i just replaced the factory F-IN p.o.s. junk factory ford b.s. f-in vacuum junk brake booster-master cylinder for one i found in a junkyard out of a ford F-superduty with a powerjoke in it. the brakes work like a champ now, and i didn't even bleed the lines, tighten the brakes, or even put any fluid in it. "still 1/2 full from the junkyard". i paid 125 for it and put it in in about 45 minutes. i got the old hydro lines off the super duty just thrown in with the deal. i recommend doing this if at all possible when a vacuum booster, master cylinder,or vacuum pump goes out in one of our trucks. it was cheap, easy, and the brakes work 10X better than they ever did before i did this. even with air in the lines and stuff. the stock vacuum pump is like 75-100 bucks, the booster is a good 75 and the master is a good 100-125??? i think that is BULL and that wire plug plugged right into the master, and even made the light go off!!! the lines hooked up like they are supposed to, and i drilled a hole in my power steering pump lid and stuck the return line from the hydro booster straight into the cap. you could tee into the factory return line from the steering box to the p.s. pump, but that looked like too much work for me.
the reservoir is HUGE compared to the stock one, and the master is HUGE also. BRAKES WORK VERY GOOD, I LOVE IT!!!

 

I put on a new master cylinder, booster, vacuum pump and have good pads and my truck stops on a dime. Way better than my 02 Dodge ram with 4 wheel disc brakes.

The only reason I would do this is if my vacuum pump gives me more problems too soon.
How did the booster bolt to the firewall? It has those four bolts that the pedal assembly attaches to. What did you do about the vacuum pump?

 

the vacuum pump is settin there chh-chh-chh-ing away and the brake booster bolted right up, just like a vacuum booster, 4 bolts, hook it to the pedal, put the little brake light sensor back on and then unhooked the old line that goes from the power steering pump to the power steering gear box, and hooked the lines that came with the booster up. one to the p.s. pump, the other line to the gear box. and hooked the brake lines up just like they were on the vacuum booster. viola, good brakes. i can lock all 4 of them up. i got a little ****ed off after i bought brake pads, rotors, drums, rear brake hardware, calipers, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and vacuum pump and the brakes didn't improve one bit. the next thing was the vacuum booster, and that wouldn't help the fact that they went 1/2 way to the floor before it stopped, so i figured try one off a super duty and it all worked great. how much did you pay for booster-master-and vacuum pump?

 

i plan to hook the vacuum pump into my crankcase vent to pull a vacuum on the crankcase.

 

You can't beat hydroboost it gives you good braking power I have had hydroboost for the last 6 years as I have been running F-Superdutys. The worst part of the vacuum booster is you press the brakes more than once you loose all your assist and the pedal is hard.

You will have to watch you don't blow your rear wheel cylinders with the F-Superduty master as its designed for rear disk brakes so it will blow the cups right out of the wheel cylinders. You will really want to make sure your brakes are adjusted up tight because if you stomp on the brakes to hard you may have problems.

If I was ever togo back to a F-350 I would swap hydroboost on it and take the 10.25 Ford out and swap in a Dana 80 out of a E-450 which has disk brakes. I can't stand poor braking power I suffered with it for 6 years when I owned F-350s with old disk drum brakes never had enough braking power.

 

dana 8-'s are expensive and they usually have 5-something gears in them. i will risk a blown cylinder, i have learned to downshift the old ford pretty hard due to loss of brakes before...lol and the vacuum on crankcase dodn't work either, you KNOW a ford vacuum ump sucks when a gasser has enough to supply a booster, pcv, and trailer brakes all at the same time, the ford pump can barely suck enough vacuum to run the air conditioner... and they hook it up to our BRAKES for reliable stopping power... that's B.S. when a hydrobooster costs just as much as the vacuum after you add in the vacuum booster, vacuum pump, and cheesy master cylinder. i would like to go dig up ol' henry and kick his *** for piece of mind. and i DO need to adjust my back brakes, the nut keeps coming loose, i dunno y, i replaced them and the little clicker thing that keeps them adjusted... idk.

 

Interesting that your pump sucks so bad, when I got my new one it would peg a 30 psi vac gauge no problem, kinda sounds like you old master cylinder was junk.

I put a Hydroboost on an old cheeby crew cab I have when I was gunna put a 6.2 in it, dont know what I was thinking, I picked up a 454 cheap and after a few "Required Modifications" she rips, still has the hydroboost only reason I dont like it is when I hit the lock on the steering wheel and step on the brakes the pedal will pulse and the pump will whine, but they do work awesome.


Diesel Rod

 

thanks for the post, i'll remember that if i decide to switch. right now my truck works nice, with the expection of it slightly moving to the right as i brake (which i can't really figure out) air? shrugs.

 

tighten your wheel bearings up and it may smooth out the dragging problem. i put a new stock booster"ford junk" and it still dodn't help anything, i put everything new pertaining to the brake system and the brakes still went 1/2 way to the floor, i could bleed them, work fine for about a week, then they would go back to 1/2 way to the floor. bleed them, be fine for a week. it never had any brake leaks or anything. i even relaced all my wheel bearings and seals cuz i thought maybe the oil in the back brakes was messing up something. no change. new ump. the pump pulls good vacuum, but it always ran out of puff when the brakes were about 7-16 to the floor. and when you gotta mash it 1/2 to the floor, that just don't work. i fixed it by putting a HUGE master cylinder on it. i LOVE to hear the whine of the steering pump when i mash the brakes, makes my day. i have a 1/2 ton chibby that used to have a diesel in it, then i ut a 454 with about the same "required mods" and i can mash the brakepedal all the way to the floor with TIGHT brakes.locks all 4 up and you dunno which way you are going. I LOVE IT and everything about it! highly recommended over the $100 junk vacuum pump, $75 junk booster, and $75 junk puny master cylinder. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to save over 100 dollars and get something better than what you previously had in every way.