Hydroboost swap in progress, hit some snags and need advice

[gandalf]

I'm back on my desktop system, and have access to all my pictures. I'll attach one of that switch. I can't say with any certaint6y whether this was before or after the conversion to hydroboost.

 

[Golden Helmet]

I swapped the plastic tanks on my ps pump w/o removing it from the truck. I didn't have a puller handy and wanted to get it done.
messy, but do-able

I don't mind removing the pulley, I've never done it so it's just one more thing I get to learn (which will be handy when the 3G swap happens). I've got a reman pump thats going on, just gotta borrow a vice so I can remove the pesky fitting and get the reservoir on it. I'm trying to avoid using my old pump, it seems to work fine right now but at 300k miles it can't have that much life left. I'll probably end up doing this twice when the reman turns out to be junk...

I'm back on my desktop system, and have access to all my pictures. I'll attach one of that switch. I can't say with any certaint6y whether this was before or after the conversion to hydroboost.

That pic helps a lot, thank you very much! I think I know what I gotta do, and now I've got a picture to use as reference

 

[Golden Helmet]

Alrighty. So now I've moved on from small problems to big problems. The reman power steering pump is on, everything's hooked up... aaaaaannd the steering is rock hard and the brakes don't work. I'm lost in the woods now. My friend and I spent half an hour bleeding it, turning the wheels lock to lock while working the brake pedal. It took less than a quart to fill it, and more went on the ground than in the pump.

Here's a picture of how things are sitting right now, maybe one of you will see some glaring rookie mistake in here. Maybe the lines are hooked up backwards and the flow is going in the wrong direction? If you guys need more pics let me know, there's still more daylight left.

You must be registered for see images attach

Also, yes, that is a huge mess in there. The pulley didn't want to come off voluntarily.

 

[gandalf]

I think the top end hoses are pretty well dictated by the metal sections. I don't think they can be confused, switched. The bottom hose connections are a bit less clear to me. I have a vague recollection that the fittings are different sizes, cannot be interchanged. I think also that the fitting positions on the hoses may dictate where they connect.

You said you've bled the system well. That's good. Is the master cylinder new? Did you move to a larger size, 1 5/16ths I think? Could the master cylinder be stuck?

I'll attach another another picture which may help.

 

[Golden Helmet]

The MC is the old F250 one, it was working perfectly fine the other day when I parked the truck and I haven't touched the brake fluid during this project. The steering is hard as a rock too, thats why I was thinking maybe crossed lines or a bad pump. I watched the level in the reservoir rise and fall when the wheels were turned (front end was jacked up in the air at the time), and we got it to the point where there was little / no air coming out anymore. I did notice that the resting fluid level was below where the hydroboost return comes in, but when I turn the wheels the level rises to just below the cap so I can't add any more fluid.

 

[Golden Helmet]

Here's some more info, i'm working on the truck right now. When I hold the brake pedal, after about 5 seconds the booster starts loudly buzzing and I can feel it in the pedal. The pedal initially holds firm, then it buzzes and the pedal drops, then starts to kick back. If I step on it hard enough, the pedal drops and the noise intermittently comes and goes before it gets really loud. Right now, after writing that, it's intermittently buzzing at me.

I did get some more air out of the system, but I can't go lock to lock on the steering without dumping fluid out the reservoir, which gets the level too low and we're back at square one.

 

[towcat]

I'm suspecting the pressure relief valve right behind the pressure line is missing or hung up. remove the pressure output line from the pump and the large nut/fitting from the pump. if you are feeling resistance like the fitting has something loaded against it, you're in good shape.once the fitting is removed, the valve and spring are loose, so catch them as they come out orkeep track of where they drop.

 

[Golden Helmet]

I'm suspecting the pressure relief valve right behind the pressure line is missing or hung up. remove the pressure output line from the pump and the large nut/fitting from the pump. if you are feeling resistance like the fitting has something loaded against it, you're in good shape.once the fitting is removed, the valve and spring are loose, so catch them as they come out orkeep track of where they drop.

I think you're right. I had someone hold the brakes while I looked for the noise, the high pressure hose from the pump to the hydro is curling a bit and intermittently buzzing like crazy. I'll tear in to it tomorrow morning and make sure everything is there, I don't specifically remember seeing a valve when we put it together this morning so I don't know if it's there or not. I might just go ahead and swap it out for the old valve / spring / fitting while I have it apart.

 

[towcat]

I think you're right. I had someone hold the brakes while I looked for the noise, the high pressure hose from the pump to the hydro is curling a bit and intermittently buzzing like crazy. I'll tear in to it tomorrow morning and make sure everything is there, I don't specifically remember seeing a valve when we put it together this morning so I don't know if it's there or not. I might just go ahead and swap it out for the old valve / spring / fitting while I have it apart.

did the "big nut" give you a moderate amount of pushback as you were threading it into the pump?

 

[Golden Helmet]

did the "big nut" give you a moderate amount of pushback as you were threading it into the pump?

This may be the part where I screwed up, I was working with a friend today so he set up the vice and removed / installed the fitting while I cleaned and lubed the reservoir. I didn't have my hands directly on it, and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been. I was in a hurry to get this "minor detail" over with so the real work could begin. All I can say is I'll know for sure tomorrow what's going on down there

 

[Golden Helmet]

Alrighty, so the spring and valve are in there, and the fitting has some pushback when threading it in. On my old valve I can see that there's a flat side a a side with a metal screen. Right now the screen side of the valve is on the inside of th pump and the flat side is pointed outside the pump. Something is telling me that valve is in there backwards, am I right?

Also, I can use some tips for getting that valve out of the pump. It didn't jump out when I took the fitting off and i'm trying to get it out but no luck.

Edit: nevermind that last part, it came out right after I posted that. I just need to know the correct orientation for the valve and i'm ready to reassemble

Edit2: found some diagrams on Google, it looks like flat side out is actually correct. I'm gonna try my old valve and spring and see what happens

 

[Golden Helmet]

Same problem, changing the valve didn't make a bit of difference. Still buzzing and still puking up fluid when I crank the wheel which introduces more air and the cycle continues.


Edit because I don't like posting 4 times in a row: My plan of attack right now is to try eliminating the hydroboost unit and see if I get my power steering back, the hose I need will arrive tomorrow morning. If my steering comes back, I'll assume that something is wrong with the booster and get that replaced. If I don't get steering back, then the reman pump is bad and I get to go through that ordeal again.

 

[typ4]

I'm going to make this short. My mechanic at work tried 4 reman Napa pumps. They were louder than the original and wouldn't make correct pressure. I sealed the old one and its on and working fine. Fwiw

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

well if you didn't have bad luck,you wouldn't have any luck at all.so at least there's that lol.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

how goes the battle?