Installing Hydroboost and bigger brakes in a 1970 Charger

[HEMIB]

I'm in the process of putting Hydro boost on my 71 Charger.

I'm seeing concerns that the Saginaw pump is not up to powering both the power steering & the hydro boost pump.

Is it a pressure issue, or a fluid volume/capacity issue?

Could it be a problem with the fluid becoming aerated?

I'm not working from a kit but have assembled my own system with help from a friend that built his own system for his big block Chevelle.

His brakes & power steering work just fine at any speed. Brakes especially.

He put a bulkhead fitting in the power steering pump housing for a 2nd return line.

One other thing he did was use the transmission cooler already mounted to the front of his radiator as the power steering fluid cooler.

Could the extra capacity from the transmission cooler be helping this issue?

Is the reservoir full ,has it got foam in it turn the steering from side to side a few times ,let it rest for a couple of hours so the foam dissipates.
Are the steering pump & Hydro boost lines connected correctly .Place the return line in a container & run it there fluid coming out the return line. I have 2 home built systems that after a lot of messing around work correctly.

 

[Kern Dog]

I'm guessing those were questions?
In my case, I had no foaming. I had none of the groaning a pump makes when it can't meet the demands of the steering. No belt slip.
I tried a few of the bleeding procedures but no matter what I did, I never got brake assist and the steering assist faded to almost nothing, requiring me to change pumps. Each time a pump crapped out, I had to pull the pump out of the reservoir and put another pump into that reservoir. It was tedious and annoying. I did find a kink in the power steering fluid cooler that is plumbed through the return line. I've driven a few thousand miles now since and several thousand miles before the hydroboost attempt and have had no problems with the steering assist.

 

[Kern Dog]

I have been asked before if I had the hydraulic lines plumbed correctly.
For some strange reason, last night this topic popped into my head as I lay down to sleep and I could not shake it.
It was 2022 when I tried Hydroboost in my car, repeatedly ran into trouble and eventually removed, boxed and shipped it to someone else who somehow got it figured out.
THAT annoyed me....to lose and not to know what I did wrong.
Take a look at these pictures and tell me what you think.

During the mock up, I was trial fitting the pressure hoses before crimping, The steering box pressure port is next to the engine, the return is nearest the fender. Above, you can see the return line plumbed forward toward the inline cooler. Note how the pressure line to the steering box also runs to the Hydroboost, connecting to the port on the fender side.

It seems unlikely that I had it wrong but the details are a bit fuzzy since it was 3 years ago. I ran from the pressure port of the pump to the Hydroboost unit port on the engine side. Is it possible that I have it plumbed backwards?

To repeat, I went through 3 or more pumps in the attempt to make this work. In all three instances, I'd install the pump and the steering assist would work okay at first while I tried to bleed out the system to the brakes. Slowly as I tried in vain to improve the brakes, the steering assist would get worse and worse until it barely worked at all. The brakes never gained any assist, the pedal remained hard with no improvement or change.
Could it have been this simple all along?

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Greg, is it possible to share this question and photos with the person who you sold the hydroboost to that got it working?
Also, maybe a good idea to share this with the hydroboost manufacturer.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

This is not for your specific hydroboost or car, but in theory you would think the plumbing principals would be the same. Found this online - see below.

 

[Kern Dog]

Looking at that graphic, it shows the pressure port on the pump running to the HB unit on the side with the accumulator cannister. I had mine run on the other side.

Could it be this simple?
I did ask the recipient of the HB unit how it worked out and he was vague and non descriptive about it, as if either he had it done and knew few of the details or simply didn't care enough to elaborate to help out a fellow car guy.
I hate that ****...it reminded me of being a kid and wanting to get better at something and running into older kids that just brushed me off.
Dr Diff tried to help but in fairness, I was acting as the research and development lab and he looked to me to develop answers for it. That is why it was free to me.
I am not looking to install one of these any time soon. I was just wracking my brain about it and had trouble sleeping.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

Looking at that graphic, it shows the pressure port on the pump running to the HB unit on the side with the accumulator cannister. I had mine run on the other side.

View attachment 1955965

Could it be this simple?
I did ask the recipient of the HB unit how it worked out and he was vague and non descriptive about it, as if either he had it done and knew few of the details or simply didn't care enough to elaborate to help out a fellow car guy.
I hate that ****...it reminded me of being a kid and wanting to get better at something and running into older kids that just brushed me off.
Dr Diff tried to help but in fairness, I was acting as the research and development lab and he looked to me to develop answers for it. That is why it was free to me.
I am not looking to install one of these any time soon. I was just wracking my brain about it and had trouble sleeping.

Hmmm, maybe there's some internal valving in the hydroboost to compensate before it gets to the pump...