mxscooter

Hi everyone,
So I'm sitting here, and Norman is tucked away in the garage for the Upstate NY winter- most of the big stuff that's been really bugging me has been done (paint, interior, audio and a few others), and it's slowly getting to where I want it. My 2 next projects are getting the AC in and working (thanks Steve), and getting the hydroboost brake upgrade in. I am really feeling lazy right now and wondering if anyone has a kit (of some sort) that has just the hoses and fittings that I could just buy and not fiddle around buying this and that. Is that bad of me lol? I usually do everything myself, but, meh,


Again, feeling...very....very....lazy.....

procketus

Your Welcome!

I thought you had the hoses. Did I not bring the ones from mine?

That Rottenchester weather will do it you.

mxscooter

Lol it is pretty crummy outside. It's the hydroboost stuff I was looking to get hoses for, I do have all the AC schtuff.

this smilie thing is messed up lol

STODD

VBP has a kit, just bought rack and suspension from them, great to deal with.

http://www.vbandp.com/C2-C3-Corvette...-Boosters.html

Bob Heine

If I understand your question, you have the hydroboost mounting plate, pushrods and booster and just want the hoses and fittings. If you want the whole system, Vette Brake & Products has that. Not sure if they have the hose kit by itself.

If you want only the hoses and fittings, three sources come to mind: Hydratech, Tallon and Eaton. Hydratech has a kit with all the hoses and fittings but depending on your setup, you might need some individual pieces (they sell those as well). Tallon sells the hose sets but you have to pick and choose more of the fittings (they also have all stainless or black braided hose options). Eaton just sells the hose and most of the fittings in case you snap out of the "dark 90's" and want to make life more challenging.

Hydratech Braking
http://www.hydratechbraking.com/hose_fittings.html

Tallon Hydraulics
http://www.tallonhydraulics.com/stor...roducts_id=183

Eaton Aeroquip
http://www.aeroquip.cc/index.aspx

It's pretty simple if you don't have a stupid attack. I started doing a simple 3-hose braided stainless setup with a tee fitting at the pump. Started over and added a couple of AN-6 bungs to the pump, a filter, a cooler and before I knew it I was sitting in the living room with my family and a bald guy who offered a free vacation at some electric car rehab center.

The all-stainless hose and filter setup from the booster (with polished aluminum MC removed):


The pump hookup. It's crowded but no worse than the tee setup.


The cooler, mounted on the front crossmember using the stock fan shroud mounting holes (from electric fan conversion rehab).

73sbvert

Hey Bob, could you take a few more pics of your setup from other angles? With particular regard to all the hose routing and mounting of the cooler?
I've got a late '90's factory PS cooler that I'd like to mount but haven't gotten far enough to rough it in. Just wondering if I could piggy back your ideas!

Going to contact your suggestions too for hose fabrication or maybe just adapters for the hoses I've already got...

Thanks man!

Paul

Denpo

I'm on a similar boat.
Hydroboost (astro '93) unit is ready to install, all I need is the plumbing to connect it to my PS pump and my Borgeson steering box.
I'm gonna do the plumping myselft, all I'm looking for is the type of fitting the hydroboost unit is using.
If anyone knows, please chime in.

CA-Legal-Vette

I have a parts list for doing AN6 hoses and fittings for hydroboost from a past Forum Member. Drop me an IM with your email address and I'll send it to you. I used it and it worked great.

73sbvert

May I have a copy of that as well?

Denpo

Thanks man, Just PMed you

Bob Heine

Paul,
The cooler plumbing is pretty straightforward. In the first set of pictures my hydroboost low pressure return line connects to the filter (this is normally a black hose with no filter). From the filter my line goes right under the upper control arm mounts and then curves over to the passenger side of the cooler.


From the driver side of the cooler the line comes back and runs under the first line and turns to connect to the pump return fitting.


This is usually one side of a tee-fitting. The second side of the tee comes from the power steering and the third clamps to the hose barb on the pump.


I had two AN-6 bungs welded to the tank for separate returns for the steering and hydroboost. My tank has an extra bung because I ignored Jim Shea's warning about the location of the two return bungs -- the one on the right that I had to plug and weld shut was my own choice. The lower left bung is in the location Jim Shea suggested -- follow his advice because it will save you lots of time and effort.

73sbvert

Thanks Bob!

So, to summarize:

The power steering pump output goes to a T-fitting, one going to the hydroboost unit, and the other going to the steering box.

The return from the hydroboost goes to the cooler, and that cooled output and the return from the steering unit come together into separate pump returns/inputs.

Is that right?


My setup that I am thinking of is:

Using a Sunfire chromed pump with remote reservoir.

Output of the pump to a T-fitting, one going to the hydroboost and the other going to the VB&P Rack Attack unit.

Both the rack and boost outputs T-together somewhere before the cooler and the cooled output returns to the reservoir.

Does that sound reasonable? I'm pretty sure the new pump is metric and the rest is SAE, but I plan to use adapters to bring everything up to AN-x standard AT the respective units bungs if there is room to do so anyway!

Please let me know your thoughts. Your installation is by far one of the nicest I've seen!


Paul

Bob Heine

Paul,
Not quite. The high pressure power steering pump output goes to the high pressure input on the hydroboost. The high pressure output on the hydroboost goes to the high pressure input on the steering box. The low pressure line on the steering box and the third, low pressure line on the hydroboost go to the tee-fitting and the third side from the tee goes into the return line on the power steering pump tank.

You could do it that way but I just ran the third (low pressure) hydroboost line through the filter and cooler. The return line from the rack (I have a Steeroids rack) goes straight back to the tank without going through the cooler or filter.

Paul,
My thoughts are often flawed but here they are anyway.

Because ALL the fluid has to pass through the hydroboost, I plumbed its return through the filter and cooler. Most of the systems I've seen have neither filter nor cooler so I consider them the belt and suspenders on my system. The manuals I wrote for a number of servo-hydraulic systems in my working life had extensive sections on the cooling and filtration systems. An extra hundred bucks for a filter and cooler seems like cheap insurance on $2,000 worth of brake and steering hydraulics.

If I were plumbing the returns to a remote tank I think I'd have a second bung welded on. They sell the bungs and tanks at the big speed shop sites.

One of the gurus on this site made a real nice diagram of the system and I'm attaching it. Wish I could remember who provided it but I have a hard time remembering what I had for breakfast.

Bob Heine

Paul,

I chose a B&M 70265 cooler because it was small, polished aluminum and had threaded connections instead of hose barbs. It uses 1/2-inch NPT fittings so the -6AN adapter is easy to find.


The brackets are home-made from some 1-inch angle aluminum from Home Depot. It's the thicker stuff.

Denpo

People on an other Corvette forum advised against any cooler or filter on the return line, arguing it would starve the pump.
Just sayin'

Bob Heine

I heard some of that too. That's the primary reason I put two separate return bungs on my pump. The way it's plumbed, the filter and cooler could be completely plugged and no fluid flowing from the hydroboost return line. In that event, all the normal power steering return flow would still be there. The power steering system gets its fluid from the hydroboost secondary high pressure line, at full flow and full pressure. All of that fluid is still being returned to the pump. It's kind of like the hydroboost, filter and cooler aren't even in the system.

Then again, like I said, there's a lot of flaws in my thinking.

I guess I should be thinking about getting rid of the transmission filter and cooler so it doesn't starve the pump.
Just sayin'

noonie

A proper power steering filter can't plug up very easily, it is just a micron strainer with magnets in it. In the remote possibility it did plug, then you would immediately loose power assist. Like a flat tire, it can happen and is manageable.
It is a good idea to check the magnet in the pump housing or install one in a separate reservoir.
A cooler is a good idea, overheated fluid is the number 1 failure for steering pumps.
You're starving the pump more by using a tee in the return.

Jim Shea

The majority of the fluid should flow out of the pump into the hydroboost and then to the gear before returning the the pump reservoir. So you want to put the cooler and the filter (if you think that you need it) in this circuit. The return from the hydroboost is quite low. It is still best to direct the return flow from the hydroboost back to a seperate spout on the reservoir. Or bring the return flow from the hydroboost back to a T that then goes into a spout on the pump reservoir.

The flow through a T into the reservoir should have the return from the gear going straight through the T. The small flow from the hydroboost shout come into the T at an angle.

Jim

73sbvert

Thanks Bob and Jim! I don't have all the components just yet, so I didn't realize there were 2 outputs on the HB, 1 Hi, 1 Lo pressure. That'll learn me!

So, basically, you put both loads in series for the higher pressure, and the returns in parallel.

I will map this out and start putting some measurements on my car too. The reservoir I have is already polished and only has one input. Maybe "Y" the two returns at the cooler (maybe I should think about a filter in there too!) and have a single line coming back to the reservoir?

Better yet, since I don't even have the HB system yet, may not for a while, I'll just run the pump for the rack, cooler and back.

I should be able to retrofit the other system in later if I pay attention to what I'm doing now!

Thanks for the suggestions, gonna go shopping soon!

Cheers,
Paul

mxscooter

Thanks for all the good info everyone, I couldn't log in last night. I do have a list as well, and these pics are a good help too