HYDRO T-20

[srg121]

thinking of ditching all mechanical lingages and using hydaulics.going with shorter sticks coming up at a 45 from uder the seat using single acting spring return small bore cylinders. yes i like the springs...i grew up with a max and cant get used to having to push faward to go.the e brake is simply a motocycle style front disc brake set up w/locking lever on left stick.split reverse is a little trickier requiring 2 double acting masters and 2 double acting cylinders.might be too expensive for the double acting units though.

[Mike]

Just asking but what do you gain by doing that? It seems like you introduce multiple failure points for nothing? I may be missing something though.

If you are just wanting the springs and shorter sticks you can do that now without hydraulics. Just spring the sticks like a Max on the bottom of the T20.

Also, with the brake on the T20, if your chains break then you don't have an E-brake. It would probably be better if you had the disk directly on the axle.

Just thinking out loud.

[srg121]

space is really tight couse of the back seat floor pan.where i want to move my stick pivits to theres no room for the crossover shafts for the offset sticks.id also be much lighter and simpler to get from the front to the back,not a lot of room under the floor of a hustler. ive had dirt bikes for years and never had problems w/hydraulic brakes,the master cylinders for the sticks will be the same as a dirt bike rear brake.as for the e brake disk its allready on the trans like all hustlers,i just want to update and get rid of the cheesy handle, cable and mecanically opperated pads

[jpswift1]

Hey srg121, I need a cable for my Hustler if you would be willing to sell yours when you go and do your conversion I would certainly appreciate it. Also, my friend is restoring a Hustler and he could use the brake caliper, handle, and other nuts and bolts along with it. If you want to get rid of it, please let me know. Thanks!

[thejunkman]

levers

I thought of designing the same for my max so older people that cant pull the sticks back can still operate the machines built similar to the scrambler design.

[Mike]

Gotcha! That makes sense then. As for the brake, I didn't realize that it was already on the trans. Stupid me .

I thought you were just wanting shorter sticks but I see what you are trying to accomplish now. I guess the great thing about hydraulics and the spring is that the force of the spring will easily be overcome without any extra effort from the driver. So you get the benefits of always being in forward but don't have to strain to get the sticks pulled back.

Are you going to go ahead and try it? If so post up some pictures of your progress. Sounds interesting.

[srg121]

im doin it

ill definitly post pics of proggress,heres a pic of a dune buggy hydraulic clutch/brake assembly im thinkin about buying for the steering to go under seat,just need to cut off foot peddals and weld on a pair of fixed blade knife handles. after thinking bout what u said im thinking bout removing trans disc and installing dual front disc brakes attatched to front axles w/foot peddal .as long as im off the gas i can use them as my primarry brakes,saving extra wear on t-20 brake drums and all the chains

[srg121]

here's another cool setup....its a dual stick steering brake for rock crawler 4x4,alowing them to brake the right and left separately giving them a skid steer effect simmilar to an argo

[thejunkman]

levers

what did you decide on using for the cylinders on the transmission?

[srg121]

getting prices

found slave cylinders for hydraulic clutches in cars for $12 on ebay but want to get price from allenair for brass or stainless steel Small Bore Cylinders

[srg121]

also

found this hydraulic clutch conversion kit for old land cruiser,just would need to fab my own sticks,thinkin bout t-handles like this ratcliffe custom,check out the t-throttle

[micmac]

Srg,

just thinking about your set up. Are you concerned about shifting the T 20 with hydraulics possibly breaking the diamond shifter pins. I'm wondering if you'll lose the finesse that is sometimes required to get it into gear, if so could you possibly damage the shifters?

Mike

[srg121]

im not using high pressure or a pump,i can apply as much or as little pressure i want and get direct force feedback from trans cylinder to "feel" when gears slip into place,ill also only be shifting one side,less gears to mesh,for my most of my reverse duty(backing straight out of garage)other side just needs stickpulled back to "relaxed" position

[micmac]

Ok I understand now sounds good

[jerseybigfoot]

Here is a link for Wilwood Wilwood Engineering's High Performance Products . I have just a couple of comments on the mod. In many cases the trans needs some additional effort against the sticks when going up hill. You will have to adjust your spring tension to maximum with the slave cylinder routine. you will have to determine the best ratio for the slave cylinder to master cylinder piston Also the greater the hydraulic (mechanical) advantage the longer the lateral travel.
The double acting cylinder for the shift link has greater power on the piston side of the cylinder than the rod side, so your effort will be greater in one direction.