on the fence, whether to hydroboost

[joshman]

i got a 95 K1500. its in excellent condition for a 21 year old truck from jersey. i think its the most solid vehicle i ever owned.

but the brakes blow, & its even worse because my front pads are spent. need new fronts.

so i can get new front rotors & pads from my guy, installed, for only 150, & thats that.

but i found a hydroboost unit & MC & pedal for a 96 K3500. considering its hard to find one, i picked it up. But im undecided whether to install it because its gonna be bucks to have my guy put it in, gotta buy lines & probably a new power steering pump. that would make my brake job close to a grand, maybe up.

i dont know if i wanna spend all the extra money, for a system that sounds prone to leaking? i value reliability, dont wanna put it in & suddenly have problems.

what would you do? is it worth the change?

 

[Justin S]

Why not just start with fixing the brakes and seeing how much it improves it first? Replace fronts and at least service the rears, and see where that gets you first.

 

[joshman]

thats a fair point. i suppose mentioning the front brakes is moot. im weighing cost vs possiblilty of more costs because it may leak, vs a system which is simpler & therefore more reliable...i might kick myself for upgrading if it develops problems.

 

[Ironhead]

You know, I think it all depends on what you want to use the truck for. The stock brakes are not great, but they're ok for normal driving, if they are in good condition. If you are going to tow, or do a lot of fast driving in mountains or such, then yeah, you might want to look at making improvements to the brakes.

If you end up not using the hydroboost, it should be an easy sell down the road...

 

[brutpwr]

Your going to need to do the front brakes hydroboost or not so just get them done. If you feel you would like better braking power afterwards then you can start collecting/rebuilding the hydroboost system.

 

[Supercharged111]

Is DIY not an option here? Cutting out the labor costs lets you do a lot more.

 

[joshman]

Is DIY not an option here? Cutting out the labor costs lets you do a lot more.

hello. in my case, no, because the truck has ABS, & should there be a careless mistake on my part & something is amiss i wouldnt have a clue how to troubleshoot. i have a phobia of the electrical stuff. wish cars would stay 80s, no computers.

i read some forum stuff that the rears might lock too soon. wouldnt know what to do. since brakes are a safety system i dont want to be a dumbass acting like i know how to fix brakes.

if someone one day shows me its easy, thats another thing.

 

[ZWilson07]

hello. in my case, no, because the truck has ABS, & should there be a careless mistake on my part & something is amiss i wouldnt have a clue how to troubleshoot. i have a phobia of the electrical stuff. wish cars would stay 80s, no computers.

i read some forum stuff that the rears might lock too soon. wouldnt know what to do. since brakes are a safety system i dont want to be a dumbass acting like i know how to fix brakes.

if someone one day shows me its easy, thats another thing.

Hey at least you're honest, I will give you credit. I think if you research and ask questions on the forums, you will be fine.

 

[Supercharged111]

hello. in my case, no, because the truck has ABS, & should there be a careless mistake on my part & something is amiss i wouldnt have a clue how to troubleshoot. i have a phobia of the electrical stuff. wish cars would stay 80s, no computers.

i read some forum stuff that the rears might lock too soon. wouldnt know what to do. since brakes are a safety system i dont want to be a dumbass acting like i know how to fix brakes.

if someone one day shows me its easy, thats another thing.

Dude it's a 95, it's still pretty stupid. Where'd you hear about the rears locking? That's an 8600+GVWR thing only. This stuff's not rocket science or witchcraft, it's bolt in and go.