Hydroboost Or???

[icanfixall]

Why would you prefer the hydroboost over vacuum assist brakes. I have most of the parts to change over but before I do this I wanted some imput on what the differances are. Any information is important about each way of going on this project. Thanks guys....

 

[towcat]

Why would you prefer the hydroboost over vacuum assist brakes. I have most of the parts to change over but before I do this I wanted some imput on what the differances are. Any information is important about each way of going on this project. Thanks guys....

why go hydro? you can stop 10k lbs of truck with no worries. The system is designed to stop 15k lbs of truck(F450) and it does it very well
downside? if you loose the power steering pump you will loose hydro. honestly...how often does that happen compared to loosing a vac pump?

 

[Mr_Roboto]

I've operated F450 wreckers with the hydroboost. The biggest problem I had was that in low speed maneuvering you are using both the brakes and steering, and so both lack full power.

Bigger trucks (say International straight trucks) use an electric fluid pump that kicks in to help keep assist going in demanding conditions.

The upside is that hydroboost recharges quickly, where the vacuum pump takes some time to build back up between brake applications.

 

[adrianspeeder]

I've never ever had a problem or noticed a limitation with the '02's hydro except the one time I was jockyin a big trailer on a steep hill in reverse and had to put some extra effort into the wheel to turn.

Adrianspeeder

 

[82fordtruck]

My duramax has it and I love it. Reduced pedal effort and I feel more comfortable with it. Never really steer and brake I guess.

 

[Exekiel69]

I have My hydro thanks to Calvin and I it

 

[TLBREWER]

My duramax has it and I love it. Reduced pedal effort and I feel more comfortable with it. Never really steer and brake I guess.

Same here. No more pedal effort than a car and I can stand my '06 1 ton 4X4 crewcab on it's nose.

I never really had much problem with my '92 F350 with vac assist brakes. It stopped very well. However, with both of my '91's I have to really stay on top of them to keep the brakes operating effectively.

Tom

 

[jauguston]

Depending what year your rig is it could have a 8" vacuum booster (my '86) or sometime later you will have a 10 3/4" booster. I replaced my 8" booster for one for a '93 (10 3/4"). Big improvement. The only modification was widening the bolt holes in the MC 1/8' on each side and shortening the pedal push rod 5/8. Bolt up to the firewall is the same.

Jim

 

[typ4]

I used a hydro off of a 96 f 450 and love it, lots more room to get that intercooler tube behind the airbox.
I also noticed a huge difference when packing the camper from vac to hydro.
I had to move my pivot up half inch or so to prevent binding but all is well. Welded up the old hole drilled and reamed a new one , pressed in the pin tigged it in and good to go.
Filed mc holes, and if I ever go disk rear I have the bigger bore mc to put on for that.
If the pressures are good steering and brakes "should" work equally well.

The electric assist that is used on med duty trucks is way to big for ours, but it would be a nice emergency feature if it did fit

 

[Full Monte]

The hydroboost doubles the hydraulic pressure in your brake lines. Kelvin convinced me to put it in when I was having trouble stopping the dually with 11 1/2 ft camper. It's the best thing I have done for that truck. I used to worry when I put on the brakes. No more. See my tech article on "how to" in the articles section. The decision depends on how much weight you haul.
IMHO, the hydroboost is more reliable. A consideration: make sure your drive belt on the power steering pump is good. If you lose that belt, you lose power steering AND power brakes. Another consideration: with hydroboost brakes, your vacuum system will only be used to operate your cabin air system diverter doors. IMHO, that's about all the vacuum system should be used for.

 

[icanfixall]

Thanks guys. I have the hydroboost system on my 79 chevy C30 1 ton and it only let me down once when the alt. belt broke and wasted all the belts with an 11,000 lb 5th wheel in tow just out of Vancouver Washington.... Going down a steep hill. I used the trailer brakes to stop us. I will be changing my v-belt drive to the serpentine belt in the future so then all I need is one belt under the seat plus an adjuster and idler pulley. That should cover all the bases unless I loose a vacuum pump or the alt bearings lockup. Then I'm dead in the road. Gee... Maybe the v-belts aren't so bad after all. At least I could continue if things froze up somewhere...

 

[Mr_Roboto]

FYI, if you stay with the V-belts, there is an industrial V-belt called a "Link belt", basically it is small pieces of rubber joined together with metal hooks. They are made so that you can make any length, and can thread the belt through machinery and then join it together without having to disassemble bearings etc.

That type of belt would be great to keep as a spare. There are similar belts sold for automotive use as universal spares, but they are far inferior.

 

[icanfixall]

Ok I have my eye on 2 trucks in a wrecking yard that has the hydroboost on them. They are both F-450. What do I need up at the brake peddle other than the boost cylinder. Ir there anything between the booster and the foot peddle or mounting parts? I wont be using the hoses. That just sounds unsafe unless they are new so any info would be great.

 

[Rawpower]

you could always convert to rear disc's... that combined with vac or hydro would be awesome.

http://fourdoorbronco.com/temp/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi/ikonboard.cgi?;act=ST;f=11;t=660

 

[trackspeeder]

Ok I have my eye on 2 trucks in a wrecking yard that has the hydroboost on them. They are both F-450. What do I need up at the brake peddle other than the boost cylinder. Ir there anything between the booster and the foot peddle or mounting parts? I wont be using the hoses. That just sounds unsafe unless they are new so any info would be great.

Grab the booster and the powersteering pump. Your brake pedal will work with this set up.