Hydroboost Nightmare!!

[Rodney87GN]

So where's Powermaster Bob when you need him? He was always in here saying his hydroboost kit is the best, blah blah....but when someone here has an issue with his kit or customer service he has magically disappeared from turbobuick.com.

dz28...ever considered going to manual brakes?

 

[BetMinesFaster]

dz28...ever considered going to manual brakes?[/QUOTE

+1 Thats what im doing. Wilwood makes a billet mount that replaces the 4 bolt mount at the fire wall, and some very nice masters with a "less effort feel" Plain and simple. no extra plumbing, much extra space, and your brakes will always feel the same weather you just split a crank or whatever.....:biggrin:

 

[dz28]

I've thought about selling the car!!! :redface: This old Buick is giving it to me this year. I really don't drive the car much so manual vs power doesn't matter to me. Once I get the vacuum power brake setup installed (won't have parts until next week ) and running I'm sure I'll be just fine.

 

[V6UnderPressure]

Update,

Well I finally got my feed hose in from Powerbrakebob. At least he didn't send me a cheapo one. It has a -6an elbow to go to my new reservoir and slips on the barb on the steering pump and had a little dressup fitting with hose clamp to keep it from looking ugly. So for now, at least he came through. I have no personal vendetta about powerbrakebob, but this seems like a case of gbodyparts where he racked up too many clients and didn't have the time or help to fulfill everyones demands in such a short time. When all is said and done, if it works, I will cut him some slack.

 

[dz28]

After an entire summer of waiting the Buick actually saw the light of day today. The new Caspers billet vacuum block came today, installed it, bled the brakes one more time manually after vac bleeding over the weekend and guess what; the old girl decided it was time to have brakes. Amazing process...

Anyway my good buddy Bob at PBS has the hydroboost for over 10 days and no refund just yet. My suggestions for anyone considering a hydroboost system is to proceed with care with Bob. He has promised several times to refund the project and has yet to do so... word to the wise...

Anyway, the Buick is running and headed for the Moose Preserve on Woodward tonight! I am praying the rain keeps it distance cause if it does look threatening I'm headed for the barn!!!!!!!

 

[russgoodman]

After an entire summer of waiting the Buick actually saw the light of day today. The new Caspers billet vacuum block came today, installed it, bled the brakes one more time manually after vac bleeding over the weekend and guess what; the old girl decided it was time to have brakes. Amazing process...

Anyway my good buddy Bob at PBS has the hydroboost for over 10 days and no refund just yet. My suggestions for anyone considering a hydroboost system is to proceed with care with Bob. He has promised several times to refund the project and has yet to do so... word to the wise...

Anyway, the Buick is running and headed for the Moose Preserve on Woodward tonight! I am praying the rain keeps it distance cause if it does look threatening I'm headed for the barn!!!!!!!

Dave, glad the vac block is working out for you. As far as the refund on the hydroboost, skip Bob and talk to Jackson instead. She handled my refund when I sent my reservoir back. In fact, she handled all my problems (missing fitting, tracking #s, etc). Might give her a call and see if that helps.

 

[dz28]

I agree, Jackson has been more than kind. Problem is she has not answered the phone in two weeks! Last time I spoke with her was the 28th of July and not since then. I'm going to keep trying...

Thanks again for the billet vac block... nice to finally have a car to drive this summer!!!

 

[incubus2432]

Glad to see that your issues worked out (except for the refund as of now) and your car is back on the road!

 

[dz28]

Did talk to Bob Sweeting again today; for some reason he cannot refund until next week. Seems a bit dubious to say the least... I'll keep this thread updated until I conclude business with PBS... it is really nice to have the car on the road again... it is however supposed to rain this evening and that means it will not be on Woodward tonight... there is Friday and Saturday though...

 

[ChavoLC2]

Nightmare

Someone mentioned where is UPPERCASE BOB he just up and disappears when you need him. He's all about promoting & selling his product but then he's gone when you need tech support. If it wasn't for action Jackson I'd probably still be waiting for Bob to get back with us. He had charged our card but we hadn't recieved any merchandise or confirmation. Fortunately credit card company was able to verify the transaction date for them.. Finally get a hold of a gal named Jackson and she looks thru some of Bobs paperwork/orders and sees it's been almost a month , well she ends up taking care of us, and apoligizes for the inconvienances , that gal must have to clean up after him all the time. Initally during the purchase I asked him about the special discount to TB.com members he himmed and hawwed uh did I say that are you sure as His #s and mine weren't lining up... Well he starts talking wholesale, retail, jobbers cost etc.etc yak yak yak. Then I read and e-mailed him his own words that came out of his mouth, I finally get him to atleast agree to free shipping. I let Jackson know all of this because I never heard from BOB after he got my CC number.

"""The only person to talk to there is Jackson """ She helps the customer to the best of her abilities. All I can say is she helped us out and got the ball rollin one heck of a gal.. Action Jackson takes care of business! Good Luck as they do have a very good product.

 

[dz28]

I agree, Jackson is awesome but she has not answered a call in weeks! I either get voice mail or Bobby... If anyone has a direct line to Jackson please post in the thread... thanks

 

[V6UnderPressure]

Is Jackson the older sounding lady that answers the phone? If so, I must say she is nice, but I could tell right away that she is a B.S.'er. I told her to have Bob call me as soon as possible and she was like ok. I called her 3 times asking her this. Never got a call from Bob until someone from here gave me his cell phone number. It almost seems that she provides a cover for him sometimes. Unless of course we aren't talking about the same person. I did end up getting the hose I needed, so currently the install is in progress.

 

[ChavoLC2]

Action Jackson

In her defense She probably told BOB you called and he just didn't follow up as usual. Why would she BS you?? your not any different then all the others that call and ask her to tell BOB to call. She must get tired of cleaning up after him. Can't even imagine how many others call like yourself and ask Jackson the samething have BOB call me. The problem is BOB . He doesn't give a rat's asse otherwise he would have called you me and all the others he's sold his product too. In one phone call you could tell she was BSer, it was quite the opposite, like I said I dealt with her and she got the job done ASAP... Now I'm sure if Chris Foose or other notable builders called in regards to tech or delivery he would call them in a New York minute you and I he'd be on Navajo time. He always has some lame excuse you'd think SEMA was 24/7. Anyway hope you get your transaction straightened out. One last note if there's any thing good about POWERBRAKE company it is Action Jackson.

 

[russgoodman]

In her defense She probably told BOB you called and he just didn't follow up as usual. Why would she BS you?? your not any different then all the others that call and ask her to tell BOB to call. She must get tired of cleaning up after him. Can't even imagine how many others call like yourself and ask Jackson the samething have BOB call me. The problem is BOB . He doesn't give a rat's asse otherwise he would have called you me and all the others he's sold his product too. In one phone call you could tell she was BSer, it was quite the opposite, like I said I dealt with her and she got the job done ASAP... Now I'm sure if Chris Foose or other notable builders called in regards to tech or delivery he would call them in a New York minute you and I he'd be on Navajo time. He always has some lame excuse you'd think SEMA was 24/7. Anyway hope you get your transaction straightened out. One last note if there's any thing good about POWERBRAKE company it is Action Jackson.

+1

 

[V6UnderPressure]

Nonetheless, when I ask her why bob hasnt called me, she makes up some excuses. I think after three times it was enough. There is no doubt in my mind that she is "covering" for him. I'm sure she doesn't mean to do it and is a very nice person indeed. But having to cover for him is just making herself look bad. And it's nothing but Bobs fault for not following through. Not once did she say "I told him to call you, I don't know why he didn't". It was the classic "ok, I'll let him know." "Ok, I'll let him know". "Ok, I'll let him know". After three times it gets annoying doesn't it. I got taken care of, but the time frame is what ticked me off more than anything. I told "Action" Jackson what I needed, and I didn't get it shipped out to me until I actually spoke with Bob. "Action" Jackson didn't even understand my problem since I had to explain it to her about 10 times. I told her the 4 bolt plate that came with the hydroboost didnt completely cover up the firewall hole. She said that I needed to make the hole in the plate bigger. LOL.

 

[8AV8]

I didn't read this entire thread, first of all....

POWERBRAKEBOB has been coming on this board for years pumping his product up with no evidence EVER being provided to back up his claims.

The argument has been well...the TTA came with vacuum brakes because GM ran out of PM's. They just did that because cost on vac's is cheaper...blah,blah blah.

No real world data on stopping distances...just talk.

I offered him my GN and the TTA as test vehicles for his product. I told him on this board that he could bring his own test equipment and people to conduct the tests...he didn't want to do that. But he knows his setup is best...I guess his crystal ball told him.

It's sad that we have another name to add to the list of vendors who come in like a whirlwind of "great" new ideas...and leave a bunch of Buick guys holding their bag of bullsh!t.

Funny how a couple of years ago you couldn't start a "brakes" thread without him trying to sell you on his hydroboost and now he doesn't even respond to a negative thread like this

 

[dz28]

My level of disappointment with Bob is clearly documented here. With a little bit of engineering work and some time I'm sure his product has potential. I can understand the benefit of having higher brake pressure provided by the pwr steering pump. I don't like being sold something that is advertised as bolt in when it is in fact not. I'm also not a trial monkey or gerbil; I don't want to modify a part that has been shipped to me with the understanding it will work with no problem. I'm especially incensed that PBS Bobby has not refunded my money for two weeks even though he has my returned goods. I have his commitment to obtain a refund this week; needless to say I will be in contact with him this week and will update this post as necessary... by the way the vacuum brakes seem to be working just fine. So far I haven't had any high speed stops but this car doesn't get driven that way anyhow. I'm up to 60 total miles this year as of today!! Made one run down to Woodward Cruise with the car for the Mich Turbo Buick Club meet however it was a bust due to the possibility of rain. I did go to Bakers today but left early due to the possibility of rain... ironic...

 

[channer]

hi dz28

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have to ask... did you get his 2 or 4 bolt HB system. I was thinking about buying a HB from Bob or one of the other HB vendors.

dave

 

[dz28]

4 bolt... it had the wrong depth however from back of the hydroboost to the end of the clevis. It caused all four wheels to lock up once installed; this is when he tried to convert the system to a 2 bolt with spacers and it did not have a robust feel about it so I sent it back.

 

[V6UnderPressure]

hi dz28

Sorry to hear about your problems. I have to ask... did you get his 2 or 4 bolt HB system. I was thinking about buying a HB from Bob or one of the other HB vendors.

dave

Dave, I originally had powerbrakebob send me the 4bolt system as well because I didn't feel like doing the grinding to make the 2 bolt hole bigger on the stock bracket. When I got it, it didnt completely cover the hole on the firewall, and the angle was mounted backwards to where I would have had to mount the HB upside down in order to keep it from pointing towards the hood. I ended up going with the 2 bolt and not that much is needed to be grinded down. I actually just used a file to make the hole big enough.