Electric Vacuum pump vs Hydro-boost swap

[John_piv]

Hey y'all,
Just had my third mechanical vacuum pump die on me, so I've decided to replace it with something else. I could go with the electric pump route, just plumbing into my existing lines; or run a hydro-boost setup. I've done a hydro-boost conversion before, albeit on an old bronco; but I know that there's a lot of work that goes into a swap like that.

Question is, which one is honestly better, or I guess which is more worth the time/money? Have they got a hydro-boost kit for these trucks or am I piecing things together? What's a good electric pump for these rigs?

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!

 

[BlindAmbition]

My understanding is the electric vacuum pump would need to be quite substantial to be adequate enough for a vacuum brake booster.

Generally from what I've read an electric vacuum pump is used after doing a hydroboost swap because about the only thing you're using vacuum for is HVAC vents and cruise if you've got an older vacuum cruise control.

I used a 2000s Super Duty vacuum pump after doing my hydroboost swap. The booster came from an early 90s Super Duty truck, not the newer 98+ models, but the older ones. I had to modify my brake pedal, otherwise it was a fairly straightforward swap which is documented in my build thread.

 

[u2slow]

I did the conversion with a genuine motorcraft f-superduty booster. I don't think you can get it anymore.

The trouble is the remans I could find don't come with everything (intermediate pushrod), so you need to start with a complete used unit. Or have to smarts to make or substitute one the right length.

 

[hacked89]

I did the conversion with a genuine motorcraft f-superduty booster. I don't think you can get it anymore.

The trouble is the remans I could find don't come with everything (intermediate pushrod), so you need to start with a complete used unit. Or have to smarts to make or substitute one the right length.

To OP - no question hydro

To u2- just bought a reman from Napa had everything. I swapped everything in like 30 min

 

[John_piv]

So I'm likely going to end up doing the hydroboost swap, but in the meantime; what's a good electric pump to use? If I need it for A/C and cruise later, I may as well add it now so I can keep driving the truck.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

You may not be able to drive the truck even with an electric vacuum pump. Most of them out there won't be big enough to power your brake booster. They just aren't made for producing that much vacuum.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Yep the electric will not work for vacuum brakes unless it's a monster. I've never heard of one big enough, been lots of people asking over the years.
The pump you get for the hydro conversion will only run the A/C and such, brakes maybe one push after 5 mins of pump time. It's a tiny little guy.

 

[hacked89]

Yea like the other guys said not something you want to do. I’ve used the muscle car kits before that use a res and turn on and off but it sucks. One truck I bought was setup like that. I also wiring it for the pump to run continuous no res. It burns the pump up though. I can guarantee it will last up to 6 hours but nothing past that.

Also, I’ve used pumps from summit in the above nothing crazy and they worked fine but it’s not sustainable

 

[Greenie]

The original vacuum pump lasted 270K miles+ - I replaced the original with a NAPA vacuum pump 2 years ago after seeing all the problems dome folks were having with them here. The original worked fine. The replacement works fine. The lift pump was replaced more than 12 years ago. I'm interested to know why I have so much better results with replacement lift and vacuum pumps than some others here.

 

[John_piv]

Ah, so it seems like a EP for just the breaks isn't gonna work. Which HB booster do I need specifically? I used an Astro van booster on my bronco, but I'm not sure that'll work here.

 

[chillman88]

You can source an electric vacuum pump that will work, but all the ones I've seen that are substantial enough cost more than a hydroboost setup! I can't remember but there was something available in the medium duty truck market. I think it was in the $400-500 range. Been a while since I looked.

When you do the hydroboost conversion just get a replacement e-pump for a mid 2000s F350 to run the HVAC controls.

What year is the truck? Pre 92 used vacuum for the cruise control and I don't know if the small e pump will work with that or not. I've never tried.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

The original vacuum pump lasted 270K miles+ - I replaced the original with a NAPA vacuum pump 2 years ago after seeing all the problems dome folks were having with them here. The original worked fine. The replacement works fine. The lift pump was replaced more than 12 years ago. I'm interested to know why I have so much better results with replacement lift and vacuum pumps than some others here.

Lots of variable, mainly that the quality control blows these days. So some people will have good experiences and others will not.

Another factor is mileage driven. "2 years on my pump" could mean 2k or 50k, all depends on the driver. I've found that wear items last longer on my pickup for this reason. Even when I daily drove her I wouldn't put more than 15k a year on it. (Cause I'm allergic to driving long distances or times to work and back. Only 20 mins to work, no traffic, and 18 miles. And we barely travel.)

 

[snicklas]

You can source an electric vacuum pump that will work, but all the ones I've seen that are substantial enough cost more than a hydroboost setup! I can't remember but there was something available in the medium duty truck market. I think it was in the $400-500 range. Been a while since I looked.

When you do the hydroboost conversion just get a replacement e-pump for a mid 2000s F350 to run the HVAC controls.

What year is the truck? Pre 92 used vacuum for the cruise control and I don't know if the small e pump will work with that or not. I've never tried.

Yep, they are out there. The 2011 and 2012 3.5EB F-150 have an electric vacuum pump for the brakes and other vacuum needs. It mounts inside the inner fender below the drivers side headlight. The replacement Motorcraft pump kit from RockAuto is over $450, and the pump is almost the same size a a portable 12 volt air compressor. The pump works well for the brakes on my truck. I’m sure it would work for an IDI also…. But a replacement belt driven pump, or even hydroboost is less than $450… plus having to mount it, and plumb/wire it in….

If I did decide to experiment with this route, I would “borrow” the one from my F-150 to see how well it worked, before committing to $500 to buy and set one up.

 

[Booyah45828]

We've only ever installed motorcraft vacuum pumps. Aftermarket ones never seemed to have near the longevity that an oe one did. Also, vacuum pump life is shortened a lot if you have leaks in the system. There shouldn't be any, and if you have some then that's working the pump harder then it has to.

I always check for leaks when replacing the pump, and I've found numerous boosters leaking, that you'd never know or hear due to the clatter of the diesel engine. I use a tester from mightyvac to check the system. But a lot of them you could tell were bad by pulling it in, shutting it off, and then pressing the brakes. If you don't get at least one good assisted pump after shutting off the engine, then something is leaking.

 

[Booyah45828]

Ford transits used an electric vacuum pump too. motorcraft #brpv34

Can check that out if you'd like. Used on the 3.7's. I think all 3.5's after 2012 use a mechanical cam driven vacuum pump.