[Dean'smeanmachine]

Lines can be the most expensive part of a Hydroboost swap. I recommend sourcing all the lines you need from the junkyard . get it ALL never hurts to have more line than you need. it can get tricky with mix matched components. For example, My power steering pump is metric, my hydroboost unit is metric, but my steering gearbox is standard. if you find a hydroboost unit at a junkyard most likely it will be metric and on a later model vehicle. the older standard hydroboost units are harder to find and if you do find one it is probably seized up and rusty from sitting for who knows how long. You will find them in Astro vans, 1 ton trucks, heavier vans, and other stuff. it's easy to tell metric and standard fittings apart from each other because the standard fitting will have a regular flare like a brake line, while a metric will have an o-ring on the end with a straight piece of the tubing coming out past the o-ring. My later model booster was o-ring, so i grabbed all the lines from that unit, then found an old mid 70's Gmc motor home and grabbed all the booster lines off of that as well because it had standard fittings i could make work with my setup. the standard fittings are not a big deal because all you need to do it cut the metric nut off and put a standard of the right size on the end and flare it. the metric is a bit more complicated because of the o-ring flare end. you are going to want to get every metric line that you need and worry about the standard end later. if you have all metric, or all standard, well great it just makes it easier .


T-fittings and pumps with a return line are one of those things you will get mixed answers on. some people say that T-fittings reduce flow and cause problems, others say they work great. truth of the matter is, GM used T-fittings for many years from the mid 70's to early 80's when they came up with the idea to make a pump with a return fitting welded to the reservoir. as long as the T is big enough there should be Zero problems with running one.
you can go either route Pump with return line fitting, or a T-Fitting. In my case i went with the T because i found one on the old 70's GMC motor home. seeing it was already on a bone stock hydroboost system, I knew it was big enough to handle the job and have good flow. all the lines and the hydro unit came to a grand total of $30 at the Junkyard window