Whoa Henry, whoa!

[BioFarmer93]

Well, I knew it would eventually happen. Henry has a big ol' vacuum leak in his brake booster and while tracing the source of the leak I discovered that the vacuum pump can only hold 15-16"Hg consistently at idle. I have a vacuum gauge in the cab and watched over the course of two days as my vacuum went from 24-25”Hg down to about 7. I am absolutely amazed that they both would crap out almost simultaneously… OR, did the booster give out, then (somehow) because of that, the pump followed suite? Is anyone familiar with the repair kit offered for these, or is it just a better idea to replace the entire unit? Also, as far as vacuum pumps go, is there a trustworthy rebuilt brand I can go with, or should I just bite the bullet and pony up for the ridiculously expensive Motorcraft one?

 

[Dieselcrawler]

hydroboost!

 

[BioFarmer93]

hydroboost!

I knew somebody was gonna say that.. Then I would have to put a fresh PS pump in also... $Cha-ching$cha-ching$

 

[icanfixall]

Why do you feel a new power steering pump is needed.... All you really need is the resivour for the two return lines... About the costs of a vacuum pump. Shop around. Nappa sells these as do many other lifetime warranty fake auto parts store.... Remember, you get what you pay for these days so shop carefully.... this is for the brakes and not something to make the truck look better....

 

[Agnem]

FINALLY! Somebody is saying how they watched their vacuum pump die because they had a gauge in the cab, rather than wondering why their brakes don't work so good.

 

[BioFarmer93]

Why do you feel a new power steering pump is needed.... All you really need is the resivour for the two return lines... About the costs of a vacuum pump. Shop around. Nappa sells these as do many other lifetime warranty fake auto parts store.... Remember, you get what you pay for these days so shop carefully.... this is for the brakes and not something to make the truck look better....

Because mine is marginal since it threw a belt on Baby Moose installation weekend and Billy and I had to drive three miles back to the house with no PS. When we got there PS fluid was sprayed all over from steering while no pump was running... Now I have to top it off once every 4 days to avoid the dreaded Ford Squeal... Anyway, you probably haven't noticed but I'm one of the few people that hasn't complained about poor braking- up until a few days ago I could lock up all 6 with just firm toe pressure.

 

[OLDBULL8]

For your info. There are two diff vacuum pumps, one for V belt the other for serpentine belt, pulley shaft size difference.

 

[gonecrazyi]

Can you tell where its leaking from? Ive found that once a pump started making noises it slowly starts to pump less fluid. I really need to change my pump out as I have a hard time turning the tires till im moving.

If its the pump resevoir thats leaking, reseal kits can be bought at autozone, thats what I did when I installed my hydro resevoir.

Do you know where its leaking from? It could be possible that the belt slapped the return line and punctured it.

 

[u2slow]

hydroboost!

+1

I can't trust my brakes to something as fickle as vacuum.

As for the return fittings... I Tee'ed my return lines together right before the pump. Seems to be fine. 2-line reservoir can wait till the pump packs it in... heck, might use an E-series saginaw pump, or have a different engine by then, who knows?

 

[seawalkersee]

Ifn you need it, I got one here at the house I will send to ya for shipping. It still spins and was working when it got pulled a year ago(?), two years ago(?) when I switched to the serp setup.

SWS

 

[BioFarmer93]

For your info. There are two diff vacuum pumps, one for V belt the other for serpentine belt, pulley shaft size difference.

Yeah, I have seen that in some recent post's... Another reason for some unease on my part. Would asking for a pump applicable to a year model prior to the advent of the serpentine belt equipped trucks (or a 6.9) ensure that I got one with the proper shaft diameter? I ask because my ire at wasting time returning wrong parts sometimes becomes disproportional to the task.

 

[BioFarmer93]

+1

I can't trust my brakes to something as fickle as vacuum.

- Hoss, I got news for you.. You're not. You're trusting your brakes to something as fickle as a belt- just like everybody here except the folks that are running electric vacuum pumps.

 

[BioFarmer93]

Can you tell where its leaking from? Ive found that once a pump started making noises it slowly starts to pump less fluid. I really need to change my pump out as I have a hard time turning the tires till im moving.

If its the pump resevoir thats leaking, reseal kits can be bought at autozone, thats what I did when I installed my hydro resevoir.

Do you know where its leaking from? It could be possible that the belt slapped the return line and punctured it.

Hey Billy,
No, at the moment I can't tell because there's so much shiny oiliness under there that you can't tell anything. The weather is supposed to warm up this weekend so I'm going to put some simple green in the pressure washer and blast it all clean, dry it all off, start it up and lay under there and watch to see what drips in my face from where..

 

[BioFarmer93]

... Remember, you get what you pay for these days so shop carefully, this is for the brakes and not something to make the truck look better....

Not trying to be confrontational here, but take a look at my signature and try to find one thing I've done to make my truck look better... -Actually I'm a little embarassed at how I haven't done anything yet to spruce Henry up...

 

[BioFarmer93]

Ifn you need it, I got one here at the house I will send to ya for shipping. It still spins and was working when it got pulled a year ago(?), two years ago(?) when I switched to the serp setup.

SWS

SeaWalker- I really appreciate the offer... The brotherhood is alive and well, but Icanfixall has pretty much got me browbeat into buying new OEM and I'm finding it difficult to shake off the effects of this culture of safety I've been immersed in at the railroad for the last 14 years.. Thank you though...