JPhil
Huh?
I bought the kit from Hydratech. I decided that for the price it was the best way to go rather than try to piece it all together. I also have their knowledge & support if there are any problems.
As an aside, the Hydraboost unit weighs twice as much as the vacuum canister--15 lbs for the HB and 8 lbs for the vac booster.
Installation was pretty easy. For all the horror stories of changing out the booster, it wasn't that hard at all. No need to remove the steering column. I used a 1/2" drive socket which was deeper than a regular 3/8" drive socket but only about half the length of a deep 3/8 drive socket. A full deep socket would have been much harder to fit in there. Socket, u-joint, 1/2 to 3/8 drive adapter, 18" of extensions, all duct taped together. No problem. As far as problematic bolts on a C3, I give this one a 3 out of 10, mainly for the working position.
Removed the steering column bottom trim piece, headlight override vacuum switch & the heater duct. And the seat of course. It really wasn't that hard, quite simple and straightforward actually. The brake clevis pin came out and went back in easily too. Some prying & fiddling with a screwdriver & long needlenose pliers. Have patience. The only real pisser was when the door swung shut and latched while I was wedged under there. I had to do some real contortions to open it to get out. A bungee cord from the mirror to the fender fixed that problem.
In the engine bay I had to dremmel the fiberglass where the mount holes were mismatched between the firewall and the interior mount plate. I had to pry the old booster off and the new one didn't want to go back in. Took longer for the air compressor to build pressure than to clearance the holes. The Hydraboost did not come with a firewall gasket, I was going to smear a little silicone around it but when I got it test fitted I bolted it up and forgot. Oh well.
The new HB came with a brake pedal clevis & pin. I measured from the back of the vacuum unit to the clevis eye and matched the distance on the HB unit. Cinched the locknut, figuring if it was good it was done, if I needed to adjust I'd deal with it then. It was fine, brake pedal was exactly where it had been. Didn't need to readjust the brake light switch or anything. The HB clevis pin used a cotter pin rather than a snap washer into a groove, so I used the cotter pin one because it was a lot easier to put that in than replacing the snap washer on the OEM clevis pin.
Replacing the booster only took a couple hours actual working time.
Routing the hydraulic lines took the most time. I got the kit with the pre-cut & fabbed lines. The high pressure feed from the pump to the HB cylinder was no problem, but the high pressure return from the cylinder to the steering control valve I just could not get routed to my satisfaction. I spent several hours going through every possible way I could think of. My main concern was that the stiff braided line was one piece from the HB unit to the steering control valve and it moved back and forth with the tie rod, rubbing on the block, brackets, other lines, etc. all the way up into the engine bay.
I finally decided to go to a hydraulic hose & fitting shop and have a piece made up from the OEM high pressure pump to control valve line utilizing a flexible rubber U-bend to take the movement of the tie rod while securing the braided line at the pump. Just like the OEM line but with a 90* AN fitting to adapt to the braided HB line. (See photos a couple posts down.)
After that it was just bleeding the lines. My only screw up there was I forgot to tighten one fitting underneath and when I did I was loosening it instead and got a pint of PS fluid down my arm into my armpit. Oops.
Two things I still need to sort out: Pedal return is slow, which means restriction in the low pressure return line. I may have to get a new pump with a dedicated return for the HB. That brings me to ask: Does anyone have a part number or ID for an equivalent pressure pump to fit? I haven't yet looked into it.
More importantly, when I stomp hard on it, the pedal goes way down, then the cylinder (not the belts!) has a momentary high pitched groan and it starts pushing back. Pushing the pedal "firmly", it feels fine.
I haven't road tested it yet. I want to get these two things sorted out first. I have a call into Hydratech but they may have the day off since it's Veterans Day. I do too. Plus, it's winter here now. Yesterday morning at 8:30, it was 64* and sunny blue skies. By 11:00 it was 35* and dark overcast. By noon it was snowing. This morning it is 17* with snow still drifting down. No road test to try out new brakes this week!
Edit: 2 hours later--Jim from Hydratech just returned my call. He says the symptoms I have are normal for a new installation. They are from microbubbles in the fluid and I need to do is drive the car for 25-30 miles at a time for a couple hundred miles, carefully, and it will all sort out. All I need is some better weather now.....
I will post more as things develop.
As an aside, the Hydraboost unit weighs twice as much as the vacuum canister--15 lbs for the HB and 8 lbs for the vac booster.
Installation was pretty easy. For all the horror stories of changing out the booster, it wasn't that hard at all. No need to remove the steering column. I used a 1/2" drive socket which was deeper than a regular 3/8" drive socket but only about half the length of a deep 3/8 drive socket. A full deep socket would have been much harder to fit in there. Socket, u-joint, 1/2 to 3/8 drive adapter, 18" of extensions, all duct taped together. No problem. As far as problematic bolts on a C3, I give this one a 3 out of 10, mainly for the working position.
Removed the steering column bottom trim piece, headlight override vacuum switch & the heater duct. And the seat of course. It really wasn't that hard, quite simple and straightforward actually. The brake clevis pin came out and went back in easily too. Some prying & fiddling with a screwdriver & long needlenose pliers. Have patience. The only real pisser was when the door swung shut and latched while I was wedged under there. I had to do some real contortions to open it to get out. A bungee cord from the mirror to the fender fixed that problem.
In the engine bay I had to dremmel the fiberglass where the mount holes were mismatched between the firewall and the interior mount plate. I had to pry the old booster off and the new one didn't want to go back in. Took longer for the air compressor to build pressure than to clearance the holes. The Hydraboost did not come with a firewall gasket, I was going to smear a little silicone around it but when I got it test fitted I bolted it up and forgot. Oh well.
The new HB came with a brake pedal clevis & pin. I measured from the back of the vacuum unit to the clevis eye and matched the distance on the HB unit. Cinched the locknut, figuring if it was good it was done, if I needed to adjust I'd deal with it then. It was fine, brake pedal was exactly where it had been. Didn't need to readjust the brake light switch or anything. The HB clevis pin used a cotter pin rather than a snap washer into a groove, so I used the cotter pin one because it was a lot easier to put that in than replacing the snap washer on the OEM clevis pin.
Replacing the booster only took a couple hours actual working time.
Routing the hydraulic lines took the most time. I got the kit with the pre-cut & fabbed lines. The high pressure feed from the pump to the HB cylinder was no problem, but the high pressure return from the cylinder to the steering control valve I just could not get routed to my satisfaction. I spent several hours going through every possible way I could think of. My main concern was that the stiff braided line was one piece from the HB unit to the steering control valve and it moved back and forth with the tie rod, rubbing on the block, brackets, other lines, etc. all the way up into the engine bay.
I finally decided to go to a hydraulic hose & fitting shop and have a piece made up from the OEM high pressure pump to control valve line utilizing a flexible rubber U-bend to take the movement of the tie rod while securing the braided line at the pump. Just like the OEM line but with a 90* AN fitting to adapt to the braided HB line. (See photos a couple posts down.)
After that it was just bleeding the lines. My only screw up there was I forgot to tighten one fitting underneath and when I did I was loosening it instead and got a pint of PS fluid down my arm into my armpit. Oops.
Two things I still need to sort out: Pedal return is slow, which means restriction in the low pressure return line. I may have to get a new pump with a dedicated return for the HB. That brings me to ask: Does anyone have a part number or ID for an equivalent pressure pump to fit? I haven't yet looked into it.
More importantly, when I stomp hard on it, the pedal goes way down, then the cylinder (not the belts!) has a momentary high pitched groan and it starts pushing back. Pushing the pedal "firmly", it feels fine.
I haven't road tested it yet. I want to get these two things sorted out first. I have a call into Hydratech but they may have the day off since it's Veterans Day. I do too. Plus, it's winter here now. Yesterday morning at 8:30, it was 64* and sunny blue skies. By 11:00 it was 35* and dark overcast. By noon it was snowing. This morning it is 17* with snow still drifting down. No road test to try out new brakes this week!
Edit: 2 hours later--Jim from Hydratech just returned my call. He says the symptoms I have are normal for a new installation. They are from microbubbles in the fluid and I need to do is drive the car for 25-30 miles at a time for a couple hundred miles, carefully, and it will all sort out. All I need is some better weather now.....
I will post more as things develop.
Last edited: