Ok, I have had quite a few people ask me what the heck is Hydro Assist steering. Well, instead of trying to splain everything, I took a few pics that will lay it all out. PLEASE understand that the fittings on the hoses are not completely conected yet.This is only a mock-up for visual purposes.
Ok, Just like a normal powersteering system you have a fluid reservoir. It has 2 lines that run out/into it. The large blue line runs from the reservoir to the powersteering pump. This hose is HUGE as it carries a LOT of fluid to the pump. It is not a high pressure line
The black line from the bottom of the Res is the fluid return line and comes in from the powersteering gear box. It is not a high pressure line either.
Next we have the powersteering pump. The big blue line comes in from the reservoir. It is not a high pressure line. The black line leads out of the pump and into the powersteering gear box. This IS a high pressure line.
Now for the BIG mess! The Powersteering box! there 4 lines coming/going from this box. The black one on the left with the hose fitting is coming from the Pump and is a high pressure line. The black hose to the right is the return line to the fluid reservoir. It is not a high pressure line. If this didn't have those blue hoses it would be a standard powersteering system. But it is not! The blue hoses are attached to ports in the steering box. These ports run to a Hydraulic ram/cylinder and provide the "assist" to the steering box.
The ram performs a large part of the load and puts less strain on the steering box itself. The Ram on "hydro assist" attaches to the top of the differential housing and then to the Tire rod and assists turning the vehicle. With hydro assist you still maintain the mechanical linkage of the draglink and if a line breaks or the pump fails you still can control the steering (although not very easily)
