March PS pump & Hydroboost, Must Read

[John S]

I thought I would share this with everyone in case you are thinking of running this setup;
I found out too late that the March power steering pump is not compatible with a Hydroboost. It seems that the March pump has 40% less fluid capacity and is unvented which causes pressure to build up and steadily apply the brakes on its own.
Not wanting to remove the pump and install a standard Saginaw P style pump, Paul from Hydrathech gave me a few ideas on how to solve the issue.
What I ended up doing was to drill and tap a 1/2" npt hole in the filler neck of the pump and installed a 1/2" x -10 an fitting. I then installed an ARTS aluminum reservoir on the inside panel of my fender and ran a -10 braided hose to the filler neck.
Simple fix and now everything works great.

here is an image of the fitting into the pump neck;
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/johnspo/1986%20Monte%20Carlo%20SS/Hydro%20Boost%20Mods/MarchPSpumpMod.jpg

And here is the reservoir, of course I polished it :)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/johnspo/1986%20Monte%20Carlo%20SS/Hydro%20Boost%20Mods/PSRes.jpg

[GBodyGMachine]

Thats good to know.

Jeff

[7TSS]

Thanks for the info. I've got the same setup going in my project too. Paul @ Hydratech told me it's not compatible with the small reservoir of the March p/s box. Now I know what I've got to get to make it work. :thumbsup:

[John S]

Glad to help. I am going to machine a new cap for my reservoir and do away with the fill neck entirely. I'll post pics when it's done if you are interested.

[7TSS]

Yes....Please do

[andrewmp6]

that kinda sucks what about other companys serpentine belt conversion. i rather run a abspowerbrake electric power brake system. basicly has a small air pump that has more psi then anything else also keeps enough in the system for 114 stomps with the car turned off.

[John S]

The serpentine system has nothing to do with the problem built into the March pump.
I chose the march pump because it compliments the rest of the accessories on the engine and looks nicer then the standard pump. The fix I mention was relatively inexpensive and does not look too bad either.

[tyoneal]

I thought I would share this with everyone in case you are thinking of running this setup;
I found out too late that the March power steering pump is not compatible with a Hydra-boost. It seems that the March pump has 40% less fluid capacity and is unvented which causes pressure to build up and steadily apply the brakes on its own.
Not wanting to remove the pump and install a standard Saginaw P style pump, Paul from Hydrathech gave me a few ideas on how to solve the issue.
What I ended up doing was to drill and tap a 1/2" npt hole in the filler neck of the pump and installed a 1/2" x -10 an fitting. I then installed an ARTS aluminum reservoir on the inside panel of my fender and ran a -10 braided hose to the filler neck.
Simple fix and now everything works great.

here is an image of the fitting into the pump neck;
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/johnspo/Misc/MarchPSpumpMod.jpg

And here is the reservoir, of course I polished it :)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h111/johnspo/Misc/PSRes.jpg
===============================
How much fluid capacity is needed for the hydra-boost to work effectively?

I just had one put on my car and the brake sensitivity seems to be inconsistent. Sometimes it's will practically through you though the window, and other times it feels like manual braking.

I wonder it this is my problem as well.

Does your hydra-boost, "Hiss", at time a bit like the air brakes on a 18 wheeler?

Ty

[John S]

Ty;
It's very important that your power steering system be up to par when installing a Hydroboost. A standard Saginaw P style pump is more than adequate. If you have a different style pump or a remote resevoir style you may want to check on it.
As far as the hissing, I've never had any issues with my system and I've had the hydroboost in the car for 3 years. I just installed the March pump and that was the cause of the problems I had. I think the biggest problem is that the march system is not vented,

[tyoneal]

Ty;
It's very important that your power steering system be up to par when installing a Hydroboost. A standard Saginaw P style pump is more than adequate. If you have a different style pump or a remote resevoir style you may want to check on it.
As far as the hissing, I've never had any issues with my system and I've had the hydroboost in the car for 3 years. I just installed the March pump and that was the cause of the problems I had. I think the biggest problem is that the march system is not vented,
============================================
John:

The Hissing sound doesn't seem to hurt performance, it's just different than what I have been used to using.

I am currently using a KRC Power Steering Pump.

http://www.krcpower.com/

Also,

http://www.krcpower.com/catalog_c274592.html

At this point I'm not sure whether I have the Regular or the high volume pump. I will check it tomorrow.

The pump I have seems to work very well and is very light.

Oh well, I'll see what I have then go from there.

Thanks,

Ty

[67rsconvert]

I was never able to get mine to work properly. I added an extended neck to increase the reservoir size and it was better but still never worked well. I spent $800 trying to get it to work with no luck(different pumps inside the body, changing the plumbing around, adding more than enough reservoir capacity, etc.). I really think that the design is flawed and this shows when used with hydroboost, the housing was allowing air into the pump causing most of the problems I had. I didn't try the remote reservoir since I was trying to simplify my engine bay. Switched it back to a OEM pump and it worked like a charm.

[NelsonV]

Help!

I was told that I need a "vented" remote reservoir to run with the Hyrdratech system I'll be installing this weekend.

I plan to make my own, but what exactly does vented mean? Is it just open to allow air flow, or do I need some form of check valve or something?

Thanks-
Nelson V.

[Bowtieracing]

Intresting topic guys.Please report how your brakes has worked with hydraboost. Is there anybody with stock LS1 / fbody pump reservoir ???

[NelsonV]

Help!

I was told that I need a "vented" remote reservoir to run with the Hyrdratech system I'll be installing this weekend.

I plan to make my own, but what exactly does vented mean? Is it just open to allow air flow, or do I need some form of check valve or something?

Thanks-
Nelson V.
Well, I got my own answer, and then some. Here’s my lessons learned…
> I made my own remote reservoir from a solid billet of aluminum. According to Paul (at Hydratech), all that is required is a small vent hole to atmosphere. I placed a small hole around .100” through the “collar” that the cap threads into, and into the cap threads, as well. This allowed me to adjust the vent by “misaligning” the two holes.

> The instructions imply that although the kit includes a tee fitting for the return lines, ideally separate lines should be run so that “feedback” is not induced to the booster. When I first plumbed everything, I ran the hydroboost’s return line directly to the PS pump, and I ran the steering gearbox return line to the remote reservoir. The remote reservoir in turn feeds the PS pump.
As it turned out, the steering gearbox returned fluid to the reservoir faster than it could deliver to the PS pump. Likewise, the hydroboost did not return fluid to the PS pump quick enough to keep it full. What resulted was an overflowing reservoir and an empty pump that sang. Reversing the return lines did the trick and fixed everything (i.e. steering box return runs directly to the pump; hydroboost return runs to the reservoir). No more overflowing; no more singing PS pump.

> At Paul’s recommendation Lubeguard Power Steering fluid additive helped to de-aerate the PS fluid and quiet things down. It’s available at Napa, and according to Paul, don’t let the counter clerk talk you into using the ATF additive if they don’t have the PS additive available.

> I used -6 AN lines and fittings throughout. The kit includes a rubber hose and clamps (and the aforementioned tee fitting) for the returns. But for aesthetics, I used AN fittings for the returns, as well.

> Kudos to the following for excellent sales and technical support:
Marcus at SC&C (http://scandc.com/)
Paul at Hydratech (http://www.hydratechbraking.com/)
Tom at Earl’s Store #1, Lawndale, CA (http://www.anplumbing.com/)
Rich at Smokey’ Speed Shop, Oceanside, CA (http://local.yahoo.com/details?id=20830252)


Intresting topic guys.Please report how your brakes has worked with hydraboost. My brakes now work phenomenally. Of course, compared to my original stock front discs and marginally-to-not-functioning rear drums, with little engine vacuum, it’s hard to say exactly how much better the entire new setup would be compared to say a properly functioning factory system. For the record, I am now running 13” Baer brakes for the SC&C SC-AFX package up front (Corvette C5/C6 sized with thicker rotors); out back I am running Baer Iron sports with 11.625” rotors; and obviously the Hydratech hydroboost.

Here's some pics:
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/2803/dsc00498vx5.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7373/dsc00496pq0.jpg
http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/5837/dsc00497dv2.jpg
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6224/dsc00499vf7.jpg

:cheers:
Nelson V.

[bigtyme1]

John, who do I contact for this resivour?

[tony69]

what's up everyone

i have a 69 camaro with willwood brakes all around with 4 piston cal.
i'm planning to install a hydro-boost with this set up. all so,i'm running a dse power steering box. i have a march serpentine system with an external resv. . i'm useing a billet specialty remote resv. i read some of the form notes and everyone seems very happy with the hydrboost, dispite some small problems. any heads up with this set up in my car?

Tony69:lateral:
:cool: :cool: :cool: :cool:

[fesler]

I have some shots of this same problem, I will post some pictures in the morning on how we did ours and can help with any questions you might have. There are a few different ways to solve this problem.

[fesler]

I can get you the set up we used, I will post a pic tomorrow so you can see it. it looks sweek and works perfect

John, who do I contact for this resivour?

[CarlC]

This is the same problem I had with mine, but the backpressure was a result of trying to combine the returns from the steering box and HB into a "T". The return from the box and HB were on the same run (the "T" mounted on the box) and the return to the reservoir on the leg. The fluid shooting out of the box resulted in the HB seeing a backpressure that would apply the brakes. The faster the engine rev'ed, the more the brakes would apply.

Lesson learned? Run a separate return line for each and try to have them end separately into the reservoir.

The stock reservoir, with the available airspace and proper venting system, is very good. High-rpm road coarse use will require a non-reservoir'ed pump (P), remote reservoir, and cooler. Every attempt I've seen to use some type of integrated reservoir with a P-pump has resulted in failure when used on a high-RPM road coarse application.