Discovered a new aftermarket part for our trucks!

[Agnem]

It's not every day you find something you can buy new that's made for these babies.

http://hydratechbraking.com/products/ford_trucks/


Now the question is, do I need one of these, or just get a Ford one for my Hydroboost conversion?

 

[Diesile]

Good question Agnem. I imagine most of us want to stop as well as if not
better than we accelerate. I assume the Ford version is a substantial cost
difference?

 

[icanfixall]

Thats a nice unit but.... Where is the power steering pump resivour?. The price is really steep too but it seems to be a really nice setup with the lines coming off the bottom and stainless braided too. I wonder if thats a 1 1/8 or 1 5/16 bore mc....

 

[sle2115]

Wow, stop the presses, Mel is thinking about something aftermarket! His Ford dealership will have a stroke!!! Hope they don't see his post!

Just ribbin ya, my truck seems to stop very well, so I'll leave it all the way it is.

 

[greythorn3]

seems a little overpriced

Ray

 

[trackspeeder]

Nice set up. You can save a few clams with Ford parts.

 

[Dirtleg]

O.K. I am naive on the hydroboost $ for factory parts but I didn't have a stroke over that number. Are factory parts really less than that new. I tried to get a new PS fluid reservoir from the dealer and was basically told to screw off. They swore they were not avaliable seperately. $220 for a PS pump there. I said no thanks. Of course I know that's not the case but I don't buy anything from the dealer because they always say they cannot get/ or sell the part I want. I've been there plenty and almost always leave frustrated/empty handed.(yes I have been told that they cannot sell a part )

I have never seen the hydroboost truck in a junkyard that I am aware of. Of course I don't go much as there is no time available for me to do so. If I took the amount of time it would take to find, remove, inspect and repair a used system vs $700 for a brand new one I am sure the numbers aren't much different. Might even be cheaper depending on what has to be repaired on the used unit and how much trouble it is to locate parts.

 

[RLDSL]

Price sucks, and I can see one other problem, they list those as not DOT certified. as in cant be used on highway. They try to get cutsie about it but on brake parts, running non DOT approved stuff can get you in a world of hurt if you get in an accident, like if an insurance investigator gets called out and sees that, you're dropped and your house is history. Same reason you can't use Aeroquip brake lines on the street, even though they're ten times stronger than factory lines.
If you grab a hydroboost of an f450 it already has been DOT approved so no problems.
I wouldn't touch one of those aftermarket things with a ten foot pole.

 

[poolguy]

seems a little overpriced

Ray

I saw your avatar and completely forgot what this thread was about!
Thanks!

Chuck

 

[towcat]

mel-
is there any truck wreckers in your area with F450's in the yard? Even at the priceiest(sp) wrecker in my area, Monte put down $260 for his conversion. If you do go wrecker, do specify for the brake pedal too. That is why the aftermarket has the pushrod with the "jog" in it.
Or.....if you want to piece it together, check the "parts bin" or gimme a call.

 

[schoelta]

I see that most people are talking about modifying a system off a newer F450 to work on these older trucks. Why not just use the stock parts from a 93 F250/F350 with a 7.3L N/A engine? Since the 7.3 and 6.9's are basically the same engine, why won't this work? I can get all the lines, hydro-boost, and master cylinder from Autozone for $400. What parts would be different?

Tim

 

[towcat]

I see that most people are talking about modifying a system off a newer F450 to work on these older trucks. Why not just use the stock parts from a 93 F250/F350 with a 7.3L N/A engine? Since the 7.3 and 6.9's are basically the same engine, why won't this work? I can get all the lines, hydro-boost, and master cylinder from Autozone for $400. What parts would be different?

Tim

tim-
the ORIGINAL F450 came into being back in 1988. Frame and suspension is a completely different animal compared to F250/350. Hydro wasn't offered in the f250/350 until the '99 and up models. Those hydro units are also full metric units and require extensive mods to work in the '97 and older trucks. So.....the candidate of least resistance is the F450 from '88-'97. What do you need? the pump housing with two return nipples, the high pressure hoses, the hydro itself, the brake pedal arm, and the master cyl. No other mods necessary. for all intents and purposes, it's plug-n-play.

 

[Diezel_Cowboy]

I dont see the point in such a conversion/system. I have been in the newer trucks when sitting still and foot on the brake the steering wheel just about locks up and I dont like the idea of something going wrong in the ps system and loosing both brakes and steering at the same time!

 

[schoelta]

tim-
the ORIGINAL F450 came into being back in 1988. Frame and suspension is a completely different animal compared to F250/350. Hydro wasn't offered in the f250/350 until the '99 and up models. Those hydro units are also full metric units and require extensive mods to work in the '97 and older trucks. So.....the candidate of least resistance is the F450 from '88-'97. What do you need? the pump housing with two return nipples, the high pressure hoses, the hydro itself, the brake pedal arm, and the master cyl. No other mods necessary. for all intents and purposes, it's plug-n-play.

At the Autozone I work for, I could not find any hydro for any truck older than 93. We don't list the 450's or superduties, just the 250's and 350's for that year. That is why I was suggesting to use those trucks.

Tim

 

[Agnem]

Well lets see... I just priced out the parts new from my Ford dealer, and getting them at my discounted price, the total was $747. Ouch. That's still a little cheaper than this aftermarket jobby I linked to. Now if your unable to get the deals I do, then the aftermarket may well be cheaper for you. Too bad we can't use the 99 and up hydroboost unit, as they are about half the cost of the F450 one. I guess I'm going with the Ford unit, just because their is no guarantee I could find this aftermarket jobby somewhere in a hurry if I broke down. I don't have any good junk yards around me, and don't mind paying for quality new parts, so I'll go this route especially since we have demonstrated experience with it if I have any questions. As for me using aftermarket stuff, I've never been against accessorizing with aftermarket stuff as long as it was better than the original. If I already had chrome valve covers, and trailered this truck to the rallies then the aftermarket unit would be much more appealing. It's not like I would be installing an aftermarket vacuum booster or something. As for the poster wondering why I'm doing this, it is part of my pre-rally upgrade plan which this year includes Hydroboost (which allows me to completely get rid of all vacuum related stuff on my truck - one less belt, one less rotating assembly to wear out, a few less hoses and a small gain in underhood space), Electric fan, moving the radiator back to make room for an intercooler, and a high capacity alternator. I'll be surprised if all that gets done by June.