Brake Booster Questions
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 834
Likes: 0
From: South East Florida
Brake Booster Questions
Hi guys, thanks in advance for any help in this.
My brake booster thingy is leaking(making the hissing sound whenever i brake, or whenever the truck is ON for that matter)
my questions are:
how long can i drive it like this?
how safe is it to drive like this?
How much money and work is it to replace this?
I know the manual says its not really a serviceable part and i should replace it, but i was wondering how long it would hold out. it seemed to brake fine/ok when i drove on it.
Help please? Thanks guys!
My brake booster thingy is leaking(making the hissing sound whenever i brake, or whenever the truck is ON for that matter)
my questions are:
how long can i drive it like this?
how safe is it to drive like this?
How much money and work is it to replace this?
I know the manual says its not really a serviceable part and i should replace it, but i was wondering how long it would hold out. it seemed to brake fine/ok when i drove on it.
Help please? Thanks guys!
Lead Driver
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,491
Likes: 16
From: Kuna ID
You can drive it until the diaphram tears enough to render itself useless, just understand that pushing on your brake pedal will feel like you are trying to stomp a brick into the ground. Disconnect the vacumn hose and try to drive it. I had my father tow my truck with a rope after it had died, and I almost rear ended him the first time I had to hit the brakes, because the pedal was so hard to push.
The part itself can be pretty expensive, but it really depends on the vehicle. It shouldn't be too hard to replace, I imagine you unbolt the master cylinder, you shouldn't have to disconnect any brake lines. and then unbolt the booster. Installation is reverse of removal.
The part itself can be pretty expensive, but it really depends on the vehicle. It shouldn't be too hard to replace, I imagine you unbolt the master cylinder, you shouldn't have to disconnect any brake lines. and then unbolt the booster. Installation is reverse of removal.
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 834
Likes: 0
From: South East Florida
i found one with master cylinder for 15 bucks +shipping from my buddy up in ohio. he rebuilds trucks and sells them and he has this part in excellent condition he says. so ill just get that and replace the whole thing. the haynes manual says all i have to remove is the vacuum hose(?) as long as i dont bend or kink the brake lines. but if im replacing the whole thing i'll probably have to remove the brake lines anyway thansk for you response by the way sycostang
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 315
Likes: 2
From: Miami
Felix,
If you Replace the master cylinder also, then you are going to have to prime the new cylinder and bleed the whole brake system once you connect the lines to the new master cylinder.
If you are comfortable doing this, fine, if not, then my suggestions would be (as long as your current master cylinder works fine) to store the master cylinder that comes with the new booster in the event you ever need it, and use your current one (Since you won't need to undo the brake lines in order to change just the booster, you won't have to prime/bleed the system.
I replaced my booster about 2 months ago for the same issue (hissing due to broken diaphram)
I bought it new for about $80. My truck is a F-150. I did some research and found that the F-350 booster has the same mounting configuration, but it's almost twice as deep. (and the same price as the smaller F-150 Booster).
I installed the F-350 booster and noticed a big improvement in braking (Granted, some of the improvement was probably due to the old one leaking vacuum)
If you have a choice when ordering from your friend, go with the F-350 booster.
David
If you Replace the master cylinder also, then you are going to have to prime the new cylinder and bleed the whole brake system once you connect the lines to the new master cylinder.
If you are comfortable doing this, fine, if not, then my suggestions would be (as long as your current master cylinder works fine) to store the master cylinder that comes with the new booster in the event you ever need it, and use your current one (Since you won't need to undo the brake lines in order to change just the booster, you won't have to prime/bleed the system.
I replaced my booster about 2 months ago for the same issue (hissing due to broken diaphram)
I bought it new for about $80. My truck is a F-150. I did some research and found that the F-350 booster has the same mounting configuration, but it's almost twice as deep. (and the same price as the smaller F-150 Booster).
I installed the F-350 booster and noticed a big improvement in braking (Granted, some of the improvement was probably due to the old one leaking vacuum)
If you have a choice when ordering from your friend, go with the F-350 booster.
David
Thread Starter
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 834
Likes: 0
From: South East Florida
wow thanks . . AGAIN . . i might just take you up on that offer lol hopefully i'll have it done by the 20th
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Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 101
Likes: 0
From: Sparta wisconsin
I just put a booster from an 87 in my 85 f 150 and it only took me about 10 minutes. very easy to get to the bolts under the dash, easier than most ive done. cost: $20.00 used
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