2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission help! power steering loss/hard brake pedal

[THess]

my dad has a '97 ctd 2500 that we use as a work truck in our construction business. this morning he called me and said that he had lost power steering and brakes were hard to push and not very responsive. i drove back and looked in the service manual but could not find anything that linked brakes and steering. fluids and belt seem to be fine. please keep in mind i'm just a shade-tree and i'm just looking for possible simple explanations. i won't be insulted by the most simple suggestions. any response will be very appreciated as we need this truck and use it EVERYDAY. thanks a lot.



P. S. it is a 4X4 if that makes any difference.

 

[BILGAL]

My 2002 had the same problem, it ended up being the Hydroboost Brake Booster.

 

[San Felipe Bob]

Power steering pump makes the hydroboost brakes work.

Could be the pump, hydrobooster $$$$, a clog in the pump?

Probably the hydrobooster.



I have my old hydrobooster from my 97.

I forgot to return it to get my core charge back.

There are places that will rebuild the booster.

I got mine from a mom & pop auto parts already rebuilt.



SFB

 

[Dave M]

My 97 4x4 had hydrboost brakes also. The older trucks used vacuum boost. I got a new unit from www.hydroboost.com for about $300 2 years ago. You have to send your unit in so they can reuse a few OEM brackets and parts but you get a new unit. It takes about 2-4 weeks to mail back and forth.



Talk to Paul. He is very helpful asnd knowledgable. I just emailed questions to him. Go to their web site to learn more about hydroboost brakes. Don't order off the site because our trucks are not listed. Call to get the correct part.



I removed the hydroboost without removing the brake master cylinder and left the brake lines connected so I would not have to bleed the brakes. Its not a hard job for a DYI like me or you.



Here is a link to some of my posts and threads:



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147785



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142703



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135567&page=2&pp=10



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136286



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130868&page=3



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123583



http://www.tdr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128827



Good luck,

Dave

 

[CumminsPower98]

This all assumes the PS pump is actually turning. The drive tangs can break off on either the PS pump or the vacuum pump. My uncle had them both break on the vacuum pump leaving him with no PS pump. I had one break on my PS pump. My cousin had one break on his vacuum pump. Just something to think about.

 

[THess]

thanks for all of the tips guys. we'll try to get the old booster off tomorrow and probably buy a napa replacement. (have to get this truck back to work monday) i'll keep you posted on how everyting goes

 

[THess]

we pulled the old hydroboost after performing a test we found in our service manual. first you have to empty the hydroboost w/the motor off by pumping the brakes several times. then you hold 40 pounds of pressure on the brake pedal and start the engine. if your foot goes to the floor easily at first but the pedal builds pressure back again then the booster is still good. ours didn't so we got a new one from napa for i think around $250. installation is easy but when we tried everything out the power steering fluid stayed foamy and the conditions stayed the same with the brakes and power steering. we followed the instructions for flushing the fluid to try and get rid of any air in the lines but we didn't have any good results. we finally got discouraged and called AAA to tow him to the dealer on monday. we expected that the power steering pump had went but didn't have any test equipment to know for sure. (we already thought that we'd wasted the $ on the booster and didn't want to waste more. ) anyways the mechanic said the only thing he did was to get rid of the air in he power steering system and everything worked great. i guess we should have kept trying but we didn't. we both felt pretty stupid but we sure were glad it was so simple after all. maybe this will help someone else if they have the same problem. thanks again for all the great advice. the $ we've saved (i had a speed sensor problem too that was diagnosed from this site) has more than paid for membership. if i could just find a deal like this for my wife's 300!