Brakes Power Brake Booster install questions 90 GT

[BKM48198]

Brakes are acting like manual brakes so I am going to replace the power brake booster, any tips on how to make this easier and save some time? I replaced the master cylinder last week so the brake lines should come off easy so I'm not worried about them, just on getting the bolts out under the dash and then getting the booster actually out of the car. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jrichker]

Open the driver's side door as wide as it will go, push the seat back as far as it will go. Removing the driver's seat is also a recommended option. When you sit on the ground between the open door and the car body, you have a very good shot at the 4 bolts that hold the booster in place. A semi-deep universal socket is exactly the right tool for the job.

 

[BKM48198]

Thanks for the reply, that info is about all I have found online about doing the job. Most of the videos i have seen have had the engine pulled when the booster was changed, so I'm not sure on if the brake lines need to be removed or if there is enough room to get it out with the lines just unhooked from the master cylinder

 

[Blown88GT]

Are you sure the booster is bad? Could be a broken vacuum line.
Good thing you already had the MC off. I had to make a special socket & u-joint adapters to get the nut off the side next to the shock tower. Had a terrible time getting the booster out & was obvious when out & the new one wouldn't go in. The holes in the fiewall were offset about half an inch towards the driver's side & were not clear all the way through all firewall panels. The booster studs were jammed up against the sheet metal. A Ford assembly line error. Ran a step drill through the holes & the new booster slid right in.

http://forums.corral.net/forums/general-mustang-tech/739799-how-change-brake-booster-fox.html

http://forums.corral.net/forums/5-0...sound-coming-near-brake-pedal-what-could.html

 

[BKM48198]

I have good vacuum at the booster and the lines seem to be good, I also could hear an air leak when i had my wife help bleed the brakes after changing the Master Cylinder.......so I am assuming the booster is bad.........I could not pin-point the leak but it sounded like it was the lower part of the booster that was leaking. I can't hear it inside the car, only when I had my head over the booster when she was pumping the brake pedal. Getting the M/C off was fairly easy with a ratcheting wrench, where the M/C meets the booster was full of gunk, looked like the seal had been leaking and the paint was peeling .....probably from contact with the brake fluid. I have a TFS stage 1 cam and have no idle issues so that leads me to believe the vacuum lines are ok and the booster has seen better days.

 

[BKM48198]

Thanks for those links also!!

 

[BKM48198]

Well the booster was not hard to swap out, I did remove the master cylinder but left the brake lines in place, the bolts under the dash were not easy but not too hard to get to with extensions and a swivel, the top right bolt that people complained about came off easiest with a 1/4 in ratchet and 9/16th deep well socket, the hardest part really was starting the nut back on the top left stud, there isn't much room to get a hand in there to start it but with the extensions and swivel I had enough room to guide it on and start it. I didn't remove the seat or any of the dash parts below the steering column which might have made things easier because I thought that was just more work.