Hydraboost verses vacuum module

B

bowtiebinder

New member
I have a 76 Scout and I have seen some of the build ups done with the hydraboost set up . My question is what are the pro's and cons of having the hydraboost set up and is the braking efficiency better ? Also what type or year hydraboost module should I use ? Any info will be greatly appreciated .
 
I did the hydraboost conversion a few months ago and am real happy with it. Most of my parts came out of a Chevy astro van, there are a ton of them in junk yards. The Scout stops great now, its a little scary at first. There should be a write up or two around this site.
 
I pulled mine from a 96 astro I believe. And I got the lines from a diesel pickup of the same era because they ran over towards the fender and down which I thought looked cleaner. Pretty straight forward to do really and the braking was greatly improved. Bill will chime in soon here and point you in the right direction. Oh yeah, instead of the shimming in the pump I just took the guts out of the astro and it worked great for me. Easy steering and easy pedal pressure. I was into the whole thing for almost 50 bucks and it took about 3 hours.
 
qdawg said:
I pulled mine from a 96 astro I believe. And I got the lines from a diesel pickup of the same era because they ran over towards the fender and down which I thought looked cleaner. Pretty straight forward to do really and the braking was greatly improved. Bill will chime in soon here and point you in the right direction. Oh yeah, instead of the shimming in the pump I just took the guts out of the astro and it worked great for me. Easy steering and easy pedal pressure. I was into the whole thing for almost 50 bucks and it took about 3 hours.
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Im running 37 in tires and im looking for more stopping power so im hoping switching from a power brake booster to hydraboost will give me what I want . My next question is what lines run to the hydraboost ? Im not real familiar with the system so im doing a little homework and getting some info from you guys who have done it . Also I am running a big block Chevy in my Scout that is fairly healthy so I hope it doesnt require a lot of vacuum . Thank you all for your input !
 
Im running 37 in tires and im looking for more stopping power so im hoping switching from a power brake booster to hydraboost will give me what I want . My next question is what lines run to the hydraboost ? Im not real familiar with the system so im doing a little homework and getting some info from you guys who have done it . Also I am running a big block Chevy in my Scout that is fairly healthy so I hope it doesnt require a lot of vacuum . Thank you all for your input !
 
No power steering, 37's, bigblock...... You must be huge! Lol! How do you hold on to that thing? :gringrin:
 
qdawg said:
no power steering, 37's, bigblock...... You must be huge! Lol! How do you hold on to that thing? :gringrin:
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Actually I really havnt driven it except around the block once in a while as I am still building it but she is just about ready for the road . Manual steering for the scouts isnt bad and I got rid of the powersteering when I lived in alaska . The extream cold killed power steering hoses . My big block is 408 ci and 500 hp and 530 ft lps of torque all at the rear end .
 
qdawg said:
no power steering, 37's, bigblock...... You must be huge! Lol! How do you hold on to that thing? :gringrin:
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One more question you May be able to help me with . What would be some of the symtoms of a preportioning valve going bad ? I ask because mine is the original and I really need to mash the brakes to stop and I have disk brakes front and rear as well as a new master cylender from IH only for four wheel disk brakes . I also have power brakes as well . Any ideas ?
 
My old brake system had a kinda hard pedal that took quite a bit of effort to stop so that's what made me do the hydroboost. My valve pretty much just looked for a drop in pressure and turned on the brake failure light. When you grab the hydroboost from the junkyard grab the valve with it also. I did braided stainless lines also.
 
The only complaint about the brakes on my '74 Scout is that when I stab them in a panic stop situation the rears will lock up before the fronts do much. Since I live on a chip sealed stage coach road, there are a lot of blind corners that require a panic stop so you don't cream one of the neighbors.

The other issue, which a hydro boost won't address is that the brakes do fade fairly quickly. I've had a couple of white knuckle rides while towing, but fortunately no damage.

What is it that people like so much about the hydro boost?
 
I pull a ski boat all over oregon and I've never had brake fade. I have an auto and I'll downshift if need be. I personally like the hydroboost because the pedal effort is sooooo easy and it just stops with ease now. It looks really clean when done properly and another reason for me is because I went with a cam that didn't create much vacum.
 
The worst time mine faded was when we were towing an rv from mad river to garberville via a "short" cut some friends knew. The road was steep enough that the brakes on the trailer were noticeably fading so we stopped on the side of the road to let them cool down. After about 30 min we took off again and the road got steeper. We went through a couple of switch backs, I was thinking about stopping again and my wife said "I smell brakes" as we went down this steep bowl shaped hill down into a valley. The Scout was in 2nd gear and by the time we hit the bottom of the hill I was standing on the brakes, the engine was roaring at redline+ and the kids in back got strangely quiet. Fortunately there was a long flat straight stretch of road at the bottom of the hill and we were able to slow down. After a quick change of shorts we were again on our way. :cryin:
 
I've had that same type of experience with my old Ford highboy. Towing a big trailer with way too much firewood on it to central oregon. 4 wheel drums on the truck and I think the trailer brakes were doing all the work! Cutting corners and straightening out the roads was all I could do. People were flipping me off but I told my girlfriend they all must work at a sawmill and they were just waving:smilewinkgrin:
 
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