Alright so I gotta tell ya about this mess I just went through. I been driving this old truck forever and the brakes always felt kinda weak. Heard folks online arguing whether hydraulic boost or vacuum boost is better. Figured why not test both myself?

Getting Started With Vacuum Boost

First I pulled out my shop manuals. Grabbed a vacuum booster setup from the junkyard – cost me twenty bucks. Installing it? What a pain. Had to rip out half the old stuff under the dash just to fit it. Bolted it in place, hooked up some vacuum lines straight to the engine. Pumped the pedal like crazy to bleed air out of the master cylinder. Took like an hour of pumping just to get pressure.

First test drive? Almost wrecked. That vacuum booster worked way too good – touched the pedal and the thing slammed to a stop. Scared the hell outta me. But it was super smooth, no weird noises. Felt nice for about three days.

• Problem one: engine started idling rough
• Problem two: smelled burnt rubber after driving uphill
• Problem three: that dang hissing noise whenever I parked

Turns out the vacuum hose was cracked and leaking air. Engine was sucking air it shouldn’t. Complete headache.

Trying The Hydraulic Boost Thing

Saw the hydro boost unit sitting on my workbench. Said screw it, might as well try. This thing uses power steering pressure instead of vacuum. Cut the old lines, bolted it into the firewall. Messiest part was connecting all those power steering hoses. Fluid everywhere – ruined my boots. Had to get new clamps just to stop the leaks.

Drove this setup for a whole week. Felt super touchy at first – barely press the pedal and the truck jumped like it saw a ghost. But no vacuum leaks, no idling issues. Worked like a charm... until it didn’t.

Started noticing the steering felt heavy sometimes. Realized if I braked hard, steering almost locked up. Hydro boost used power steering fluid, so the pump couldn’t keep up with both jobs at once. Cheapest fix was a bigger pump? Yeah right. More money gone.

My Stupid Conclusion After All This

Honestly? Both systems broke my bank and patience.

• Vacuum boost leaks air like a balloon with a hole
• Hydro boost kills power steering when you need brakes
• Neither feels "safe" after living with 'em

Kept thinking why not just manual brakes? Less crap to fail. Pedal’s stiff as hell? Yeah well, at least my legs ain’t broke yet. Better than chasing vacuum leaks or dodging melted hoses.

Probably wasted two weekends and close to three hundred bucks learning this lesson. Sometimes "reliable" just means less stuff bolted to your junk.