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Brake booster woes...

miller511

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
567
Hey all,

The other day, after accelerating from a stop sign, I heard a loud POP from the left side engine bay. At the next stop light the brake pedal didn't stop the CS like it should. The pedal basically went almost to the floor and worked a lot like a car without power brakes. I suspect the brake booster based on past experience.
The brake booster is about two years old with not a bunch of miles on it. I'm kind of disappointed that it appears to have failed so quickly.
My question is for those folks that have also been down this road (Paul/Brian?)- Where would be the best place to purchase a high quality brake booster? The one I put on last was a rebuilt from Kragen...it was really a pain to install... and I'm hoping to only do this one more time ;-)

Thanks, Jeff
 

PB GT/CS

Active member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Messages
32
Location
Kansas City, Mo
Jeff, I can tell you that we replaced the brake booster, i think 3 times before we found one that would work!! The are not always good out of the box. We bought ours from O'Reilly Auto Parts right accross the counter. It was $119.99 with the core exchange and has a "lifetime" warrenty. Two units will fit the 1968 cars. Perhaps Paul, when he returns can send you a pic of our unit. That is if you want to look original. The Item Number on the receipt we have is 50-6201, if that helps. It was either a Cartwell or Card something as I remember it. The unit was, was not that hard to replace if you took our time and "wiggled" it just right. It is however a job for two people, one inside and one outside. Again, I will yield to Paul for his comments.

While at it, I would also replace the Master Cylinder. It does not cost that much and you will have peace of mind. For you guidance, we sprayed our units with Clear Coat to help keep the "original" appearance. Let me know if you have more questions.
 

rvrtrash

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
3,649
There are two varieties of booster, Bendix which is crimped around the center and Midland which has a clamp. Mine is the Midland and I tried to get one from NAPA and all they had was Bendix type units (they listed the Midland, charged me more but what showed up was crimped). Mine just blew a couple of weeks ago also and I'm going to look into having mine rebuilt, I just haven't found anyone to do it yet. I'll let you know if I find something in the next few days.

Steve
 

nfrntau

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
1,020
Location
Rosharon, Texas
I just went through this same issue. The boosters are rebuilt by a company called Cardone. This is the email string I had with the representative from Cardone. I can't tell you yet if it works.

Can you send me a photo of a 54-73202 and a 54-76201? I have a 1968 Ford Mustang and would like to know/see what the difference is between banded and not banded. I would also like to know what the diameter of each is and if they are an exact reproduction of stock or not. Thank you for your time.
William

Last question first. They may not be an exact repo of original. These cores are drying up so we do conversions that fit & function like OE.
54-76201 note band clamp & mounting ear
54-73202, no clamp or mounting ear
Dan

Dan,
Am I correct in the statement that if I want a mounting ear than I must purchase the booster with the band, 54-76201? If so, can I loosen the band and move the nut and bolt connection point of the band to the bottom without ruining the seal?
Can you tell me or give me a link to the warranty info. I am restoring this car and it is likely to be another year before I get an engine in it and find out if the booster works correctly or not.
Thank you
William

If you ordered the 76201 you probably would get a crimped unit w/out the band. We do a conversion w/ the crimp because we don't have band type cores. It will work fine & have the same mounting ear.
Warranty info would come from the purchasing store. We don't tell our stores what terms to warranty items so they can give their own terms to any part.
Dan
 

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somethingspecial

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
1,795
Power Brake Exchange, San Jose, Ca

Hi Jeff, I took my original to Power Brake Exchange in San Jose. They are at 260 Phelan Ave, San Jose, Ca. 408-292-1305. I dealt with Michael. They took my original and had it powder coated black, and did a beautiful job on rebuilding it and the master cylinder. You might try them, and they are close to you. I made a day trip to Santa Cruz and dropped it off, you know, face to face, and saw their product. Most of the auto parts stores use this company as well. Good Luck. Mike
 

Jayscal

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2002
Messages
247
Location
Florida
Does anyone know why there were 2 different boosters? Was there a change in the part design during the production run? This would make a interesting poll for the members. Anyone have any input for data to include on a booster poll? It could be usefull for restorations. My car was built in March and I have the Midland unit.

Personally I am on my 3rd booster after 22 years of ownership. I learned the easiest way for me to remove and install the mounting jam nuts was to remove the driver seat (4 nuts) and the steering wheel. I am 6' 3" and the last place I like to be is under my dashboard. The extra time (not much really) in removing the seat and wheel gives me plenty of working room, and makes the job alot easier.
 
OP
OP
miller511

miller511

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
567
Thanks for the input.

I have the Midland type (banded). The one I replaced two years ago was also a Midland unit. Kragen (where I bought it) goes through Cardone. Not sure what the warranty is on this.
I will check with the place in San Jose...thanks for the info Mike!!!
I'm wondering if too much vacuum can do these units in? (don't know if that's really possible?) I have probably 3,000 miles on the unit that just failed. Just suspicious that something else might be making the booster fail.

-Jeff
 

PFSlim

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 9, 2004
Messages
1,546
Location
Weatherby Lake, MO
Jeff

Sorry I am late getting into this. I have been away. Whatever way you chose is better than the way we did it. It appears there is good advise from everyone else. We just had bad luck when it came to this booster issue.

Paul
 

rvrtrash

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
3,649
Just thought I'd give everyone an update and maybe some useful info. I tried NAPA, Schucks and Autozone for the correct booster and kept getting the crimped type. I finally found a core banded one in a wrecking yard and figured I'd have it rebuilt and save my original. I had a quote for a little over $200.00 to rebuild my core but went back into Autozone on a whim to see if they would rebuild my core for the $98.99 they quoted me earlier for what turned out to be the wrong one. The parts guy told me their supplier now had some of the banded ones in stock so we ordered one. Sure enough, a nice, new looking banded booster showed up 3 days later. I don't know how many they have, except for the one core I just sent back, but if you need one, you may want to hurry and get one ordered. No telling how long they'll last. Now I just need to paint the new one black and install it. :grin:

Steve
 
OP
OP
miller511

miller511

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2004
Messages
567
Steve,

Were the boosters painted black from the factory? If so, flat or gloss?

-Jeff
 

somethingspecial

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
1,795
Jeff, The boosters were painted Semi-Gloss black from the factory. Band fastened at the top. Should have a metal tag at the fastening bolt. The Master Cyl. is also painted black. There should be a spacer between the booster and the master cyl. it is aluminum and does not get painted. The master cyl. cap is zinc-dichomate. Mike
 

ViCatz

Active member
Joined
Feb 8, 2007
Messages
35
Location
Victoria BC Canada
The crimped Bendix begins to appear in 68. Sometime in mid 69 production all were Bendix boosters.
The Midland is banded and the band crimps the inside rubber causing the booster to fail.
I don't think the band tag is any which way as far as location goes. I have seen the tag at various positions.
A good place many have been satisfied with is Booster Dewey's.
A web search should locate him.
About $150 for rebuilt with master.
Also the 69s have the ear for sure not sure about other years.
I have seen many early 69s with Midlands and most if not all 67/8s were Midlands based on my experience.
 
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