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hydraboost can of worms


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Im closing in on getting some garage time and finally installing this hydroboost I grabbed from an astro last year. Problem is the more I read about it the deeper I dive into the rabbit hole with potential problems.

 

For example:

 

most say T-ing the return lines together is perfectly acceptable as long as its in the right direction and orientation, others say that doesn't work at all and adding a 2nd return to the pump is the only way to go. Yet others will insist that a hydroboost ps pump must be used because of higher output demands of the hydroboost. rubber lines eventually go bad and need braided, pressure fittings should be swapped for 6an, blah blah blah

 

what im saying is my junkyard brake upgrade is looking to cost me a small fortune if I want to do this right the first time.

 

I just want your thoughts. expert advice and wealth of knowledge as per usual.

 

thanks

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  I just ordered a kit from Hydratech but haven't even received it yet. I am going to run the Low pressure line directly to the stock - Power steering pump. I will have to drill it and install a fitting in the pump.  I pasted a link below with a write up a guy did this to his Chevelle. It has pictures and part numbers. 

 

 

 

http://www.pro-touring.com/threads/71471-Hydroboost-Installation-w-pics

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Wow, that's one of the better write ups I've read, kudos to that guy.

 

Once again not to rain on anyone's parade but I read that are only two locations that work when adding a return line to the stock ps pump. I believe they are roughly the 7 o'clock position or 5 o'clock position.

 

I could read good and bad reviews all day, I think I need to just dive in and do like I've always done. Pretty sure I'll be really happy that it stops at all

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I'm in the process of doing this too. Got my hydroboost from a 95 astro in a junkyard for $15. I had to modify the brake pedal rod and also the plunger rod on the master cylinder side. When I bolted up the master cylinder, the rod was about 3/16" too long and caused the master to not return all the way. When I went to bleed the brakes, I couldn't get any fluid at the calipers and couldn't figure out why. I ordered the firewall plate from tallon hydraulics and got some high pressure braided line and fittings from summit racing. So far I think the cheapest part was the hydroboost itself haha

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Ryan I too got my hydro boost from a junkyard astro, so far not a huge loss if I decide to for go the project. I know theres a specific way to bleed hydroboost systems not sure if that's what you did or not

 

http://www.larescorp.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Hydroboost-System-Bleeding-Instructions.pdf

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I haven't gotten that far yet, I still need to run all the hydraulic lines to the rack and to the hydro boost unit. I plan on using a stock power steering pump and just running the return lines from both the rack and the hydro boost into a T.

 

The reason I had a problem with bleeding the brakes was because I didn't pull the Hydro boost and master cylinder together off the donor Astro. I used an after market Wilwood master and the dimensions were different than the Astro's master cylinder. It's not a huge deal to fix, just beware of the fitment between the MC and the Hydro boost.

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i got my hydroboost kit from hydratech to avoid all the issues your talkin about. some have problems uesing the T fitting some dont....i avoided that all togethert by buying a powersteering pump housing with two inlets..problem solved...only issue with that is that the pump housing came with a pump which was the wrong style pump for our monties...no biggie..jus switched out that pump for my stock pump..problem solved. rubber lines are jus fine as long as their high pressure lines..yes they will deteriorate over timed but look how long the stock hoses on your monte lasted...so thats not an issue. buying the kit was great because it came with all the fittings needed and extra ones as well. bleeding the system is easy...lift the front wheels off the ground and trun the steering wheel from lock to lock watchin the ps resivour..keep it full...do this about 25 - 30 times...then turn the car on...check for leaks and turn it lock to lock about 10 more times and your done...there will still be some air in the system that you will have to drive the car to get out..easy thing to do.

The kit cost  $900 but goin that route save headaches on the install...once installed..you will love how the brakes feel...they work great with my wilwoods on all 4 corners and now i dont hav to worry about cam selection ...and the stopping power is crazy....best upgrade ive done

 

almost forgot to add since i got the the resivoir with two inlets..i had to make a bracket because the stock bracket helt the pump to close to the motor and would have burned through the hoses eventually but that was the hardest part of my install so beware if you get a resivour with dual inlets but its a real easy fix tho

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  • 1 month later...

Got any pics

 

i got my hydroboost kit from hydratech to avoid all the issues your talkin about. some have problems uesing the T fitting some dont....i avoided that all togethert by buying a powersteering pump housing with two inlets..problem solved...only issue with that is that the pump housing came with a pump which was the wrong style pump for our monties...no biggie..jus switched out that pump for my stock pump..problem solved. rubber lines are jus fine as long as their high pressure lines..yes they will deteriorate over timed but look how long the stock hoses on your monte lasted...so thats not an issue. buying the kit was great because it came with all the fittings needed and extra ones as well. bleeding the system is easy...lift the front wheels off the ground and trun the steering wheel from lock to lock watchin the ps resivour..keep it full...do this about 25 - 30 times...then turn the car on...check for leaks and turn it lock to lock about 10 more times and your done...there will still be some air in the system that you will have to drive the car to get out..easy thing to do.

The kit cost  $900 but goin that route save headaches on the install...once installed..you will love how the brakes feel...they work great with my wilwoods on all 4 corners and now i dont hav to worry about cam selection ...and the stopping power is crazy....best upgrade ive done

 

almost forgot to add since i got the the resivoir with two inlets..i had to make a bracket because the stock bracket helt the pump to close to the motor and would have burned through the hoses eventually but that was the hardest part of my install so beware if you get a resivour with dual inlets but its a real easy fix tho

Do you have any pics??? curious to see what that pump looks like with dual inlets...

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that's the one thing I didn't take pics of..sorry...but it looks exactly like our stock resivour except for the two return ports on the back..one is in the original location and the other is opposite of the original...only problem is when installed with stock bracket...the hose rests on the engine block and exaust is really close so I fabbed up a longer bracket and found a longer belt that works.....love my brakes

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I got ya. Was it this power steering pump by 

 

 

 
Borgeson 800323 Hi-Flow Power Steering Pump
Have one to sell? Sell now
Borgeson 800323 Hi-Flow Power Steering Pump
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I will get some pics in the morning. I used a astro booster as well. I also did the grand Cherokee steering box as well.after some research the jeep and astro has metric o ring fittings and so does the early 80's diesel gm b body's.I ordered the lines and pump for a old's 88 and it was basically a bolt in

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yep thats the resivour i got...that pump wont work in our montes because the shaft for the pulley is not the screw on type..rather its the press on type. so I swapped out the actual pump....my original pump worked fine before the hydroboost install and still works good...with that resovour you will have to modify the bracket to work and clear exaust and the engine block...but yes thats the one i have

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Awesome that will be very helpful. I'm going hydraboost as well and all info and help I can get on the upgrade will be greatly appreciated.I also ordered the grand cherokee gearbox and will be doing that upgrade to.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did the conversion on mine. I did a write-up on the process, but can't find it.

I bought the complete kit from Summit, turns out it was a hydratech system. I'm trying to remember where I had issues, and I think it was all related to the return line to the pump reservoir. For me, the "T" fitting didn't work. I had to buy a bulkhead fitting and install it in my original pump housing. The problem was that I had to take the pump out of the reservoir to drill the giant hole for the fitting, and it requires a flat surface to seal against. That's where the "O-clock" position is important. The whole lower half of the reservoir is curved, and there isn't room on the backside because the pump sits so close to the engine.

I ended up with a return line going into the reservoir at about the 2 o-clock position as viewed from the front. Problem solved? Nope. Now I had fluid returning near or above the fluid level and there must be a lot of flow form this line...it would foam up the fluid in the reservoir and the steering would make that "out of fluid" sound whenever I turned the wheel.

I had to extend the filler neck on my pump so I could raise the fluid level enough to stop the foaming of the fluid.

If I had a welder, I could have brazed a fitting to the lower/curved area of the pump and it would have been a better arrangement.

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