I recently replaced the vacuum booster on my 1985 Ford F-250 (460 c.i.d.) and adjusted the arm that enters the master cylinder to the specs that my Ford shop manual specifies. After doing so, I took the truck for a ride and the brake pedal seemed to be very soft and the brakes did not operate as well as I would like. I pulled the master cylinder off and adjusted the arm out a couple of turns and this showed a dramatic improvement. My question is, should I leave this as is or put the arm back to the specs the manual specifies. The manual instructed me to build a cardboard template to check this measurement and it seems like there should be a better way as there is only a span of .015 inches to work with according to my manual. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

 

If it works, I'd leave it. I've swapped parts all over my truck, and I've never even checked that. Right now, I have a used '93 booster and a reman '94 MC on my '83 and they work great (except that I have 2 proportioning valves right now).

 

Thanks again Steve83,

Your advice is invaluable!