80 Series brake hydro booster conversion installed (1 Viewer)

[Feldrian]

'Murica!

 

[samiam09]

View attachment 2630174

'Murica!

hey that was my first offroad car

 

[on the rocks]

@baldilocks, how quick does your pedal release back when you let off? The one thing I noticed after getting it back together is it is slow to come back up. Haven't had it out enough to see if its causing brake drag or it releases the pads immediately yet. The 1 1/8" bore they sent feels a little stiff but I'm pretty sure I can lock these 37's up pretty effortlessly now...

 

[baldilocks]

@baldilocks, how quick does your pedal release back when you let off? The one thing I noticed after getting it back together is it is slow to come back up. Haven't had it out enough to see if its causing brake drag or it releases the pads immediately yet. The 1 1/8" bore they sent feels a little stiff but I'm pretty sure I can lock these 37's up pretty effortlessly now...

The larger MC does require a little bit more muscle input but will render greater braking power.
I didn’t notice the pedal return time increasing enough to concern me. Where is you proportioning valve set? Go in gravel for feting so you can see how long your skid marks are. I set mine so the Fronts lock first making longer skid marks.

Did you get your parts from Matt Sweeting or from Vanco?

 

[on the rocks]

The larger MC does require a little bit more muscle input but will render greater braking power.
I didn’t notice the pedal return time increasing enough to concern me. Where is you proportioning valve set? Go in gravel for feting so you can see how long your skid marks are. I set mine so the Fronts lock first making longer skid marks.

Did you get your parts from Matt Sweeting or from Vanco?

I set the PV about mid way for now. I may get a set of pressure gauges at some point to dial it in like it should be but with the 6 piston fronts I think I can run it fairly wide open on the rear. The front end is dropping harder than I have ever seen on a couple hard stops making me thing the LSPV was causing heavy rear braking. No proof, just an assumption.
I ended up going Vanco. The owners wife answered right away and is a talker so got really good info and quick delivery. They called this a Toyota "KIT" but I think it's really a tweaked Jeep kit. Outside the mounting bolts(short), flipped mounting plate(180degrees) and I think a short clevis(pulled the pedal down) everything went well.

 

[baldilocks]

I set the PV about mid way for now. I may get a set of pressure gauges at some point to dial it in like it should be but with the 6 piston fronts I think I can run it fairly wide open on the rear. The front end is dropping harder than I have ever seen on a couple hard stops making me thing the LSPV was causing heavy rear braking. No proof, just an assumption.
I ended up going Vanco. The owners wife answered right away and is a talker so got really good info and quick delivery. They called this a Toyota "KIT" but I think it's really a tweaked Jeep kit. Outside the mounting bolts(short), flipped mounting plate(180degrees) and I think a short clevis(pulled the pedal down) everything went well.

Pressure gauges sounds high tech. I used my infrared thermometer and a gravel road. LOL Gen V 4runner fronts are on my list.

 

[on the rocks]

Pressure gauges sounds high tech. I used my infrared thermometer and a gravel road. LOL Gen V 4runner fronts are on my list.

LOL, I'll likely do the gravel test and never see more but plan on some towing and carry a 250lb bike and 140lb tire on the rear so plan on entertaining it. I think you'll like the Gen 5 calipers, I did a 40MPH - 0 test vs my old setup(35's and no armor anywhere) and gained 10' stopping distance. This was after going very heavy 37's and adding a ton of weight to the 80. I'll test this setup also once I get it dialed in.

 

[on the rocks]

Long winded, sorry but learned a lot so thought I would post my experience here.


A little follow up on working the kinks out here. I'm pretty sure these kits are not a full on this works great and "the perfect solution"and more a improvement system/ conversion, get you an easy put together almost all in one kit kit. I have now installed and disassembled everything 3 time at least now. And knowing what I do now, I would just piece it together, especially the lines, filter and reservoir. Vanco and Cindy did well troubleshooting and great customer service and as with my first experience Wilwood engineers and support is top notch, their data base trying to sort out details for the 1000's of parts they offer just sucks tho. I did do a full on brake/ steering system replace so this should be considered, not just a booster/ MC add.


I hit one last snag I encountered after my first couple amazing hard stops. I s*** you not, the 6 piston calipers and 14" rotors were great but this hydrobooster setup is a whole other level( this did remove the ABS and LSPV tho). If I did the two stages in the reverse order I don't know this would be the case lol.
As I drove further and used the brakes more I would start experiencing caliper lockup without depressing the pedal. When these suckers lock up your going nowhere. Come to find out the booster piston(not adjustable) was slightly too long.... Causing the system to think your constantly braking and building line pressure in the brake line. Simple solution is to relieve brake line pressure at the caliper locking or loosen the MC/ booster mount to release pin pressure on the MC. The picture below was how I solved this. I removed the rubber boot between the MC/ Booster, no luck, then grabbed some washers and drove until the problem went away, I stacked 2 each side and tightened the MC back down and got lucky first try. I will pull the washers and the Wilwood piston spacer extension and grind the same amount of the spacer NOT the booster piston( much cheaper if you screw up).


A lot of reading below but some troubleshooting and symptoms I was seeing. One bonus is I was able to dial in the rears as I went. Just adjusted less pressure until the problem shifted back to the front. When I did this the front caliper lockup came on very fast. I will still test further,

• Brakes work wonderful at startup and as I drive. A little stiff though due to 1 1/8” bore. I think 1 1/16 may be the sweet spot but haven’t tested so just a guess.
• I check the rod inside the cab and where it sits pre start, post start and after the problem starts. No change in its position. It flows freely with a small amount of play.
• There is no one thing I’m doing to cause the following. When it starts, it comes on pretty fast but not instant and the brake pedal will get very stiff when it starts to come on.
  • I have driven with as little braking as possible, higher speeds, lower speeds and not one given thing seems to start the issue.
  • It seems to maybe come on as the engine warms and I drive a bit then sit at a stoplight then take off.
  • Not all lock up consistently and it varies as mentioned. When it starts I get a very stiff pedal and have about a block to start getting very hard lockup and full blown lock.
  • I pull over asap and release the bleeded valve front or rear and I can see the brake release and actually hear it with high pressure fluid coming out.
  • After releasing it loosens up and the pedal gets softer(normal). Once I got home immediately, once I drove for some time and couldn’t get it to repeat. Once it locked up the rear, I adjusted the PV to more front, went about 4 blocks and the front then locked up.
  • The first few times, the reservoir did overflow. I do know I didn’t know what was going on and drove further than I should have, Steering fluid was hot but may have been the reservoir overfilled a bit. Last two times I stopped sooner to relieve the brake line pressure and it was fine.

• I have adjusted the proportioning valve and the problem seems to follow front/ to rear as I adjust this. Problem in front when I back off rear pressure/ problem in rear when I increase.
• Brake fluid is full and I have bled probably 6 bottles of DOT3 Wilwood 570 since the swap. I have flushed the steering 3 times now with Royal Purple.
• I have pulled the MC twice to bench bleed and check with no issues. It does have the pin extension and rubber boot.
• The Booster is flipped 180. I have 2 of the 4 times went right to the wash and hosed off the fluids in the area. I did notice a what looks like weep hole in what is now the top of the booster? so stopped going to the wash to see if I can get a different result. Last 2 times no wash and same result somewhat.
• I re-routed the return line as shown below with no change.
• No lines I see are kinked. No leaks even when the pressure builds.
• Steering assist and brake assist are never full on assist and seem to be easy and hard with no scenario to cause anything I see. I do run 37’s so expect this somewhat.
• Plug on the end of the MC is the switch. No difference on either switch or a plug.

temp spacer adjustment.

final result, well almost...

thanks for the OP @baldilocks. I learned alot from this and love this setup!

 

[cruisermatt]

@on the rocks I run the same size brakes as you with hydroboost and 1-1/18 as well, I completely agree a 1-1/16” would be perfect

 

[on the rocks]

@on the rocks I run the same size brakes as you with hydroboost and 1-1/18 as well, I completely agree a 1-1/16” would be perfect

You know, it's actually growing on me and most the braking is only slight pressure on the pedal. I would take it over pushing the pedal to the floor and not stopping any day tho!

 

[baldilocks]

You know, it's actually growing on me and most the braking is only slight pressure on the pedal. I would take it over pushing the pedal to the floor and not stopping any day tho!

My frustration with failed attempts at making my stock set up work without practically bottoming out the pedal before feeling substantial braking power is what motivated the hydro booster and 1.125” MC install for me. Wheeling rocks with one toe on the brake pedal that strokes an inch and a half at most is far better than needing to pump, pump, and hope as I drop off a boulder or ledge. As for road driving, I never intended to drive a landcruiser like I stole it anyway.

 

[cruisermatt]

Agreed. Been driving mine with the
1-1/8 since 2018. 1-1/16” would be ideal but not enough that i have plans to change it

 

[White Stripe]

My hydroboost is on stock brakes. The only reason I want bigger front brakes with the hydroboost is to lessen front pad wear. Ill probably just leave them as is though and move on to other projects. The 30 year old brake hoses did not react well to the pressure of the hydroboost either. Blew the side of one out. I have 1 1/16 master for mine.

 

[on the rocks]

I forgot I had this. Last test a few days ago, I was marking the road with white paint as I changed things over time. I’m a believer. 40-0 test. I tried to do a video but it ended up being a bit tougher than expected.
Top line- old, tired ABS, LSPV OEM calipers much lighter 80 with 35's
Middle line- 10' stop improvement adding 14" Tundra rotors and 6 piston 4runner Wilwood's. Post heavy armor and 37's
Bottom line. 33' improvement from first test! After LSPV, ABS delete and hydro booster add in addition to the caliper and rotor mod.

 

[Madcrix12]

i need some help pls

i fitting a 2017 f250 sd hydro unit with MC to my 80. i made over lines from pump to run directly to hydro unit and then output of hydro unit goes to steering box and low pressure of hydro and steering box both T up and return to reservoir.

initially i started engine and kept pouring fluid in and kept turning steering wheel. it was HARd and brake pedal rock hard. pedal kept pulsing when i turn wheel. figured i had line mixed up on hyro unit and swapped them. steering is super soft now. however brakes are ROCK hard. i equate it to the old vacuum system with engine off and trying to stop the vehicle.


what do i do? the power steering reservoir squirts fluid out every time i mash brakes. do i have air? is it a bad hyro unit? i have no air in brake lines and did not install a proportion valve. is the rod where the pedal hooks up too long? too short? i cut and welded my oem end onto the ford rod.

 

[baldilocks]

i need some help pls

i fitting a 2017 f250 sd hydro unit with MC to my 80. i made over lines from pump to run directly to hydro unit and then output of hydro unit goes to steering box and low pressure of hydro and steering box both T up and return to reservoir.

initially i started engine and kept pouring fluid in and kept turning steering wheel. it was HARd and brake pedal rock hard. pedal kept pulsing when i turn wheel. figured i had line mixed up on hyro unit and swapped them. steering is super soft now. however brakes are ROCK hard. i equate it to the old vacuum system with engine off and trying to stop the vehicle.


what do i do? the power steering reservoir squirts fluid out every time i mash brakes. do i have air? is it a bad hyro unit? i have no air in brake lines and did not install a proportion valve. is the rod where the pedal hooks up too long? too short? i cut and welded my oem end onto the ford rod.

First, we need to be sure your hoses are properly routed. There should be a high pressure hose from the pump directly to the inlet port of the hydro booster and a high pressure hose from the outlet port of the hydro booster to the inlet port of the steering gear box. Then you can run low pressure hose from the outlet port of the the steering gear box and the return port of the booster to a cooler then back to the reservoir or directly to the res if you are not including a fluid cooler in the system. Both “return hoses can be tee’d together as it seems you’ve already done. My system uses a large PSC reservoir that has two return ports so my return hoses both have their own dedicated hose port with no tee necessary.

You should run a cooler not only to cool the fluid but also to ad volume to the system.

I think the MC bore diameter of the unit you are using is probably too big. Do you know the MC bore diameter?

They’re a photos for reference that I posted in the beginning of this thread when I started it nearly 5 years ago.

 

[Madcrix12]

does the bore matter if i am using a complete unit from the FORD? mc and hydro came as one unit from breaker yard.

I did notice that the high pressure output line that goes to the input on the steering box is way larger than the ford factory power steering lines. see pic below for line coming from output of ford hydro unit to the input of the steerign box. its bigger than factory lines so i suspect i am gettign too much flow an dnot enought pressure buildup in de hydro unit. do u have pics of your setup and lines?

 

[baldilocks]

does the bore matter if i am using a complete unit from the FORD? mc and hydro came as one unit from breaker yard.

I did notice that the high pressure output line that goes to the input on the steering box is way larger than the ford factory power steering lines. see pic below for line coming from output of ford hydro unit to the input of the steerign box. its bigger than factory lines so i suspect i am gettign too much flow an dnot enought pressure buildup in de hydro unit. do u have pics of your setup and lines?
View attachment 3573757

I’m not a hydro booster guru. I’ve done two hydro booster set ups in my life on two different vehicles. Both boosters I used were new Bosch units so a bit different than yours.

I suggested that the MC bore diameter may be larger than optimal bc I’m assuming your parts came off of a heavier duty type truck. When the bore diameter is increased too much over stock without also installing larger calipers, the effort required by your leg to stop the car increases. The pedal will travel significantly less distance and feel much firmer.

The photos I posted here are on the first page or two. I’m sure others have posted photos as well.

 

[Dubbinchris]

Just ordered from Matt.......90 days to ship.

 

[baldilocks]

Just ordered from Matt.......90 days to ship.

Call Vanco, also in SoCal. They are very knowledgeable and good to work with.