Econoline Hydroboost Heads-up

[Big_ern_101]

Just a heads-up...

I am procuring parts to convert my 2006 E350 to hydroboost braking.
There is a vendor on Ebay blowing out NOS parts right now for dirty dirty cheap and they have a lot of the smalls that you need to make this work.

Also note most of these items are NLA from the conventional channels so if you want new OEM Ford, this may be one of your last chances.

Best bet is to search Ebay by Ford part number.

I plan on doing a whole writeup with part numbers and installation once I get it wrapped up. If you are confident in the parts you need and have been sleeping on this upgrade, I would move on it.

 

[sailincoot]

Sweet! Just did mine on a 2007 E350. Used E450 parts of the same year (MC and Hydroboost). Removed manual vacuum pump and replaced belt with same year F350 belt (shorter due to no manual vacuum pump. Made my own PS hoses out of PS grade PTFE steel braided hose and SS fittings. Wired in electric vacuum pump (key on/run). All went smoothly!

 

[Big_ern_101]

Got any details on how you wired in the vaccum pump and where you installed it?

In the interest of returning my vehicle to service I just replaced the vacuum pump, will get into the hydroboost this winter or fall when I am not driving all over God's green earth.

I contemplated just leaving the vacuum pump to run the HVAC, since if it dies it will only affect the hvac, but some more simplicity would also be nice.

 

[sailincoot]

Used a vpc112 pump. Made a bracket and installed where the small plastic vacuum manifold was. When the vacuum booster was removed, there was plenty of room to determine where I wanted to route the hot wire inside. I ended up following the path of the bumper accessory lights and tapped into a accessory on circuit. Grounded next to pump by bracket mount. You will need to buy the pigtail for pump like the standard ignition s805. It has 4 wires. Use the red for hot and white for ground and clip off the other two. If I had to do it again, I would try to source motorcraft parts for the electric pump and maybe pigtail. First pump I bought was shorted out of the box. Second continued to run. It had an internal leak. Third is working fine and shuts off when vacuum pressure is reached. Can test quickly by holding your finger over port.

I opted to remove manual pump completely due to first failure, the pump seized and I lost the belt. No fun on a trip. The second failure, I just lost vacuum. Not fun braking, but was able to get the van home.

 

[posplayr]

Just a heads-up...

I am procuring parts to convert my 2006 E350 to hydroboost braking.
There is a vendor on Ebay blowing out NOS parts right now for dirty dirty cheap and they have a lot of the smalls that you need to make this work.

Also note most of these items are NLA from the conventional channels so if you want new OEM Ford, this may be one of your last chances.

Best bet is to search Ebay by Ford part number.

I plan on doing a whole writeup with part numbers and installation once I get it wrapped up. If you are confident in the parts you need and have been sleeping on this upgrade, I would move on it.

Is there an update to the Hydro-Boost parts list and perhaps a link to the seller? I have been compiling a parts list for my 2000 E-350 XLT V-10.

I have NOT found any offerings for NOS/New aftermarket on eBay that are cheaper than the discount Ford parts dealers or RockAuto.

I started off with Amazon that listed the lowest (including FREE shipping) price on the internet. $186 (NEW)

The Motorcraft BRB36 is arriving this afternoon and I hope to finalize my parts list and get it all on order. If there are any cheaper sources for the same stuff I would appreciate a pointer.

After I get the parts in I will post my results that seems to apply to most of the 2001 and below Econolines. There should also be wider applicability, but it will vary from year to year and engine type if you want year/model-specific fit.


Motorcraft BRB36 Power Brake Booster Assembly
Brand: Motorcraft

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CA9BWK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details




https://ford.oempartsonline.com/oem...mDtdKSWn9ZBZC8QhwLDsDvq3LHAbtS5QaAl7gEALw_wcB

 

[Twoxentrix]

The shop that converted my 2006 6.0 diesel to Hydroboost provided me this document outlining all the parts (with part numbers), just not sure if it would apply to year & engine types:

Just thought I would throw into the ‘mix’.

 

[posplayr]

The shop that converted my 2006 6.0 diesel to Hydroboost provided me this document outlining all the parts (with part numbers), just not sure if it would apply to year & engine types:

Just thought I would throw into the ‘mix’.

Thanks that helps piece together some of the holes.

 

[Twoxentrix]

If it wasn't already something you anticipated with the conversion, I would certainly recommend installing a larger cooler while you're changing out the rest (as the shop note on the top reveals).
You'll really appreciate the pedal response & braking power once it's all in place - definitely worth the investment. One of the top 3 mods I've made.

 

[posplayr]

If it wasn't already something you anticipated with the conversion, I would certainly recommend installing a larger cooler while you're changing out the rest (as the shop note on the top reveals).

I had seen your reference to a larger cooler as well as others. What I have not seen is a recommended cooler. :b1:

Bearing in mind this will be a street-driven 2WD and not a 4WD rock crawler. I am going to try and shoehorn some 285/70-17s' in those wheel wells with a minimum lift.

What cooler is recommended?

I have been toying with doubling up the stock cooler by solder brazing the two together (either series or parallel). I would cut off and retain the same barbs for the pair of Y so the original hoses still easily fit.

Those spring hose clamps fit right around the larger shoulder closer to the cooler and can be connected to hard mount the two coolers together as a unit. It would only need mounting holes, but two brackets are available.

Arguably this will give twice the cooling performance; in parallel it will be even less flow restriction but I don't think it will make any difference.

Is 2X good enough?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNW3MZF/ref=ewc_pr_img_3?smid=A2OHI8K6O92MEP&psc=1

BTW, the Hydroiboost arrived from Amazon. This is the Ford part number.

Brake Booster - Ford (7C3Z-2005-AA)

https://www.tascaparts.com/oem-parts/ford-brake-booster-7c3z2005aa

 

[Big_ern_101]

Is there an update to the Hydro-Boost parts list and perhaps a link to the seller? I have been compiling a parts list for my 2000 E-350 XLT V-10.

I have NOT found any offerings for NOS/New aftermarket on eBay that are cheaper than the discount Ford parts dealers or RockAuto.

You gotta dig and set alerts, amigo.
For example - PSH-24 (6C2Z-3A717-BA) -
Motorcraft NOS from Ebay $30.
102 from Rock Auto
109 from Taska

Booster hard return line 8C2Z-2A051-AB is NLA from everywhere, found one at a dealer out in western New York, Taska and Ford Parts Giant both said they had them and cancelled my orders.
$14 on Ebay, brand new in the motorcraft bag. $60-80 if you can get it from a dealer, which you can't.

6C2Z-2005-AB Master cylinder.
$100 on Rock Auto for aftermarket, $50 on Ebay for OEM.

Once I have my system completely installed I will share part numbers, don't wanna give bad info.

 

[posplayr]

I had seen your reference to a larger cooler as well as others. What I have not seen is a recommended cooler. :b1:

Bearing in mind this will be a street-driven 2WD and not a 4WD rock crawler. I am going to try and shoehorn some 285/70-17s' in those wheel wells with a minimum lift.

What cooler is recommended?

So I should mention I did run into this link created by one of the members here (the website is BadgerTrek: Home). The relevant part of the blog is highlighted below.


BadgerTrek: Sportsmobile base Ford E350

While I can't disagree with the improved cooling numbers for the transmission (this is a 6.0L 4WD vehicle used at low speed offroad after all), that doesn't necessarily make the transmission cooler an appropriate recommendation for purposes of cooling the power steering.

To some, it may be mute because swapping in a larger trans cooler makes the stock cooler readily available in situ. But if you don't really need a larger trans cooler, then what is an appropriate cooling upgrade for the power steering with the additional hydro boost thermal loads? There doesn't seem to be any Hydro-Boost specific OEM cooler upgrades.

I did look for Rockauto's offering for a 2006 E-450 6.0L power steering cooler. This one seems to have 4 tubes which is probably better than the stock single tube. A Google search did not yield anything and considering this is a recommendation for an E-450 it makes me wonder how much cooling for the PS is required. I will probably need to do some temperature readings (both before and after) when I get that far.



https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...,1433374,steering,power+steering+cooler,11350

Transmission
Cooling:
The transmission is a Ford Torqshift 5R110, a 6 speed automatic that is the same as used in most of the same era F350 and F250 trucks. These trucks are often used to haul very heavy trailers without transmission temperature issues, however a number of folks with 6.0L vans have experienced transmission heat issues as evidenced by a posts in online forums.

There are likely a few contributory causes, but the most relevant is probably due to the tiny van transmission cooler. The transmission cooler in the van is 12x6" in dimension, the grill area available above the bumper is 29x12", and a truck running the same transmission has a cooler of 17x23" (5.5x as big) (thickness unknown).

Top left is the old transmission cooler (now steering cooler), top right is the old steering cooler, and bottom is the new transmission cooler with fittings and thermal fan switch.

Additionally, with the way that we use the van, it is always loaded near the GVW, and is often driven very slowly offroad, when the torque converter will not be locked (creating heat) and the airflow over the cooler is minimal.

To improve cooling we chose to replace the small stock cooler with a "Tru-Cool Max" transmission cooler with a thermally activated fan over the hot end to add some cooling when we are driving very slowly offroad.

Prior to installation I did a test drive with our new transmission temperature readout, finding the transmission temperature hitting about 205 on an uphill grade on a 20deg F day. After installing the new cooler (without the electric fan installed) the temperature on the same hill hit 170 and stayed there on a 35deg day. I believe 170 is the fully-open temperature of the transmission thermostat, as the entire rest of the drive the transmission sat at 164-170 deg regardless of load.​

 

[posplayr]

You gotta dig and set alerts, amigo.
For example - PSH-24 (6C2Z-3A717-BA) -
Motorcraft NOS from Ebay $30.
102 from Rock Auto
109 from Taska

Booster hard return line 8C2Z-2A051-AB is NLA from everywhere, found one at a dealer out in western New York, Taska and Ford Parts Giant both said they had them and cancelled my orders.
$14 on Ebay, brand new in the motorcraft bag. $60-80 if you can get it from a dealer, which you can't.

6C2Z-2005-AB Master cylinder.
$100 on Rock Auto for aftermarket, $50 on Ebay for OEM.

Once I have my system completely installed I will share part numbers, don't wanna give bad info.

Thanks for responding. Yes, I know that eBay is the first place to look for good deals on NOS OEM parts, but I was coming up short on my hydro-boost search. Most everything was above dealer prices.

I tried searches on Ebay directly and too much overpriced ads show up. I did find the PSH-24 (6C2Z-3A717-BA) for $60 (double what you found) using a Google search.

I understand your concern about posting NOT fully qualified info; searching through Rockauto there seems to be a lot of variations by year, model and engine.

For the time being, I'm getting pretty close so I will post this schematic with various part numbers from Rock Auto for my 2000 E-350 6.8L with some variations and things I can't find otherwise (the Motocraft PSH237 )

This reflects the order for the hoses placed this morning. I will update as necessary.

The info from Rockauto on the Hydro Boost to gear is contradictory so I ordered both SUNSONG 3402116/EDELMANN 80323
.

 

[Big_ern_101]

For what its worth regarding the power steering cooler, E350 vacuum boost and E450 hydroboost use the same cooler.

Same part number has been used on all econolines 96 to current and all transits 2015-2018

I do not plan on installing an uprated power steering cooler based on this information.

 

[posplayr]

Thanks for responding.

I understand your concern about posting NOT fully qualified info; searching through Rockauto there seems to be a lot of variations by year, model and engine.

For the time being, I'm getting pretty close so I will post this schematic with various part numbers from Rock Auto for my 2000 E-350 6.8L with some variations and things I can't find otherwise (the Motocraft PSH237 )

This reflects the order for the hoses placed this morning. I will update as necessary.

So I'm going to do a quick update after receiving all the parts ordered. First, had a change of plans after finding a used 2019 E-350 Hyrdoboost complete with top hardlines, brackets and a master cylinder. The van supposedly had only 20K miles. Cost with master cylinder $160 shipped.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/234939942908

• So I canceled a Ford order for $40 in a bracket and some bolts,
• I'm going to send back the NEW OEM Motocraft HydroBooster (it has a funky return line fitting). $195
  
• I might send back the Dorman master cylinder. Although the 2019 E-350 DWD has a 10% larger piston area, it is an OEM Ford part that is low miles. $50
  
• All the hoses I ordered were for the 2000 E-350 EB XLT V-10 , but the short stubs that connect directly to the hydro-boost don't all quite work with the OEM bracket to organize the various hydraulic lines near the master cylinder.

Return to hardlines at the hydrobooster:
EDELMANN 39152 and 39155 (about $25)

I did not bother to order the lines that are unrelated to the Hydroboost; i will do that as necessary.


The good news is that the other hoses I ordered seem to fit daily well. There may be a little finagling but at this point they seem to go and are bent in the right direction.

This includes:

1. SUNSONG 3402520 Pump to Hydroboost
2. SUNSONG 3402116 Hydroboost to gear
3. Motorcraft PS237 Hydroboost to Tee w/o Tube to Hdroboost
4. EDELMANN 81162 Power Steering Return Hose (this one seems to be misdescribed but will extend the PS237 to the Hydroboost for the return line T.

I added several of the pictures the seller posted on ebay for when that link goes away.

 

[posplayr]

I started off with Amazon that listed the lowest (including FREE shipping) price on the internet. $186 (NEW)

The Motorcraft BRB36 is arriving this afternoon and I hope to finalize my parts list and get it all on order. If there are any cheaper sources for the same stuff I would appreciate a pointer.


Motorcraft BRB36 Power Brake Booster Assembly
Brand: Motorcraft

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CA9BWK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details


View attachment 50892

https://ford.oempartsonline.com/oem...mDtdKSWn9ZBZC8QhwLDsDvq3LHAbtS5QaAl7gEALw_wcB

This booster is apparently for a Truck as the brake rod that is attached to the brake foot pedal is longer than the one for the van.

I don't have a picture but I compared the new BRB36 with the 20119 E-350 DWD used ebay booster and the remanufactured vacuum booster I was going to install. It must be because the Truck has a much longer hood than a van.

 

[Big_ern_101]

I'll be real interested to see if a 2019 Econoline Hydroboost booster works in an older Econoline chassis. Some of my readings and research had told me that the pedal assy was different from year to year.

For my van (2006 E350 Diesel) I confirmed that the pedal assy shares a part number with the 2006 E450 Diesel with hydroboost, and then ordered all my hydroboost parts to match a 2006 E450 Diesel

I can say with absolute certainty that the electrical connections on the master are different and the connection to the pedal box is different on the 2019 Hydroboost vs the 2006 Hydroboost. Will it work? Does it matter? Those questions are TBD.

 

[posplayr]

I'll be real interested to see if a 2019 Econoline Hydroboost booster works in an older Econoline chassis. Some of my readings and research had told me that the pedal assy was different from year to year.

For my van (2006 E350 Diesel) I confirmed that the pedal assy shares a part number with the 2006 E450 Diesel with hydroboost, and then ordered all my hydroboost parts to match a 2006 E450 Diesel

I can say with absolute certainty that the electrical connections on the master are different and the connection to the pedal box is different on the 2019 Hydroboost vs the 2006 Hydroboost. Will it work? Does it matter? Those questions are TBD.

As I described below, the 1999-2003 vacuum booster appears to be a direct replacement for the 2019 Hydrobooster as far as the brake linkage to the pedal arm. Whether they changed it in 2004 and then switched it back I don't know.
The 2019 is a DRW with a larger diameter master so they might have changed the length of the booster arm to change the leverage. Regardless, the booster arm seems to be the same.

From a visual inspection (not installed and tested) it all looks like it will fit.

I did a comparison of the 2019 hydro-boost with a vacuum booster for the 2000 E-350 (Cardone 5474418). The vacuum booster covers most of the E-150,E250,E350 from 1999-2003

1. I compared the fittings on the 2019 master with the Dorman M630266 unit (for the 2000) previously mentioned. The electrical connection to the reservoir looks the same, there are two extra ports with one directly below the reservoir (mounted vertically) that has what looks like a pressure switch. The brake ports seem to match as well.
   
   
   Dorman M630266 Product Description
   Master Cylinder Bore Diameter: 1.313 in
   This brake master cylinder is precision-engineered to match the design, function, and performance of the original master cylinder on specific vehicle years, makes and models. It is made of new, high-quality materials for a safe, durable replacement. This part is compatible with the following vehicles. Before purchasing, enter your vehicle trim in the garage tool to confirm fitment.
   

   • [Ford E-350 Econoline Club Wagon: 1999, 2000, 2001]
   • [Ford E-350 Super Duty: 1999, 2000, 2001]
   • [Ford E-450 Econoline Super Duty Stripped: 2000, 2001, 2002]
   • [Ford E-450 Econoline Super Duty: 2000, 2001, 2002]
   • [Ford Econoline Super Duty: 1999]

   ​
   
   This one is different to the 1997 E-350 master I have. The brake master has a different shape that goes into the booster.
   I'm going to just go with the OEM master as it is 10% larger and only 20K miles. So this probably will not apply unless you go with the 1999+ master cylinder on the pre 1999 model years.
   
   I did do a fit check on the 1997 for all the hoses and they all look like they will work with the 2019 booster and hoses listed before. As far as hoses are concerned they look like they will fit either 1997 or 2000 assuming you use the later-model Booster and master (e.g.2019)
   
2. The hardline hydraulic lines I purchased connected to the booster although I'm not sure which is pressure (from the pump) and which is going downstream to the gear
   
3. Finally, I remeasured (where I previously used an eyecrometer) the offset between the booster mounting plate and the front of the mounting eye on the brake rod. It is close to 3 5/8" on both although it is perhaps an 1/8" longer on the hydroboost. The diameter of the holes is also 5/8" on both. I can't say if there is not some offset difference but this is an aftermarket booster and not an exact OEM part.