Hydro Boost Brakes (1 Viewer)

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Little Joe said:
is there anyway to make more breaking power in the front?

Starting a new thread, but in response to the above question from another thread.

There's a great upgrade that most Cruiser heads are not doing yet. I've done it on TippyR, and N. Penner did it on Tigger (both trucks with 44"+ tires), and both trucks can lock up the wheels on a whim... Hydro-boost.

Instead of using vaccuum to boost the brake power, hydraulic fluid from the power steering is used.

This system is decades old, designed by an old stock car racer. You can find hydro-boosters in the wrecking yard for CHEAP. They are on some cadillacs, any chev truck that had a diesel, and even some astro-vans. The 98+ ford pickups with the diesels have them too, now. The one I am using came out of an International School bus.

The mounting is easy. It took me under 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon to get mine mounted into Tippy. The stock brake pedal and linkage all seemed to work perfectly. All I had to do was build a small adapter plate for the firewall to get all the bolt holes matched up.

Then, you take the pressure line from the power steering, and screw it into the brake master. Then the line goes from the brake master to the steering box (brakes get priority pressure over steering), and a return line from the brake master has to go to the power steering resevoir. You also need to put new ends on your brake lines, as you'll likely need to use the new master cylendar too, which is going to be at least as large or larger than the stock Toyota master.

Stopping power is staggering. You can fiddle with disk conversions, bigger callipers, etc... I've done them all. The improvement with the hydro boost is a quantum leap over all other brake mods. Plus, it's one less thing that you need that expensive alternator mounted vacuum pump for. (assuming you have one of those extravegantly priced pieces)

Caution, when the engine stops, however, you don't get a pump or two of the pedal before you run out of vaccuum, when the engine stops, you got no power assist. Like other brakes, however, you can still stop by pressing real hard.

Peter Straub
 
Behemoth60 said:
Caution, when the engine stops, however, you don't get a pump or two of the pedal before you run out of vaccuum, when the engine stops, you got no power assist. Like other brakes, however, you can still stop by pressing real hard.

Peter Straub

I'd be surprized if this hasn't been fixed by now too. Have a look at the new Fords and I'll bet you'll find a small hydraulic accumulator.
 
I run hydroboost on my FJ55. It stops better than almost any vehicle I've owned including 4 wheel disk brake vehicles like Volvos and my Mercedes and such. I use hydroboost from a 92 GMC Safari (aka an Astro Van) with the Saginaw pump that came with my Cummins. I would recommend it to anyone. I found a disk front / drum rear model. Same thing, in about 2-3 hours it was installed. I have an FJ60 front disk axle with stock mini truck (same as FJ60) drums in the rear. Even with the OEM Safari master cyl it is perfectly proportioned. I think hydroboost blows 4 wheel disk out of the water unless you have hydroboost with 4 wheel disk as well :)
 
i am curious what the inspectors would say if you got into an accident and they found you messing with the brake system?
i wonder if your insurance would still make a payout in the event they were supposed to?
i for one will not do such a mod on a street driven rig...
cheers
 
The only real mod is using a different brake master cyl instead of your stock one - if you choose to. The big difference is the BOOSTER hence why it is called hydroboost. You can leave as stock but the irony is it will stop much better with it than any stock setup with larger tires. It scares me to think what it would be like with normal tires. Probably complete utter overkill. An interesting thing is my power steering works much better with it as well. Before there were some flat spots at lower RPMs strangely enough...
 
don't get me wrong, i am not trying to say the mod is poor or anything like that, i am just saying from a insurance risk side i wouldn't do it to a daily driver.
i am sure it works great, i have never tried it so i can not comment on it...
cheers
 
I figure it's exactly the same as modifying the steering or suspension ( and maybe the bumpers) The onus would be on the insurer to...
1) reject the policy before the accident due to mods. or
2) prove the accident was caused or worsened by the modifications.

In reality, I don't know. The insurance industry has the scruples of Quebec ad agencies and Enron accountants.
 
All Toyota Land Cruiser model 100's sold in the USA have hydraulic boosters for the brake system instead of Vacum. This would also include the new model of the 4runner as well as the Lexus GX470 (aka prado).

Cheers,

Michael
 
lowenbrau said:
I figure it's exactly the same as modifying the steering or suspension ( and maybe the bumpers) The onus would be on the insurer to...
1) reject the policy before the accident due to mods. or
2) prove the accident was caused or worsened by the modifications.

In reality, I don't know. The insurance industry has the scruples of Quebec ad agencies and Enron accountants.
with my dealings with insurance companies, you do not give them a reason not to pay out.
they have the indelable right to refuse a claim if they find ANY fault of the insured or the vehicle involved in the accident.
you actually have it backwards Bruce, it is the responsibility of the insured to notifiy the insurance company of any and all modifications to the insurance company.
if you do not believe me give your insurance company a call and find out.
BTW, once they are notified of any and all modifications then, if they accept the mod without cancelling your policy, then you are good to go...
cheers
 
crushers said:
with my dealings with insurance companies, you do not give them a reason not to pay out.
they have the indelable right to refuse a claim if they find ANY fault of the insured or the vehicle involved in the accident.
you actually have it backwards Bruce, it is the responsibility of the insured to notifiy the insurance company of any and all modifications to the insurance company.
if you do not believe me give your insurance company a call and find out.
BTW, once they are notified of any and all modifications then, if they accept the mod without cancelling your policy, then you are good to go...
cheers

"indelable" [Inego Montoya voice] "I don't think that word means what you think it means. [end Inego Montoya voice]
"any fault"? So if a stock tie rod end fails and you crash you're not covered? How about a faulty tire?

I don't have it backward, I agree with you. If your policy says so, you must tell your insurer about any mods. They then have the right to insure you or not. If they do then they must cover you. Mine knows about my mods and has accepted my policy with those mods.
 
you are probably right, my english is quite poor at times, i have been kown for wayneisms.
i guess what i am trying to say is to check with your insurance company as i have and as Bruce has to make sure you are covered with your mods. an accident that could bankrupt you for now and the rest of your life can happen. it just is not worth the risk..
cheers
 
lowenbrau "any fault"? So if a stock tie rod end fails and you crash you're not covered? How about a faulty tire? .[/QUOTE said:
actually if the insuracne company found out you were at a service shop and you were warned about a faulty tie rod or a faulty tire and you decided to keep driving then yes they could void your policy...
they would not view that as an accident.
now if you did not know about the weakeness then you might be covered, this is one reason a vehicle is checked out for mechanical fault....
cheers
 
this is why I drive like an 80 year old women, unlike most 80 year old women, I know how to drive, how to get out of slides and sticky situations, but like them I just choose to do it at a slow speed, but unfortuantly things still happen, even my rediculouly big push bar would void my insurance I think, a 2.5 inch lift will too. So pretty much everyones slightly modded rig isn't insured unless you have cleared it with your insurance company!

Man I hate insurance, but it is there for a reason, but it still sucks and costs too much.

Wayne, have you ever cleared anything before? Did it increase your rates? did they take pics?
 
it takes 40+ pushes of pedal to loose presure after the motor is off(this is what the FSM says) I have been happy wtih the system, but its $1000+ for a new booster/master set up......and there have been some that have failed.

tlcruiserman said:
All Toyota Land Cruiser model 100's sold in the USA have hydraulic boosters for the brake system instead of Vacum. This would also include the new model of the 4runner as well as the Lexus GX470 (aka prado).

Cheers,

Michael
 
Eric Winkworth said:
Wayne, have you ever cleared anything before? Did it increase your rates? did they take pics?
yes, i have my vehicles appraised and all mods listed with the insurance company. i have been asked to have the vehicle inspected after the mods but never had the insurance cancelled or raised because of it.
when i was looking into PI i notified the insurance and found out in some provinces dual fuel is a big no/no. here there was no problem at all.

i drive like an ass at times so if i do get into an acciedent i want to know i am covered. i do not drive drunk or impaired or high. to me i calculate the odds and if i am willing to accept the worse case senerio then i will do it, otherwise i play by the rules.

btw, my eyes were opened back a few years when i was involed in an accident in a winter snow storm. i slid down a long icy hill and "T"boned a car pushing her into a van. the final bill 2 years later was $250,000. i darn near had a heart attack until the insurance company said they are comvering the bill. the problem was i had a 1000 lb work box in the back of my pickup and i had not notified my insurance. at first they were not going to cover me but in the end they did. right after that they dropped coverage on me. i asked why and the answer was since the box did not cause the accident i would be covered but since i did not notify them of the box i became a high risk. if they had felt the box had in any way contributed to the accident then my coverage would have been nulified...

all i can say is better safe than sorry.

my new insurance company is great but i do not want to take the risk any longer.

this is just the way i feel about it, i am not trying to be a big brother or a judge and jury. you boys do as you want.
cheers
 
Behemoth60 said:
Plus, it's one less thing that you need that expensive alternator mounted vacuum pump for. (assuming you have one of those extravegantly priced pieces)

Amen, that's exactly what I was thinking.

B
 
I remember my budy having it on his old one ton chevs, always thought it to be a good upgrade with big tires.

Might have to run a seperate pump or a better power steering pump to run this thing?

Since I have not owned a truck with tires larger than 32s, its not been something I would consider.

One hell of a upgrade for 44plus tires though.
 
if your running 44 plus, fiddling with the brakes is the last of your worries for insurance.

I had to explain all my "mods" to icbc. including the suspension lift. and yes they were concerned. I have a hard time understanding how some things get passed to street legal.

but they accepted them. but rest asured if your brakes fail and you cause an accident you are liable, the insurance company will wash their hands. and they will investigate......points to ponder.
 

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