just wondering... why go hydroboost?

[mike reeh]

what benefits would there be with a hydroboost system, over the conventional vacuum assist? I have a parts truck with hydroboost and im wondering if its really worth my time to rebuild it all and swap it over to my good truck....

im assuming its just a more powerful master cylinder?

are there any disadvantages?

thanks...

 

[79k20350]

The brakes become alot more consistant, along with a much greater improvement in power/ pedal feel

 

[CDA 455]

The brakes become alot more consistant, along with a much greater improvement in power/ pedal feel

X10!!
What part of San Diego you in? I grew up in Kearny Mesa; Owned a home in Poway.

 

[Hogback Fabrication]

Some people who upgrade to bigger brakes (1 tons, etc.) have issues with the master cylinder setup not being strong enough. Hydroboost is a better/stronger setup than the 1/2 ton vacuum assist setup.

Seems the vacuum setup works for some people and not for others. Mine works flawlessly, I have one tons and have much more braking power than my tires can take (I can lock all 4 tires up at any speed with brake power to spare).

If you haven't upgraded to bigger brakes/axles or have a diesel, hydroboost is unneccessary IMO.

 

[mike reeh]

well my whole setup is factory 3/4ton stuff, (dana 44 & 14FF), i did put disc brakes on the rear though...

funny you mention the thing about some people having problems, and others not...

the master cyl. on my truck is pretty ugly.. never really gave me any problems other than the cap leaking and just being rusty and ugly.. but the brakes work awesome. i mean really really well, theyre very strong, without using much leg effort.. i really liked the feel, but hated the old master cylinder. so one day (this was a couple yrs ago) i bought a quality rebuilt unit from a local parts place.. painted it up, made it look nice, installed it and the brakes went to $hit.. They were properly bled, i have new calipers and lines and distribution/prop valve... and a new vacuum booster now that i think about it.. EVERYTHING was new but the m/c.... anyways i couldnt figure out why the brakes had so little pressure so i reverted back to the old crusty one and havent had a problem since... I made sure the new master cyl. was for a K20 and it was..

that led me to asking around for a company that will rebuild YOUR m/c.. never did find anyone that did that kind of thing, or i would have sent the crusty unit in for a rebuild, because im pretty sure the valving is different.. its GOTTA be...

to this day the old one is still on my truck. one of the only things that i never rebuilt/replaced on the truck... i dont know if its the ORIGINAL one (i tend to think not) but it could be....

CDA-- Im in north county, Escondido to be exact.. not far from poway.. bet you wish you still owned that house in poway, dont you :-)

mike

 

[K5er4Life]

I have 1 tons and vaccum boost in my blazer, and I am happy with the way it stops. The pedal travel is a little excessive but I need to do some fine tuning to the system, right now I have a 3/4 ton master cylinder and have been thinking about going to a 1 ton master. Nevertheless, there is more than enough power to lock up all the tires, and they will do so pretty evenly (front to back wise). But with that being said it will still never compare to the hydro system that is in my crew cab. Those brakes are amazing, pedal feel in incredible, you can easily lay into the brakes really hard and the pedal gives a little then gives a nice firm pressure back and you can easily feel the point of lockup. The brakes on my crew cab feel like the brakes on a my 2002 f-250 diesel. They feel like new truck brakes whereas any vaccum assisted truck I have driven all has similar pedal feel. Its all in the pedal feel, and if you have driven a truck that has the hydro then you will know exaclty what Im talking about.

All in all for a trail truck I dont really see a need to go hydro, but if you do alot of towing or street driving I could see it being worth the swap. One thing to consider is if you want to go hydro steering too, it seems people who have hydro assist and go hydro assisted steering seem to plagued by weird reactions like pedal pulsations. I would say if you have a parts truck with everything there, do alot of street driving or towing, and dont plan on doing a hydro assisted steering then I see no downside to making the swap. IMO, while the braking power and feel isnt bad by any means with a vaccum operated jobber, it will still never provide the power and feedback that a hydro system does. There, I tried to answer your question.

 

[blazinzuk]

I think it is eaiser to modulate the brakes on a hydroboost in a panic stop. Although this isn't really an apples to apples comparision. My blazer still has vacaum assist( 40" tires one tons) my pickup (stock tires and 3/4 tons) has hydroboost. I like the brakes in the pickup much better

 

[82K5_6.5L]

i'll say one thing, having the hydroboost with the diesel is awesome, BUT there is one downside..i was driving around town one day, went to make a left hand turn and the damn wheel wouldnt turn, i cranked it and cranked it as hard as i could.im thinking sh*t i better pull over! i start to pull over and the brakes go all the way to the floor! i'm thinking holy shi*t wtf is going on?!?!? i finally get her stopped, get out and noticed im leaking power steering fluid like crazy! seems a line from the p.s. pump came loose, causing all the fluid and pressure to go away.. so if u have no steering, u loose ur brakes too! just thought i'd shard

 

[K5er4Life]

i'll say one thing, having the hydroboost with the diesel is awesome, BUT there is one downside..i was driving around town one day, went to make a left hand turn and the damn wheel wouldnt turn, i cranked it and cranked it as hard as i could.im thinking sh*t i better pull over! i start to pull over and the brakes go all the way to the floor! i'm thinking holy shi*t wtf is going on?!?!? i finally get her stopped, get out and noticed im leaking power steering fluid like crazy! seems a line from the p.s. pump came loose, causing all the fluid and pressure to go away.. so if u have no steering, u loose ur brakes too! just thought i'd shard

Yeah I forgot about that, thats the biggest problem with hydro boosted brakes is if you lose fluid, belt gets thrown, or the pump gives out it gets real scary to stop a rig that has no brakes and is hard as hell to steer. The belt got thrown on my f-250 and I was going really slow, I almost took out a brand new tacoma down the street from my house because I could barely stop. But thats still not to say that I havent issues with a booster going out. Atleast I could steer though.

 

[JEBSR]

i'll say one thing, having the hydroboost with the diesel is awesome, BUT there is one downside..i was driving around town one day, went to make a left hand turn and the damn wheel wouldnt turn, i cranked it and cranked it as hard as i could.im thinking sh*t i better pull over! i start to pull over and the brakes go all the way to the floor! i'm thinking holy shi*t wtf is going on?!?!? i finally get her stopped, get out and noticed im leaking power steering fluid like crazy! seems a line from the p.s. pump came loose, causing all the fluid and pressure to go away.. so if u have no steering, u loose ur brakes too! just thought i'd shard

That is exactly why I have a brand new hydraboost pump,mc,and booster sitting in my garage now. I got it with the intent to change it but just haven't been able to convince myself to change my system that works great for a system that works better when working but is more dangerous if it quits.

 

[79k20350]

Thats not the way it works. iirc Just like a pwer steering system (or hydro assist setup) or vacum assist brakes, you can still stop/ turn. It just takes more effort (like if your motor dies) If you couldnt stop then it would be like full hydro steering (where if you loose a line your focked) and it wouldnt be street legal.

 

[sapper]

I would'nt give up my hydroboost for anything, I run 39.5" TSLs on H1 beadlocks so there is alot of wieght there but they will stop on a dime, much better than anything I have ridden in with the same amount of tire. As for the system leaking and not working, its just like making sure your lug nuts are tight a quick once over every month and should be good to go.

 

[mike reeh]

that was exactly the kind of response i was looking for.. thanks for taking the time... Ive driven many hydroboosted (?) trucks and I definately like the feel.. I think I'll put this on my TO-DO list..

great responses everyone.. thats what makes this place great

mike

I have 1 tons and vaccum boost in my blazer, and I am happy with the way it stops. The pedal travel is a little excessive but I need to do some fine tuning to the system, right now I have a 3/4 ton master cylinder and have been thinking about going to a 1 ton master. Nevertheless, there is more than enough power to lock up all the tires, and they will do so pretty evenly (front to back wise). But with that being said it will still never compare to the hydro system that is in my crew cab. Those brakes are amazing, pedal feel in incredible, you can easily lay into the brakes really hard and the pedal gives a little then gives a nice firm pressure back and you can easily feel the point of lockup. The brakes on my crew cab feel like the brakes on a my 2002 f-250 diesel. They feel like new truck brakes whereas any vaccum assisted truck I have driven all has similar pedal feel. Its all in the pedal feel, and if you have driven a truck that has the hydro then you will know exaclty what Im talking about.

All in all for a trail truck I dont really see a need to go hydro, but if you do alot of towing or street driving I could see it being worth the swap. One thing to consider is if you want to go hydro steering too, it seems people who have hydro assist and go hydro assisted steering seem to plagued by weird reactions like pedal pulsations. I would say if you have a parts truck with everything there, do alot of street driving or towing, and dont plan on doing a hydro assisted steering then I see no downside to making the swap. IMO, while the braking power and feel isnt bad by any means with a vaccum operated jobber, it will still never provide the power and feedback that a hydro system does. There, I tried to answer your question.

 

[JEBSR]

Thats not the way it works. iirc Just like a pwer steering system (or hydro assist setup) or vacum assist brakes, you can still stop/ turn. It just takes more effort (like if your motor dies) If you couldnt stop then it would be like full hydro steering (where if you loose a line your focked) and it wouldnt be street legal.

You may not loose them completely, but when you need to stop quik or turn and you have 10" of lift and 40" tires or so with no power assist there is no way it is going to happen as fast as you may need it to. Not saying it's a bad system, I am still considering putting my kit on but with a conventional setup I either loose PowerAssist on one or the other not both at the same time.