replaced Hydrobooster & MC-Have problem

85 GN man

Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2013
I'm hoping you guys can chime in and provide some troubleshooting suggestions.
Installed remand Cardone hydrobooster and installed new MC while I was at it.
Followed the procedure on this site and having problems,
seems there air in the system somewhere.
The thread stated when complete " push pedal down then start car. .pedal should push back up against you.
if not don't drive car and trouble shoot. The thread did not elaborate on what to check and look for.
looking for idea's so bring em on please.
 
Are you using an 87 setup with the remote reservoir? With the engine running does the supply seem to be circulating? Are there bubbles in the reservoir? Is the reservoir full?
Is the pump making noises?
Did you jack up the front, and cycle the steering several times to "burb" the system?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
The car is an 85 which already had a hydroboost in it which was leaking inside the firewall - ps fluid
all I did was replace the hydroboost unit with a remand one and a remand MC while I was at it.
it does have a original remote power steering reservoir. and yes we did cycle the steering from lock to lock
although the car was on the ground, and no apparent bubbles or foam in the PS reservoir. and no noticeable noise from anything.
Kinda stumped,
 
There seems to be a rash of poorly remanufactured units. Might try another one. Maybe take the return loose and see if the fluid is going through the unit.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
Thanks Texas T for the help
not what I wanted to hear it was a bitch to get this far
I will try your suggestion
I will post results
 
Are you sure you have it hooked up correctly?
Does it seem to have any assist when applying the brake pedal?

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
May have got a bad reman'd M/C. I just did this swap and the first M/C I got was bad, pedal wouldn't come back up and kept getting air out of the lines at the LF caliper. Its real fun being under the dash to get those 4 bolts and pedal lined up isn't it?
 
I'm going to double check all connections .. and yes it was fun lining up the bolts and pedal, and there is some assist with it
so its functioning to a certain degree.
I was able to get the brake lines to bleed although still seems like a very hard/different pedal feel compared to the old one
maybe I should put back in the old MC and then see how it feels ?
I'm going to test drive today weather permitting.
thanks for all the input, I hope to get this all working correctly without pulling the HB out .

will post with more results
 
That's why I wondered if there is flow through the unit. Did you pull the return and put it in a container to see if it is flowing? No flow, no assist.careful don't run the reservoir dry.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
Texas T,
I did not... I will try that today when going over everything and make sure its flowing.
can I remove the return line and put into a container and then crank over car briefly ? to see power steering fluid for a second then shut off immediately?
how much pressure are we talking about here ?
 
Not sure on the pressure though it goes back into the reservoir so it can't be too awful much. I do know it must flow to work. Maybe look in the reservoir first before taking the line loose.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
If is at all similar to my truck, there isn't much pressure at all. Taking the return hose off and running another hose from the outlet to a bucket, then pumping the brakes while its running is how I flushed the system
 
Well, First thing I did was remove the return line to resivoir and put on a 3/8 rubber hose on the booster and placed in jug and started the car and apply brakes and turned steering wheel.. steering is fine and while doing so...no noticeable flow into jug let it run for a couple minutes nothing......
removed temp hose, reinstalled the one going back to resivouir. I then put on the old MC hoping that may have be the problem.
no change, still not getting any assist from booster:banghead:. I did have a little fluid in the temp hose when done maybe an ounce or two.

One question I have is.. are we talking about the same return line? The hydrobooster has two high pressure lines and one rubber hose line
with a simple hose clamp ? the one I removed is the low pressure rubber hose clamped line.
An email I got from Cardone tech support suggested backflushing the booster itself...Not sure quite how to do that..

Thanks again for your assistance
 
Yes, two pressure lines to booster and a lower pressure return that gets tee'd into the power steering return.
I would say that if you aren't getting fluid back through that return line, you have a problem. Are you sure you took the correct one at pump and steering box and got the right lines in there to the booster?
No flow equals no power assist

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
I will check again, If I remember correctly they are different sizes and the hard portion of the PS lines were prebent so they almost automatically
lined up for the new one after the removal of old one. Are you aware of any picture/diagrams of the whole setup so I can compare
my install before I remove and send back.
Also I'm going to disconnect and put 30 psi of air back in the return (per cardone tech assistance.) in attempt to backflush booster.
 
Have to search up that cedar labs thread or hit my thread over on ihadav8.com
I'm not sure of a diagram but I'm sure there is one out there. Maybe someone has one to post. I'll look for one.

Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app
 
I didn't get any fluid out of the return hose on my truck when I was flushing the steering by just turning the steering wheel. Did you press the brakes when you had the return hose running to the bucket? PS Pump -> drivers side fitting on Hydroboost, passenger side fitting on HB -> Steering gear, 3/8" return hose from HB to reservoir via 3/8" tee
 
Triple checked everything and back flushed HB also to no avail. put everything back together no change.

HB must be bad...:mad:
Has anyone had any experience With Hydratech ( New bosch HB's customized for our cars @ about $ 500) I'm considering
one of these.. I'm going to remove HB and send back... not sure I want to try a another reman'd unit and have the same problem,
would be totally pi.#! sssed off then.
 
send it back and have them look at it- that's what the warranty is for..
i rebuilt the booster in my 84 myself to fix a leak- bought a kit from www.piratejack.net and did it in my garage on a Saturday night. took more time to get it out of the car than it took me to rebuild it- it's just a couple of pistons and a few o rings, not much that can really go wrong. the kit wasn't exactly a perfect fit to my booster- it was designed for a later HB unit with a slightly different design that had a pressure reservoir canister on it, but it had the seals i needed with a few left over.
when i put it back in the car and hooked the lines up, all i had to do to get it working was jack the front of the car up and turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times to push fluid into it then start it up... worked perfectly right away with no issues.
 
Top