hydroboost or rear disc

[Vegas-Misfit]

thank you for the input icanfixall... so the parts IM getting from a 1990 F350 will fit my 86?... and i should get 1990 superduty power steering lines as well as 1990 front and rear rubber brake lines correct?... i really do appreciate all the help and wealth of knowledge floating around this forum

 

[icanfixall]

In all honesty I can't really tell you yes is the answer because I have not done the swap on that model truck. Some of the others that have may chime in before long. My turck was an 89 crewcab with an E4OD auto trans. Lucky for me I found an F super duty in a wrecking yard that just had the master cylinder and the hydroboost replaced. So I took it complete. I needed the brake peddle because the pin height was wrong on my truck. So I went back and got that too. I don't recall the exact year of the truck either but I'm thinking it was 90 or 91.. If your truck has the standard tran you will need a differant brake peddle than what I used. The standard trans trucks have a larger main brake and clutch peddle shaft. And they are tuff to remove from the trucks. I really don't like working under the dash on any car or truck.. I hurt my back in 96 and its never going to be ok.. Its just how it is now.. Lucky for me it was an industrial accident too. So any dr appt costs me nothing but the hurt is an everyday thing. I have learned to just deal with it but sometimes I just want to scream it hurts so bad. So far there is nothing that can be done... Several dr have told me the same thing... Not bad enough to warrant surgery... Wow.. Whats with that...

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

i was told i could modify my brake pedal i would just need to drill a hole higher or lower on the pedal

 

[RLDSL]

Hydro boost is the hot setup. They put that on at the factory on those big huge buses and dump trucks and delivery trucks, it is extremely effective ( although I do like the electric pump backup on the larger units a bit better than the accumulator that comes on these smaller units, but these wil still stop fairly easily if the pump belt fails )
Just make sure you have GOOD friction material, get the semi metallics or ceramics uofront and the ambulance grade on the back and you wont have fade issues, and replace all teh hardware and make sure to grease the adjuster threads with syl-glide silicone brake grease and they will work. Mine work fine, but you MUST make regular jaunts in reverse with multiple stops to keep brake shoes in adjustment, and people have gotten spoiled and forgetten how. I have a nice hill in front of my house and as often as I can when theres no traffic, I'll let it roll backwards when leaving the house and hit the brakes to a stop about 10 times or so to keep the brakes adjusted up. It keeps me from having to crawl under.

Drum brakes are actually very efficient, and the add on kits are generaly less efficient , the only way you would make them better with disc would be to get an f450/ superduty axle and swap the whole thing on there brakes and all, but you are going to wind up with a lower gear ratio and if I'm not mistaken, 10 lug wheels

 

[bike-maker]

Get a brake pedal from a F-Superduty also; it will bolt right in to your current pedal assembly and has the pin in the correct position.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

but since IM buying all the parts new i dont know where a donor truck with a brake pedal is laying around so IM just going to re drill my old pedal if i have too

 

[Black dawg]

Another thing that helps alot, is proportioning so that the rears are actually used. Rear brakes on these trucks last a long time, the factory proportioning doesnt hardly put any to the rear.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

so how would i proportion the hydroboost unit???... a new valve or what?

 

[Black dawg]

proportioning is in the master cyl, and there is also a part that screws inline on the rear brake line port that also proportions.

If you look around, you can find some of those that are solid, and this will put more to the rear.

 

[bike-maker]

80-86 trucks use a frame mounted proportioning valve. The MC mounted version is on the newer trucks. The newer trucks (F-Superduty included) have different fittings on the MC, which is why you are ahead to just reuse your stock cast iron MC that's on your truck now.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

werent the eyelits WAY off on the current master cylinder than they would be on the hydroboost MC???

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

if someone who has done the swap chimes in with a complete parts list that they use i think that would be the best... so hopefully that will happen soon and i can get everything i need first before i tear into the truck and realize IM missing something

 

[gandalf]

so hydro boost first?... and i was told to get all the parts off of a 1990 F-350 or 450... is that correct info?

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your question, and I'm surprised nobody has commented on this.

The F-350 never came stock with hydroboost. That was only one the F-Superduty. I can't tell you the exact years for a good trouble-free crossover, but it can be done.

I got my parts at the local Pick-n-Pull for $50. I got the hydroboost unit, a 1 5/16 M/C, and both high pressure lines. I didn't need the brake pedal because I hit the right year for an easy crossover.

I'm not at all sure I'd drill a new hole in the brake pedal to correct that. You can put a lot of pressure on that pedal trying to stop, and the extra hole will make it that little bit weaker. I can see the posibility, in a panic stop, of actually bending/snapping the pedal. That could really ruin your day.

 

[bike-maker]

You need:
Booster
Pushrod (some of the new boosters don't come with one)
1 pressure line from power steering pump to booster
1 pressure line from booster to steering box
1 return line (mine's just 3/8" fuel line)
reservoir for back of power steering pump (with spots for 2 return lines)
Should probably replace the O-ring for the reservoir while it's apart.
Brake pedal. If you mod your own the pin needs to move up 3/4"

There's been some discussion about just T-ing the return lines from the power steering pump and booster together; some believe it causes issues. The F-Superduty reservoir is the same as your current one except it has 1 extra (superfluous?) nipple on it. I gathered my parts from a junkyard, so I just took the whole power steering pump.

 

[Vegas-Misfit]

and how hard is it to get the power steering pump off???... and rock auto has a hydroboost unit listed for a 1990 f350 and it is a new motorcraft unit which is what i was going off of... the measurements on the hydroboost unit are 33.33mm bore i think that is the correct one