alright i have a 1986 F-350 king cab 9900gvw 4x4 diesel 6.9L Auto with air..i know that's a lot of info but just in case!

OK so here is what i am dealing with..
i need a new steering column and power steering pump

now i heard that you can pull them out of a super duty( idk the years so if you do that would be great!) i heard that if you do then you can pull the master cylinder, power steering pump, and column out and it will fit... and the upgraded cylinder and steering pump with give you better breaking power! true or not? any help with years i can get this from would be greatly appreciated! i want my beast of a truck to be able to stop on a dime thats why i am looking into the upgraded braking from the super duty. i am having that Death Wobble problem with it so i am thinking it could be the pump! but i really dont know!

any help is greatly appreciated!
thanks!

 

Firstly, brake boosters do not make your truck stop any quicker, just the pedal effort required. Do not swap to a newer hydroboost expecting better braking performance.

If your power steering pump is bad, replace it. The newer model pumps may be better. Not sure, maybe someone else can chime in. My solution to my steering problems is to use a transmission cooler for my power steering. My fluid gets hotter than hades when I'm maneuvering my trailer in tight spaces, and power steering gets real weak. This is where a better pump and a cooler are useful.

You are chasing death wobble. Death wobble is not caused by power steering pumps. You need to find the cause of it. Check your king pins, it could be as simple as worn springs or bushings. If they haven't been serviced in a long time go ahead and get rebuild kits and rebuild the king pins. Also check your track bar bushings, if they are AT ALL questionable replace them with new poly bushings. Due to the **** poor front suspension design on these trucks (front shackles, flexy A shackles for the TTB models) they are extremely susceptible to death wobble if anything is loose or worn in the front suspension, and even when everything is new and tight.

Also, how old and how worn are your tires? What size are they? Larger tires indice death wobble more easily, especially if out of balance. Get your tires rebalanced and your alignment checked. Try swapping front tires to rear and rear to front, does death wobble change?

What conditions set off your death wobble? Is it just a certain speed? Is it bumps? A steering stabilizer will likely stop the death wobble, but remember they just mask the problem. I run one as insurance to prevent an accident should death wobble start at speed and I can't manuever.

 

so you are saying to just replace the pump with stock parts?

and i have brand new 35s on it and a steering stabilizer. it is usually triggered by turning at speeds between 35 and 40.

is it true though that you can pull the steering column and pump and such from a super duty? is it is i think ill go with that unless there is a major downfall to that? the only reason i lean towards the super duty parts is basically the name lol. do you think there is any real upgrade in the performance of the parts from the 2 models?

 

I highly doubt there is any tangible benefit to the newer super duty parts. Is your power steering pump even bad? Throwing money at a problem for the name on a part is a waste. A spade is still a spade no matter what you call it. Your power steering pump is not causing death wobble. Did your death wobble start after getting the new tires? Are they larger than your last set of tires?

To cure death wobble, check your track bar bushings, king pins, tie rod ends, drag link, and wheel bearings.

 

First of all just because your 35's are brand new doesn't mean squat. I have seen MANY new tires that are out of round and cannot be accurately balanced other than using equal or beads.

Steering stabilizers are only bandaid for suspension problems and only mask trouble not correct it.

Check all of your bushings and have your tires re-balanced at a reputible shop that specializes in over size tires.

If after all that if you still have issues, check your king pins. You may be able to get by with shimming the springs. Google it.

 

yes you can upgrade to a F-SUPERDUTY (not superduty)hydoboost system. The f -superdutys were made from 87-97.

As stater earlier. the death wobble has nothing to do to your pump. It is an alignment issue on the D60 truck. It is a caster problem. you need a tapered wedge put between the front spring and the axle housing. The springs settle over time and you loose your caster

And try this site for your diesel questions http://www.oilburners.net/forums/index.php

 

alright this is what i have come up with...it needs new track bar bushings for sure! It has the same sized tires as before we had the wobble. The king pins are brand new! but it could need re-aliment . i have to look more into the tie rod ends, drag link, and wheel bearings so i will do that and get back to you! now i am completely confused about the wedge thing by the spring? can you explain that to me again?

 

It's a tapered wedge that sits between the leaf pack and axle.

As your leafs sag the axle will roll upwards and decrease your caster angle. IIRC caster should be set at around 6 degrees for best tracking.

An alignment shop should be able to tell you what it is and shim it if necessary.

 

Yes thanks Stoch. Very common problem on these trucks

. You can bypass all your steering linkage and panhard bar and just do the shims. Problem solved

 

Knowledge is useful when talking about the frontend and frontend problems, but in the end you should take it to a alignment shop and let them shim it or do whatever. You can get under there and check for loose components and replace them yourself, but after that take it to someone to put it on a rack.

I have also heard of the hydroboost upgrade. I think you have to get it off a f450. While I agree in theory that it will not help stopping power if the brakes are the same size, people who go to this setup do seem to see a improvement for some reason, and also it does not rely on the vacuum pump to work, so in certain occasions if you pump the brake pedal, the hydraulic system will not run out steam like the vacuum pump will. I do not think you need to change the steering column though?

 

Knowledge is useful when talking about the frontend and frontend problems, but in the end you should take it to a alignment shop and let them shim it or do whatever. You can get under there and check for loose components and replace them yourself, but after that take it to someone to put it on a rack.

I have also heard of the hydroboost upgrade. I think you have to get it off a f450. While I agree in theory that it will not help stopping power if the brakes are the same size, people who go to this setup do seem to see a improvement for some reason, and also it does not rely on the vacuum pump to work, so in certain occasions if you pump the brake pedal, the hydraulic system will not run out steam like the vacuum pump will. I do not think you need to change the steering column though?

 

The hydro boost upgrade is usually only needed when you are running really big tires.

Over 38" or so and you need the additional stopping power.

 

That is not entirely correct - hydroboost runs about double the line pressure the vacuum boosters can put out, so while that effectively drops the pedal effort in half to achieve the same braking as his factory setup (just like you suggest), if he gets on the pedal with as much force as he is using now with the vacuum booster the line pressure will be much much higher and the truck will stop better. Vacuum booster suck for heavy trucks, they do just fine when the truck is empty, but put a big trailer behind it and their performance goes out the window. I have converted two truck to hydroboost, my old '79 hafton Chev, and my current diesel - both have resulted in significantly shorter stopping distances when I stand on the pedal. The Chev is not a very good example as it's not a Ford product, but the diesel will put you through the windshield in a hurry if you are not buckled up, I mean this thing can lock up the front tires on dry hot asphalt, something it could never do with the vacuum booster.

If you're not convinced by my explanation and my personal experience, may I suggest that you visit FullSizeBronco.com and see what their thoughts are on that topic? Because the F350 vacuum booster is way more powerful than the F150 and Bronco boosters, so it's a very very popular brake upgrade, for just the reasons I described above. Some people with the very big tires upgrade all the way up to the hydroboost system, but for the weight of their trucks the F350 vacuum booster is usually more than enough. Problem with our diesel trucks is they are very heavy to begin with, so we only have one brake upgrade option, and that's hydroboosting.

On the particular details about the hydroboost upgrade - you absolutely need the booster unit itself. Pressure lines you can get from the donor truck, but I'd just buy them new from a parts store as they are less than $50 for both. You can use your current power steering pump, you only need to swap out the reservoir - you can take that from the donor truck, or you can buy a new reservoir with seals and such from a parts store for about $35 or so. The F-superduty master cylinder is not suitable for your truck as its bore is too large and you will lose some mechanical advantage - if you have upgarded to rear disc brakes by all means go ahead and use the F-superduty master, but if you still have the factory drums just keep your factory master cylinder - IIRC the '83-'86 master will bolt up directly to the hydroboost, while the '87-'96 needs some slotting of the mounting holes. Swapping steering columns is not required, however swapping brake pedal assemblies is recommended to correct the hydroboost linkage geometry - the hydroboost will work with your factory brake pedal tho, it just won't get optimal pushrod angles cause of where the pedal pin is.