Hydraboost and disc brake conversion

[docerz]

Has anyone out there converted to disc brakes from manuel? I have a radical cam and live above 7000 ft so vacuum is very little after the cam. I head of using a hydra boost system to power the disc brakes i plan to get from Master power brakes. Anyone with any feedback is welcome as well as any comments about the conversion (a vacuum pump is out of the question because it would have to be running all the time to keep up) Thanks Any tips or tricks? Thanks

[Pejerry]

Hydratech has them for specific applications, Power Brake Service(sold through Summit) is a bit cheaper, $45.00 maybe. Paul from HydraTech will talk to you all day long and help you with any issues you have. Summit has always taken care of me when I had issues but it involved returns and such. I have never called Summit for tech support. I would rather get tech from the people who make the kit.
The unit I got from HydraTech and the PBS unit pictured in Summit look like the GM units we have at work in the 6.2 and 6.5L Cheyennes.
If you rob a Chivv booster from a junkyard a D150 MC will probably work on it, it's what I use, MoPerf aluminum has no real advantage for me.
You can buy the PBS Saginaw hose kit from Summit. Also you will have to fab a pedal rod linkage, no biggie.
Like I said, I bought from HydraTech but on the next one, it will be a junkyard concoction.

[ehostler]

How do you convert to disc from manual? You can convert to disc from drum. You can also use non-power disc brakes.

A cool option (if you have power steering) is to do it they way they are on the current Cummins Ram. The power steering pump is the power booster for the master cylinder. It makes for a rather clean firewall, as the master takes very little space.

[Pejerry]

E, the hydroboost systems are the same technology used on nearly all diesel vehicles. I had a 01 Turd F-350 that had it, probably the same unit. My fathers "02 Cummins booster is probably the same too, it looks the same. The big 3 probably get their boosters from the same manufacturer.
The P/S pump sends the pressurized hydraulic fluid to the hydrobooster, located on the firewall with the MC attached. The pressurized fluid works in conjunction with the hydrogen cannister on the side of the unit.
These have pretty much been the standard fare of boosters for diesel vehicle for several years now, even VW TDI. The earliest application I have found it on was a 1981 MilSpec Blazer with a diesel.
Remember, they are a hydraulic assisted booster not a vacuum assist.

[ehostler]

It is definately a great setup on a vehicle where the engine is almost always under boost.

I haven't looked at mine close enough, but I was thinking that one might be able to rape the system out of a truck in a salvage yard and retrofit it into an older vehicle.

[Pejerry]

Salvage yard set-ups are getting to be more common than the "kit" variety. I happened to have the money then so I bought the kit, I was also in a hurry and hadn't researched the retrofits in enough detail. Now, $700.00 later, I realize how simple putting your own junkyard unit together is.
The biggest thing is keeping the hydrogen canister charged. It is very important not to engage the unit unless you have fluid in it. You could relate this to dry firing a firearm. So, if you get a salvage piece, make sure to get one off of a vehicle that isn't too bad off. Also, keep in mind of the MC bore size. A 1-ton trucks MC will have different specs than a 2900lb racecar. My unit accepts a D150 MC or the MoPerf aluminum MC, I believe the boosters Hydratech uses are GM. Although the one I had in the Turd F-series looked the same, I am not willing to go on the record as saying that they are all the same units. Furd, Chivv, and Dodge do all look very similar, I have just not measured and compared them enough to state facts. I'm interested to find out if they all will accept Mopar MC's.