HeatDet

<FONT face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=5>Driving in the snow. After a sharp turn, suddenly lost power steering and power brakes in 1999 Chevy Astro. All fuses seem to check out OK. Any ideas?</FONT>

HeatDet

Update to original thread:
After discussing it with Chev Service Dept and a couple other service agencies, it looks as if there wasn't enough room in the '98 and up Astros to install a separate brake unit so those wonderful engineers tied the brake boost system into the power steering pump. If you lose power steering, you no longer have any brakes!
Chev customer service is "checking" on this...

cnj

Made a u-turn in a 98 astro van and lost power assist to brakes and steering. Was able to get it going again by tapping on the combination outlet banjo/solenoid valve which has been added in recent years to the Saginaw vane pump which has been used for decades. Be sure to tap on the cast iron part of the banjo (close to where the o ring nut screws in and not on the plastic solenoid).

Went ahead and took off the pump to take a look and see what really caused the problem. Found that the new pintle/solenoid valve can't be taken apart to clean. Also found that the relief piston in the pump is about .1" shorter than it used to be and was installed with a shorter spring. Also the new banjo nose/stop sticks into the piston bore about .1" more than before. Don't know if the piston simply goes deeper into the bore (and gets stuck) when the solenoid valve closes (caused by sharp turn/angle sensor?) or if the solenoid valve is actually the culprit.

Replaced the pump since it was really no more work and very little money. Stay Tuned!

Solid_Turk

hey man any updates and where is this part located?? just ran into the same prob tonight

70mopar

ORIGIONAL quote: HeatDet

the 'Hydra-boost' braking system u r refering 2 has been used for along time before the '98 Astro's. i've seen them all the way back on the first years of production-hell, my father's '78 Pontiac Parisienne (did i spell that right?) wagon had Hydra-boost brakes in it. i agree with u on the thought that the engineer's are absolutely wounderful to have designed a system as important as your brakes, to rely on a belt that could fail.

NCHEVYHEVN

Yep, just about all deisel trucks have hydro-boost because they don't produce vacume, some of the 2500HD trucks have hydro-boost, and I converted my s-10 to hydro-boost from an astro for tire clearance.

Catgirl

Please help, this happened to me this weekend. It is very cold wondering if something is frozen. Where can I find the solinoid valve thingy to tap on.
HELP

alan1962

Wow, the same exact proplem happened to me while turning sharply on a snow covered road, (sliding the back of the truck around).
In this case it was a 1999 GMC Safari van with 171,000 miles.
My brakes and power steering both failed, it was fun driving 30 miles home.
In my case the power steering pump shaft broke inside the pump. Luckly the pully stayed in the pump so the belt did not fall off.
I replaced the power steering pump ($50.00) at Napa and I was good to go.

goddessj

"Made a u-turn in a 98 astro van and lost power assist to brakes and steering. Was able to get it going again by tapping on the combination outlet banjo/solenoid valve which has been added in recent years to the Saginaw vane pump which has been used for decades. Be sure to tap on the cast iron part of the banjo (close to where the o ring nut screws in and not on the plastic solenoid)"

Can anyone point me to a diagram that shows exactly where the iron part is? Ours went out today and thought we'd give this a shot before replacing the pump.

How difficult is it to replace the pump?

pubbys

Hi everyone! Thanks for letting me become a forum member.

I have a 94 Astro that I inherited from my father in law. Great van! Fantastic condition, and I am proud to be driving it around.

But there is a problem with the brake system. I just replaced the front pads and rotors. Everything went just fine, until I pressurized the system. That's when the front passenger side sprayed fluid. Turns out to be from the line, about 3/4" from the fitting to the hose. So, now I'm going to have to replace some steel. Will I have to replace the entire line, or can I splice into it? Any advice and especially any pictures you may have of brake line layout, etc., would be most appreciated.

Eventually, I will have a pic of it for you all to see. Plain but great van!

pubbys