rear brakes are still too touchy bc sells an LBS valve help with rear lock up.

 

[Wild horse 75]

Hydraboost brakes are very sensitive. You just need to get use to them. You can get different valves to go in the back of the pump to change the flow and pressure but you need to be very careful because you need specific flow and pressure for the booster. You can also get an adjustable valve you can put in line to the steering box that bleeds pressure back to the reservoir to make the steering heavier.

 

[gr8scott]

Hydroboost Unit: Also brand new from Wild Horses

So you got a WH hydroboost kit. You didn't by any chance choose the Wilwood master cylinder with the 1" bore?

 

[dmoses42]

I'm not an expert on any of it, but I'll ask anyway... How does the steering compare to your daily driver? Same for brakes? If your master cylinder bore is more than 1-1/8 your brakes will probably be too touchy. Speaking on steering, do you happen to have a smaller aftermarket steering wheel? If it's smaller than factory, that will affect steering feel. How long have you had these systems installed? Gotta dig into the small details to get the right answers. Just trying to help.....

 

[bfoldy]

Relax. Its your body adjusting to the upgrades. Drive it a bit and get used to it. I did end up adding the wilwood proportioning valve to adjust the front/rear bias. If the rear brakes are still too touchy bc sells an LBS valve help with rear lock up.

Ha! I have to admit, relaxing isn't exactly my strong suit! I managed to take it out for a spin over the past three days, once the rain cleared up, and I'm starting to get used to it more. I do have a proportioning valve and believe is adjusted quite well, as I can avoid brake lock-up even under full pressure. That said, if I were designing an ideal setup, I'd prefer more effort being required for both braking and steering.

 

[bfoldy]

So you got a WH hydroboost kit. You didn't by any chance choose the Wilwood master cylinder with the 1" bore?

I already had the CPP master cylinder from Wild Horses installed a few years back (aka the Corvette M/C), which I think has a 1 1/8" bore. However, your comment got me thinking about a concept I've picked up from this forum over the years: the bore size of the master cylinder likely affects the foot pressure required. As I understand it, a smaller bore would mean lower effort, while a larger bore would require more, given the increased mass displacement. Is that correct? If so, perhaps a larger bore MC would give me the pedal feel I want.

 

[bfoldy]

I'm not an expert on any of it, but I'll ask anyway... How does the steering compare to your daily driver? Same for brakes? If your master cylinder bore is more than 1-1/8 your brakes will probably be too touchy. Speaking on steering, do you happen to have a smaller aftermarket steering wheel? If it's smaller than factory, that will affect steering feel. How long have you had these systems installed? Gotta dig into the small details to get the right answers. Just trying to help.....

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. To address your questions: For the past few years, I've been driving a Tesla that has electric steering with settings ranging from Comfort to Normal to Sport. I consistently prefer the Sport setting. I'm sure this skews my perspective on the steering and braking of the Bronco, making me more critical of its feel.

Currently, I'm using the original steering wheel on the Bronco. I'm considering a switch to a smaller wheel, hoping that this might decrease the leverage and increase the steering effort.

I should also note that at the time of my initial post, the hydroboost and power steering had been installed for just a couple of days, with only 1 or 2 drives under my belt. That limited experience made the change feel very drastic and somewhat off-putting. While I'm gradually getting used to it, I'm still exploring ways to refine and improve the driving experience.

 

[gr8scott]

As I understand it, a smaller bore would mean lower effort, while a larger bore would require more, given the increased mass displacement. Is that correct?

Yes. 1 1/8" inch bore is perfect. It will start to feel "right" after a few hundred miles.
As for your steering, are you using a steering damper?

 

[bfoldy]

Yes. 1 1/8" inch bore is perfect. It will start to feel "right" after a few hundred miles.
As for your steering, are you using a steering damper?

Quick update on the hydro boost and power steering impressions after 300 miles:

Everyone was right- getting used to the hydro boost wasn't hard and braking has become natural.

Still, the power steering is lighter than I'd like. I love the quick 3.75 ratio when parking or turning streets, etc., but it still feels very very light. Still running the stock 16" steering wheel so I'll likely swap my stock 16" wheel for the stock-looking 14.5" version from Tom's for a bit more steering effort. Based on calculations, the smaller wheel will reduce the leverage by 9.4% and increase the effort required by that amount.

Finally, the steering damper was one of the very first updates 20 years ago and I think I'll treat my truck to a new one.

 

[toddz69]

Going to a smaller wheel will definitely make a difference. I've run a smaller wheel on my truck for many years and I've been very surprised by how much difference it makes in steering feel. My truck also seems to have a lot more road feel/resistance to it in the steering than a lot of Broncos I've driven, which often seem to drive like overboosted 60s/70s cars to me. I don't know if it's a particular feel in my box or because the pump (Explorer) doesn't put out as much flow/pressure as the Saginaw pumps. There's a fair bit of "tuning" that can be done with the P pumps.

Do you have any idea what the caster readings are for your front end?

Todd Z.

 

[bfoldy]

Thanks, Todd! I've got a new 14.5" steering wheel on order and looking forward to seeing how it feels. Hearing your experience with the Explorer pump makes me a little bummed I tossed the Explorer pump and bracket. I think the dual return saginaw is overkill for my application. I may look in to swapping pumps or tuning depending on how things go with these first steps.

Good call on the caster question. Unfortunately, I don't have caster readings readily available since it's been nearly 6 years on these tires and no recent alignments. The alignment paperwork is buried somewhere with other receipts and notes. Even with the old manual box the steering wheel turned very easy at speed.

I did replace the old rubber for poly c-bushings early on (about 20 years ago), and I think I used 7° bushings for the 2.5" lift springs, but there's a chance they could be 4° because I'm totally going off memory. I'm currently considering swapping the coil front springs from 2.5" to 1.5" now that I have a 1" body lift as I'd like a slightly lower stance and my rear leaf springs are 1.5". If I do go with new 1.5" front coil springs, this will give me a chance to revisit the c-bushing choice.

 

[Brush Hog]

I used same ps from Tom’s. Had same issue with steering feeling too light/easy. An alignment and toe adjustment helped and then I added drop pitman arm and track bar drop bracket and that helped even more. Have it right about where I want now.