03/12/2026
Battle Born Brakes F600 Super Duty Booster Kit (link below) Helped fix this trucks hydro-vac brake system! After 50+ years this truck is still working, and probably more than it ever has! But it finally lost the old frame mounted Hydro-Vac booster, and needed the frame repaired. The original hydro-vac unit is no longer available OEM, and no reliable source to reman-exchange the booster exist. To minimize down time, and increase system resilience, buying the complete kit from Battleborn Brakes was an easy decision. The kit provided a more modern brake setup, upgrading the system to over-the-counter common parts availability, in case there's ever a failure or repair needed in the future. Easy visual daily inspection of the brake fluid adds safety. The owner/operator doesn't worry about potential brake field damage anymore from the low frame mounted brake system. Install was easy and cut down on billable shop time because I didn't have to source parts or build the system myself. The more you spend on your truck's parts, the less you spend on labor! The owner uses this truck weekly as a volunteer on the ditch water committee. It has a real workout every fall and spring before and after the water flows.
In addition to the Brake kit, the owner of Battle Born suggested to get the Proportioning Valve block as well. Glad he did, as the system is an "equal pressure" system, and all four drums get the same line pressure, regulated through the prop valve. I was able to use all the factory lines from the F600 without cutting any of them, adding only one new brake line from the prop valve down to the rear brake line at the frame. Having all the fittings and extra unions was good, as well as the extra 1/4" copper line kit incase and line was broken during install.
My favorite part about working on older trucks, is when the owner actually uses and keeps them operating! This truck has seen years of use and was in need of a frame repair from previous failures.
The frame was shortened decades ago to fit the dump box, and the frame cracked right along the inside double sleeve termination point, ahead of the original shortening weld. This is a typical failure if the frame isn't reinforced far enough away from the weld seam. Conveniently, this crack was centered between existing bolt holes, so to keep shop time down, an additional plate and bolts were added outside of the crack. After gouge and welding the crack with Eutectic 680 High tensile frame electrode. This kept costs down, loaded the frame into fasteners, avoiding heavy fabrication and further down time. The crack was rusted and had happened years ago, so I have confidence this will stop the issue if used the same.
Some things to note: the original frame work was done in the weakest manner possible, vertical cut butt welded seam, with a very short double frame on the inside. Anything is better than this: a diagonal cut, add a welded fish mouth on the outside frame, and the best would have been a "Z" cut at least twice as long as the frame is high. If you double frame it on the inside, make it at least 4-5x the length in front of and behind the weld seam. But the frame weld wasn't what failed, it was the cyclic stress put on the original frame at the end of the double frame on the inside! The best repair would be complete removal of the inside frame, replace it with one several feet longer, using bolts to hold it in place. $$$$$$$$
Ultimately the four drum brakes are working better than ever according to the owner! Another classic was kept operating, moving America as we always have!
You don't need a $100,000 dump truck to move a mountain; you need willingness and perseverance, founded in something bigger than yourself!
God Bless
https://www.battlebornbrakes.com/product-page/ford-f600-vacuum-super-duty-booster-master-kit
https://www.battlebornbrakes.com/product-page/pv4-valve-and-flare-adapters-for-7-16-fittings-1-4-lines
https://www.battlebornbrakes.com/product-page/1-4-brake-line-kit-25ft-with-tube-nuts-unions-tools
