hydroboost question

ok..because i am not familar with hydrobooster..but i do have some automotive background...i was wondering if someone could explain something to me... the scenerio is...new brakes all the way around.. calipers replaced...the unit had ps/pb but was parked and when it was going to be moved it had neither ps/pb..i was told that the H-boost probably needed to be bleed ?? i took the unit to a RV shop..they said it was pump..i replaced the pump...drove it 5 miles lost PS/PB again..took it back..then they said the rubber deteriorated in the high pressure line and caused the pump to bind up..they flushed the booster and pump< so they say> then replaced pressure line...took it for a ride seemed ok..they have the unit for another reason <adjusting propane regulator> and things i have not learned to do yet..they went to get propane in the unit and now they are telling me it needs a h-booster cuz they lost the ps/pb temporarily.. my question is...can you bleed the hydro booster?? is there a filter in the system that may be clogged..the ps/pb seems come and go I havent experienced the problem and i drove over 25 miles since they replaced the line.....i thought it might have been airbound ...am i that far off base on my understanding...if it does need a booster...any idea where i can get one and what info will be needed to make sure its the proper one...i told ya i was going to be asking a lot of questions thanks for any replies..

Yes you can "bleed" the hydroboost. It's done simply by turning the steering wheel slowly back and forth until no air bubbles are seen in the PS pump.

I don't think you have a problem with the hydroboost though. When I talked with Vanco (see below) they said when they "go bad" they do exactly what I was describing.

Is you're rig loosing PS fluid? It is a closed system, so it should be quite evident where it was coming from. Otherwise, you might have gotten a bad "new" pump. Again see below.

HTH

Here's what I posted on another forum:

I had a hydroboost go out on my Champion Transtar.

Here is the info about that:

For those that have a Chevy Van chassis (I would assume P30 chassis also):

The hydroboost is your power-assist unit for your brakes. Much info about them can be found here:

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf030542.htm (this link doesn't work anymore).

What happened with ours is it would not relieve pressure and would start to self apply the brakes after about 3 miles of driving. The only way to unlock them was to unhook the lines to manually relieve the pressure (shot power steering fluid 10 ft in the air too ).

I purchased a "Cardone" unit from O'reilys. This part did the same thing as the original part, resulting in us being towed home. I cannot recommend ANY Cardone part as I also had trouble with a Cardone master cylinder and have heard many other stories of defective parts from them. Problem is this is what most auto parts stores carry (and most of the time it they have to special order it).

If you can find a NEW Delco hydroboost expect to pay nearly $500 for it (it retails out for over $900!).

Then I found Vanco Brakes:

http://www.vancopbs.com/

These guys specialize in Aftermarket hydroboost kits. They got me the part I needed with expert customer service and support. They say they throw away more of them than they sell due to the high quality standards they have. Each unit is pressure checked and tested before shipping out ensuring that you're going to get a properly functioning part.

If you see fluid leaking from your hydroboost (ours leaked for a while) it's a clear sign it's going bad.

Check it out on your rig. You don't want to "get stopped" in a bad side of town.

thanks for that information..it was very helpful to understand how a hydro-boost works. i just have to see if the unit is leaking to confirm my problem..everything else checks out ok...just a little to cold to crawl under the unit here in the northeast to look for leaks......if no leaks show its a bad PS pump and it will be replaced again no cost to me ..thanks again..