Yes you have power brakes. Your brakes get their boost from Vacuum from the engine helping pull the pedal. Hydroboost gets it boost from the power steering pump pushing high pressure fluid to it. Hydroboost allows more brake pedal pressure on the master cylinder than Vacuum setups. I am doing the research to convert my 1978 Bronco to Hydroboost right now. And yes, this should work on your 01 Ex.

 

Yes the V10 F450 and F550 trucks use hydroboost, they also share the same PS pump with the 4.6,5.4,6.8 Vacuum assisted trucks. So the pressure lines do exist to make this a cake walk as everything lines up.



FYI when buying a booster make sure you get the two bent 90 degree metal lines that connect the booster to the pressure hoses. Without those it becomes a hard process. They are screwed into the hydroboost pressure ports.

 

390, I was checking around and the prices for the lines vary greatly through the years from ford. They are the same numbers and range from $56 for one and the other went from $156 to $210 just for the line. not including the hydroboost unit.

This is what I came up with at O'Reilly Auto Parts. Since my X is an 01 V10 4X4, I looked it up for an 01 F450 V10. Not sure if 4x4 means anything or not.
line--pump to hydroboost $26.99 part #92066
line--hydroboost to gearbox $43.99 part #80241
hydroboost unit--$221.99 +$35.00 core charge part #52-7374

I know I need some return hose and a Brass "t". do you know numbers and sizes from O'Reilly Auto parts so I can get all of it? Thanks very much.

 

Just got a 2000 X & noticed the same soft braking issues.. Sold my 2000 7.3 some years back BUT never have any braking issues with it.. Wish I'd seen this thread 2 days ago cause I just put $80 front pads on to help... Well let me say I HOPE THE NEW CERAMIC PADS DO HELP ??? I'll weight in about it in a few weeks.. LOVE THE SITE..harley

 

Do you have any pictures of your conversion?

 

You got part #'s for the hoses?

 

I have not got any of this for my 78 yet. But I'm going to for me its a no brainer even having a gas engine with vacum. There is a schematic of how to plumb everthing and it also recomends high performance steering pump as well as adding a cooler


Pirate4x4.Com - The largest off roading and 4x4 website in the world.

 

Absolutely awesome link. thanks very much. That guy did an amazing writeup.

 

There is a lot of good stuff in the tech articles on that site in case you did not look around. Those gus are a little more extreme with there rides than alot on this site it seems but a lot of good stuff either way.

 

I know you guys are talking about trucks. but what about E350 with a 7.3?


just curiuos really as I am just about to put in a new booster. already did the vacuum pump.

being a big van this would be nice. just curious how hard it would be.

 

I hate to dig up an old thread, but I am running into problems with my conversion... I have a 2003 F350 V10 and I am converting it to hydroboost. I bought the booster for a 2003 F450 V10 with hyrdoboost. One of the studs doesn't line up with the holes in the brake pedal bracket. So I knocked the stud out, drilled the hole in the proper location, and put a bolt through it. But it appears that the pin on the brake pedal is too low and the hydroboost pushrod is at a bad angle.

How did you folks get away without having to do a lot of fab work to complete the conversion? Any info will help, cause my truck is in the shop in pieces right now.

Also, the brake lines from the master cylinder weren't long enough to reach the booster.. I had to straighten them a bit to make it work...

 

Hey Chester, sorry I never got back to your email a while ago. I put my conversion on hold. I put a pair of 8 piston ssbc calipers on and some great rotors. My X has really changed over the past while. Sorry you are having so much trouble. If I remember correctly, it had to do with the hydroboost coming with the pin and pushrod. If it didn't, that's where the problem is. Could you post some pics of what you have so far? Thanks.

 

I thought I had all the parts required for the conversion. The problem is that the v10's vacuum brake pedal is different from the hydroboost pedal. The pin with the brake sensor on it is mounted too low on the pedal.

Ford went out of their way to make it difficult to bolt a hydroboost booster onto a vacuum boosted truck's firewall. The 4 bolt pattern for the hydroboost and the vacuum boost is different. I solved that problem, but now the pin that is welded on the brake pedal is too low.

The bolts (studs) for the booster go through the firewall and into the brake pedal bracket. Ford intentionally made the 4 studs offset on the hydroboost unit to prevent people from doing what we are trying to do, (either by accident or on purpose) because the pin on the brake pedal is in the wrong spot. Using a hyrdoboost booster in place of the vacuum booster will put the pushrod linkage in a bad bind and limit maximum pedal throw.

In other words, the vacuum truck's brake pedal will not have as much leverage on the hydroboost booster as ford intended, and you may not be able to press the brakes but about 3/4 of the way.

I am going to have to get a brake pedal and bracket from a junkyard or something, but my truck has power adjustable pedals, and it is very complicated how those electric motors are interconnected.

 

Oy. Sorry to hear that. I'd be curious to find out if everyone that is doing this swap has adjustable pedals or not. I think they all have the bolt pattern problem but not sure about the pushrod issue.
Did you at least get the plumbing and master cylinder done? I hope that things get done in a hurry for you and end up with a project that was well worth the trouble. Keep us posted.

 

I put everything back like it was stock. I need my truck and I don't have time to dick around with this junk. When I track down another pedal I might try again. Thanks for responding. When I get it done I'll let ya know what all was involved.