Just finished installing a Hydroboost system in my 86. Wow, you guys weren't kidding about how much better it is. Haven't even bled my brakes yet, and it stops better than with bled brakes and the ol' vacuum booster.

I figure with that much extra power, the 24 year old rubber brake lines have gotta go. I'm calling a local hydraulic shop on Mon to get a price range on having them made.

My question here; Is it possible to run the extended SS lines on my stock height F350, until I lift it early next year? It'll be going up aprox 4", and I don't want to pay to have lines made, and then have another set made a few months later. I've never dealt with the braided lines, so didn't know if I'd be able to just zip tie them out of the way. The Summit extended lines don't list the actual length of them, so if anybody's running something similar, if you could measure them it would be massively appreciated.

And now back to the Hydroboost...
Came back down to Los Angeles to work and save a little extra dough for the move to Idaho, and lo and behold my brakes went out while picking my pops up from the doctor (I love having a manual trans). The booster had already been making a loud 'POOF' noise every time I hit the pedal, and wanted to do the conversion after reading about it here...

Ford's dealer prices have definitely gone up since everything I read in here (or maybe it's just because I'm in L.A.);
$475.04 Hydroboost E8TZ-2005-B
$113.69 Tube connect F4TZ-3A714-A
$80.17 Hose assy F4TZ-3A717-A
$29.87 Hose E8TZ-3A713-B

Couldn't swing that, so off to the junkyard. Scored a unit off a 97 Superduty with one of the hoses on it (motor was gone with everthing else) for a whopping $37.02

Adding up everything, including a new PS pump, fluid, hoses, etc. cost me $162.04

 

no my truck is lifted 4 inches and still had the stock rubbers have got a lot of slack left in them

 

i don't know about a true length but take what you have now and add 4" to it and then zip tie it out of the way for now. what years and what models did the hydroboost system come on.

 

i had 5" lift and still had enough slack in mine with the stock lines. with the 10" lift i just had to flip the bracket upside down and its still good. SS lines are nice for the added pressure from the hydroboost, but ive done plenty of emergency stops with mine and havent had a problem yet. yes, i said yet! i do plan on doin the ss upgrade soon though. you can never be too safe when it comes to brakes

 

Good to know. My old 79 was lifted about 5", and I still used the stock lines, just relocated the hard line mounts lower on the frame. With that setup I still never had an issue with flexing the truck.

The rubber lines on the 86 are definitely stock and show their age, so I'm replacing them either way. I'll talk to the shop on Mon and see what it's going to cost.

If you search this forum for Hydroboost, you'll find all the info you'd ever want. The 80s-97 systems are bolt on. F450s and up (Superdutys) I believe. Also saw another full setup in a later E model that was a senior center bus. They're in some of the heavy duty box trucks (The vehicles I never payed attention to at the JY before). I'll be collecting a few of these setups for any price close to what I paid for this one. I'm sure some friends will be interested in it.

 

The hydroboost are not actually a 100% bolt-on-'n'-go affair, not always at least - I keep forgetting the "magical" combination, but hydroboosts from a certain model year range may end up with a bind at the pedal pushrod where it goes in the booster, which is remedied by installing the pedal assembly from the respective model years of an F-Superduty truck. IIRC the '87-'91 can be run with the factory pedal, but the '92-up end up binding, or something like that. Lotsa talk about this on the other diesel site, none here tho, so I figured I'd mention it as a precaution - any time one installs a hydroboost (or any other non-factory booster) they should check the pushrod angles at both off-pedal and while standing on it hard. Also, if looking at a medium-duty truck (is that what you mean by a heavy duty box truck?) one must actually verify the hydroboost is the small one - there is this thing called Bendix Hydro-Max, which is a super-hydroboost system that I've never heard of being transplanted in a pickup truck...

 

ive got a 97 superduty booster and havent had any issues

 

Everything was literally a bolt on swap for me. No binding issues, everything lined up perfectly.

 

I dunno, maybe it's a hit or miss, of if you have a booster from one body style on the other cab... don't remember, I run Chevy parts on my truck so none of the factory Ford mess applies to me, hence why I never bothered to remember which is which...

 

The hydro and braided lines have nothing to do with each other. The braids will give a more solid feel because of less expansion. The hydro may make the pedal pressure less for a given stopping force, but it won't blow out a rubber line nor will it give you better stopping ability. The super duty the booster came off of didn't come with braids; did it? As for safety, braids are more dangerous than rubbers. If you do switch them, get DOT braids and route them carefully. Many non-DOT braids have a high failure rate, especially near the fittings. Rubber lines will usually leak before they blow, braids will usually give no warning.

 

Actually, yes it will give you better stopping ability, to a point - it makes less pedal force needed to achieve the same line pressure out the master, yes, but what happens when you apply the same pedal force as before - line pressure goes higher, which leads to increased clamping force at the calipers, which means stronger grip on the rotors and thus better stopping power. You're still limited by caliper flex (scary thought, but it's true) and also their heat dissipation abilities, but in a panic stop the hydroboosted truck will stop faster than a vacuum-boosted one, assuming there's no loss of traction. I'm talking about rotors and calipers cause the rear wheels are fairly easy to lock up with the factory booster, it's the front brakes and wheels that really feel the difference between boosters.

 

Assuming the stock booster allows brake lock-up, which it does; the stopping ability of a vehicle is limited to traction and/or heat dissipation ability depending on the stopping in question. Unless your braking leg is exceptionally weak for some reason, no booster in the world is going to change a vehicle's stopping ability. Caliper flex, brake hose expansion, front/rear brake bias, and all these other things won't change because of a booster alteration. A stronger booster makes your brakes more effective just as a softer accelerator spring makes your motor more powerful.
The feel at the pedal with a hydro may be better for some, depends on taste. I actually prefer vacuum boosters for the most part, they usually have a more precise linear feel. I also detest electronic accelerators for their lack of feel and their "disconnected" response, again personal preference.

 

you are wrong bud. i went from taking a 1/8 mile to stop with the brake peddle pushed to the ground to 250 ft at the same speed, same load. the hydroboost gives you TONS of added stoping ability. more steady force means more breaking ability.

 

and also the pedal effort is increased in my application but i like the solid feel i am getting out of it also my stopping distance has shortened like oreo said

 

I won't argue that it helped your truck, it obviously had a problem if the pedal to the ground didn't have all 4 locked. A vehicle without some type of deficiency wouldn't really benefit. If hydro boosters were truly better they would be much more prevalent. Generally speaking, vehicles get hydros from the manufacturer when they lack sufficient vacuum or space for a vac booster. The vehicle as it came stock had better than 1/8 mile stopping distance.