Question about air assist power steering kits for m35... shelf life ???

Hey guys, I found a power steering kit in the box locally for $2000
I can trade in a couple of guns, so I would have around 1800 in it.

My Question is The box date of manufacture is 1996
There is a guy on fleabay selling them with a 2010 manufacture date. He says NOT to buy one with an older date due to dried seals, etc...

Whatcha think ??

Thanks !!

Just me thinkin but before I spent 2k on air assist I'd sell a gun or two if you got spares and buy a true power kit.

Streetgliderx said:

Just me thinkin but before I spent 2k on air assist I'd sell a gun or two if you got spares and buy a true power kit.

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Is the hydraulic a lot better unit ?

Search the forum most say air assist isn't no more than a small child tuggin on the wheel. No personal experience with air but I'm goin hydro

I think the hydraulic power steering is better. Check out Waterloo Specialties. I believe they have a very nice hydraulic power steering kit for around $2600 if I remember correctly.

They come in a sealed foil cover. They last a long time on the truck in the weather, Sunlight is rubbers worst enemy, 10 years is nothing sealed in a box.

Air assist is a nice addition. It was the first thing I did to my truck. I would do it again. Easy to install and everything appears as it should. I'm am installing a 18" steering wheel to allow a quicker turn to lock. I can steer my truck with one hand.


Seems like a fair price. Good luck whichever you decide.

$2000 isn't bad. I have a 95' dated air assist that I'm about to install on my truck without any second thoughts. It is a n.o.s unit also.

The hydraulic setups are better as far as performance but the air assist units work very well also. The a3's came standard with air assist and it's not often you see them changing it out for hydraulic steering. On my buddies bobber the air assist will turn 14.00-20s on pavement while sitting still. Get moving a bit and steering is easily a one handed maneuver.

auctionaddict said:

My Question is The box date of manufacture is 1996
There is a guy on fleabay selling them with a 2010 manufacture date. He says NOT to buy one with an older date due to dried seals, etc...

Whatcha think ??

Click to expand...

I think someone is trying to pitch a sale pretty hard.

I shoot ammo from the 50's with no problem. When I opened the crate, the ammo still looks brand new.

I think the hydraulic kits are the way to go. The air assist is way better than non assist but if in a tight spot with lots of turning you will run out of air.

I'd suggest hydraulic but there is a new air assist on that auction site for $1400 +$42 shipping. I'd use that as bargaining for your local power steering kit.

There was a kit right here in the classifieds for $1,500 (I think).

I heard all the stories of how the air assist wasn't very good but I found one cheap so I thought "what the heck, I'll try it out". I was pleasantly surprised. True, it's not as good as hyd but it is a vast improvement over the stock setup.

The main improvement I found with the air assist is don't use the air regulator with the kit. Run the air line directly to the drag link unit. I installed mine that way and have seen no problems sending 120psi to the unit. The truck steers best with 90psi +.

I wouldn't worry about build dates too much. My air assist came off a old junk bus (I'd say '60s vintage) that had been sitting in the woods for who knows how many years. It still works as good as new.

go Hydraulic the air steering is a joke

BradBMI said:

go Hydraulic the air steering is a joke

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You base this on?

I honestly don't know why people hate the air assist so much. As I said above, hyd is better (judging by civi trucks I've driven of similar size with hyd) but the air assist is more than adequate. The only thing I've noticed with the air assist is you have to pull on the steering wheel pretty good to steer sitting completely still. After you start rolling the least amount, steering gets very easy.

I will say that the air assist does take some getting used to. When moving slow it does take a split second for the assist to catch up and help you. I don't see it as much of a problem but you can feel it a little in the wheel. I haven't noticed it much on the road.

The air assist also gives a slightly looser feel out on the road. I attribute this to the small amount of slack the drag link unit has as it works (it moves in and out slightly). Again, nothing terrible but you can feel it. I'd say somebody that hadn't driven a deuce with and without air assist would never notice either of these differences.

I feel like the hatred of the air assist is people parrot what they read somewhere else. You get enough people repeating the same thing and it becomes the assumed truth. I'm sure there are a few people who have used air assist and for whatever reason hate it. But, I'd bet 90% of the people who trash talk it have never used it...ever.

I agree that hydraulic power steering is better. If you can find an air assist unit for say...A few hundred to a 1000 cheaper than hydraulic I think it is the smarter way to go. The air assist has limits but if you can save that much money it is worth it. The air assist works very very well compared to manual steering.

People need to remember that not everyone has $2800 to spend on hydraulic steering. But, they might have $1500 for an air assist unit. Which, aside from making the truck more pleasant to drive, it is also a HUGE safety improvement.

If I was going to pay $2000 for air assist, I would spend another $800 and get the hydro setup. If I found a nice air assist kit for $1400 though, I would probably go for it.

I went with Tom's kit (Waterloo Specialties) you might want to contact him he is a member on here and gave me a Steel Soldiers discount which brought the price down much closer to the air assist kit. If you can source your own steering box from a junk yard you could have hydraulic for about what the air assist will cost.

I have air assist on one of my deuces. I like it a lot better than stock. Night and day difference. Mine came installed on the truck when I bought the truck. The prior owner dented the large cylinder and had to buy a replacement. The cylinder sits right behind the axle. He was rock crawling. For that use, it should have a skid plate installed.

I really like the steering setups on 5 ton trucks, using hydraulic assist. My tube frame rock crawler buggy has full hydraulic steering from PSC. It is a bit scary at high speed.

i can't speak to the Waterloo kit, but the air assist is a nice addition to a deuce.

I don't see any reason why the air assist is "junk". I've never used either setup (our bobber has air assist but isn't running), but based on cost and what you actually get for the money, I'd opt for hydraulic. Clinto was saying he's driven a truck with Tom's kit and it was like driving a typical sedan with power steering, very smooth and you can palm the wheel to lock at a dead stop. Now if money is a huge issue and the air steer is significantly cheaper, then clearly go that route. Either way you end up, you're doing better than the manual steering.