Truck: 2004 quad cab cummins 4x4 2500

I'll make this as short as possible. I was getting a fairly loud
hissing noise when I turned the steering wheel. It started by doing it every
once in awhile but progressively got worse and worse. The pedal return was
getting slow (so slow in fact I had to lift up the pedal with my left foot to engage the brake light switch for the last 2 weeks). So I go down to the local
dealer and tell them what I think is wrong and asked their opinion. Well the head diesel tech said (after quite a bit of B.Sing to get him out to hear it) that it sounded like the vacuum was running right through it! Vacuum? *** is he talking about. I guess he thought the return line was a vacuum liine. He said "you got vacuum all over this vehicle". Well I wasn't going to argue with him, so I just made my way to the parts counter after telling him he was out of his mind if he thought I was going to pay him $85 to diagnose the problem after that incident.

I went to order the booster. $498.71 But I figured if it solved my problem...no biggie. I didn't order it tho. I went home, jumped online and went to www.dodgeparts.com (a DC dealer out in Cali that has a good parts website). Talked to Doug (the only guy that answers that particular phone). He pulled it up and told me that I needed to buy a new master cylinder as well because it didn't marry up to the new booster. Well to make a very long story short, he was totally correct. My local dealer said he was full of it and I didn't need a new MC. They were wrong. I ordered the parts from Doug and shipped to my door I saved almost $200 compared to what my local dealer wanted for the exact same freekin parts. Not to mention that if I followed my dealer's advice I would have been screwed and would have the truck all torn apart with a MC that didn't fit the new booster.

I got it all together and she works like a champ!

All this to say, don't believe everything your dealer tells you (does anyone?) and do some checking yourself. Doug was a pleasure to deal with and he was very patient as I must have talked to him 10 times on the phone. He even told me how to explain to my local dealer what they were missing (no TSB on this BTW) and the local guy still said I didn't need the new MC. So I wanted to publicly thank Doug and Dodgeparts.com for a great experience that could have been very...very bad. I also wanted to post this in case anyone else is having a similar problem so it will come up on the search for Hydroboost or Hydrobooster or steering hissing noise.

Nick

 

Nick,

Thanks for the great write up!
Input like yours is what makes these forums so great.

Glad that your problem was solved the first time (by your persistence).

Jimb

 

This site has been a great help in getting me aquainted with this particular truck, so when I get a chance to maybe help someone else out with a similar problem I jump on it. I figure that I'm not the only one with this issue mainly because the stock part has been changed to the 2006-7 which tells me they have a problem with the stock hydroboost.

....and yes, this is a great forum!

Nick

 

I got one for my 97 from Autozone for $151. I flush the ps every couple years. I did that to the 97 and it went out anyway. The 97 didn't have a cooler and the fluid got pretty burnt. Craig

 

trust me, I made my first post as short as humanly possible. I cant tell you how many phone calls and literally hours on the net look for an aftermarket booster. The ONLy place I found it for my vehicle was DC. But now that I
think about it I never looked for the updated (later) model, but I would have no way of knowing if it would actually fit. Nor would I have known that the new model wasn't going to work with my master cylinder. Knowing what I know now, maybe I could find one aftermarket...but I seriously doubt it.

 

When I was driving Astro/Safari vans, we found a GM dealer that did alot of biznaz with an Olds club. He would give members of those site big discounts on Factory parts. Great to do biznaz ith.
Maybe this dealer would consider something like that. Sure got the GM guy lots o parts sales. He didn't rip us off with shipping either.

 

my dealer: hydroboost $498
Dodgeparts.com: $387

my dealer: master cylinder $232
Dodgeparts.com: $180

oh I got a fuel filter while I was at it for $16


shipping was $61 for a 22 lb package 3 day UPS from Seattle, Wash. to central Florida

not too bad