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I would order a booster if check valve is ok. Its almost garanteed to be leakimg vacumn...its not that hard to remove booster...alot of guys that work on these vettes that say its hard is becuase they work at this stuff everyday...if your like alot of use you enjoy a challenge....i put my whole dash assembly in already knowing i had heater problems....now dash has to come back out again...i had to see what worked and what didnt before fixing....cant check heater without crusing around the block a few times....and you deffinately need the gauses all installed to test heater....hahahahaha
On a serious note remember this....
Your brake booster is suppose to maintain vacumn regardless of what engine is doing.....imagine driving and booter leak decides to expand a little....right now its only a pin hole....your power brakes will feel lile car is shut off!!!! You can almost garantee your panic brake stoping time will be 50 yeards and 3 seconds instead of 15 yards and half a second. Safety is the most inportant factor when is comes to cars...be carefull doing any test srives until you fix all the problems!!! Drive safe!!!
Any suggestions on what else I can do to check the booster? I really only have pulled the check valve out to see if I hear any suction. Is there anything else. Are the boosters sold in the auto parts stores sufficient for a replacement? Mine does appear to be the original and I'd like to stay original, but things are adding up quite quickly. I might need to save a few bucks, IF safety is still sufficient with a store bought one.
Hi Danny , I have replaced a few of those boosters over the years and have always bought them through an online corvette parts seller (zip corvette ) mainly because I know they are the right size and configuration for the year car .
In your case ,if your parts store carry replacements I would take the old one out and take it with you so you can compare sizes , rod thread count etc. at the store .
Hi Danny , I have replaced a few of those boosters over the years and have always bought them through an online corvette parts seller (zip corvette ) mainly because I know they are the right size and configuration for the year car .
In your case ,if your parts store carry replacements I would take the old one out and take it with you so you can compare sizes , rod thread count etc. at the store .
Thanks Bazza! Yeah, I'll probably just go that route. Was the original on a 76 black? If I do order, I'll probably paint it if that's the way it was originally. I thought I saw that they were black.
Bazza, since you sounds pretty experienced in the booster, anything else I can do to test the old one? Also, suggestions on installing the new? Again, I've ready many suggestions. Some say pain, some say not bad. Thanks!
Thanks Bazza! Yeah, I'll probably just go that route. Was the original on a 76 black? If I do order, I'll probably paint it if that's the way it was originally. I thought I saw that they were black.
Bazza, since you sounds pretty experienced in the booster, anything else I can do to test the old one? Also, suggestions on installing the new? Again, I've ready many suggestions. Some say pain, some say not bad. Thanks!
They were all black colour from the factory , I think it was a satin black or close to (NCRS guys will know ).
If you have followed all the suggestions on here and it didn't fix the problem ,then there's nothing I can really add to that's a help.
When mine played up the pedal was harder to push and just didn't return to the up position properly so the brake lights stayed on. A new booster fixed that problem
How to remove /replace ? If your just changing a booster you don't need to drain the M/C ,just undo it from the front and gently move it forward without tipping it over ,watch for the rod as it might fall out .Undo vac line .
The way I do it is take the seat out . Remove the brake pedal clevis pin first. Get down there with a long socket extensions and one swivel 1/4 drive , deep socket . On auto,s its not too bad , manuals I remove the clutch safety switch first as its in the way .
Replace , use a short socket with the nut in it with that hard to get at stud so the nut doesn't disappear down inside before it starts on the thread. once its started , then change back to a long one .
Make sure you buy the same size booster as you had.
They were all black colour from the factory , I think it was a satin black or close to (NCRS guys will know ).
If you have followed all the suggestions on here and it didn't fix the problem ,then there's nothing I can really add to that's a help.
When mine played up the pedal was harder to push and just didn't return to the up position properly so the brake lights stayed on. A new booster fixed that problem
How to remove /replace ? If your just changing a booster you don't need to drain the M/C ,just undo it from the front and gently move it forward without tipping it over ,watch for the rod as it might fall out .Undo vac line .
The way I do it is take the seat out . Remove the brake pedal clevis pin first. Get down there with a long socket extensions and one swivel 1/4 drive , deep socket . On auto,s its not too bad , manuals I remove the clutch safety switch first as its in the way .
Replace , use a short socket with the nut in it with that hard to get at stud so the nut doesn't disappear down inside before it starts on the thread. once its started , then change back to a long one .
Make sure you buy the same size booster as you had.
OR.....you can grab a socket set and as soon as you get a socket that FITS...that babby is comin outta there even if i need to cut the dash in half to get at it!!!! Hahahah
And paint EVERYTHING thats steel or iron....no exposed metals of any kind, and the paint thats on new parts ive never found to be really resistant to anything. A nice coat of enamel satin black by tremclad( i use a brush) and its good to go applied nice and think. Takes a few days to dry but if your in a sunny climate you can leave it in the sun to dry/cure quicker.
OR.....you can grab a socket set and as soon as you get a socket that FITS...that babby is comin outta there even if i need to cut the dash in half to get at it!!!! Hahahah
And paint EVERYTHING thats steel or iron....no exposed metals of any kind, and the paint thats on new parts ive never found to be really resistant to anything. A nice coat of enamel satin black by tremclad( i use a brush) and its good to go applied nice and think. Takes a few days to dry but if your in a sunny climate you can leave it in the sun to dry/cure quicker.
Yeah , I couldn't remember what size the original nuts were , its just a bit of trial to find the right size .
As for painting everything , that's a great idea as original stuff had no paint and its all surface rusted (to different degrees !) so you have a bit of dust coming down as your hand rub up against pieces . But to get at it you need to pull the dash out ,steering column , not sure that's what Danny wants to do at this time
Yeah , I couldn't remember what size the original nuts were , its just a bit of trial to find the right size .
As for painting everything , that's a great idea as original stuff had no paint and its all surface rusted (to different degrees !) so you have a bit of dust coming down as your hand rub up against pieces . But to get at it you need to pull the dash out ,steering column , not sure that's what Danny wants to do at this time
I have a 78 vette, and there is a big metal plate in wiper tunnel that looks like it gives you access to booster bolts...not sure though, i had my dash out a couple weeks ago and dont recall seeing any bolts fpr booster...then again i wasnt looking either.
If you google it you will find a couple good pages of people who took pictures as they went amd explained how they did it. I dont think you need to remove hard anything to get it out..a vent pipe is about it....and drivers seat...
I have a 78 vette, and there is a big metal plate in wiper tunnel that looks like it gives you access to booster bolts...not sure though, i had my dash out a couple weeks ago and dont recall seeing any bolts fpr booster...then again i wasnt looking either.
If you google it you will find a couple good pages of people who took pictures as they went amd explained how they did it. I dont think you need to remove hard anything to get it out..a vent pipe is about it....and drivers seat...
the plate in the wiper trough is one of the mounting plates for the brake pedal assembly. the studs on the booster go through the firewall and are in next to the assembly , above the column.
the plate in the wiper trough is one of the mounting plates for the brake pedal assembly. the studs on the booster go through the firewall and are in next to the assembly , above the column.
Well im gonna paint it anyways....its rusted. Probably gonna paint the parts it access's as well,
Cant atand to see anything corroded!!! Thanks bazza77 for more work!!! Hahahaa
So I ordered a new MC on Friday. I got the one that's stamped and looks period correct. I can't believe I received it already. I have another question. Since my brake light was staying on, I did a check yesterday and when I unplug the distribution valve, the brake light goes out. The distribution valve/block looks pretty old and beat up, but does anybody think I need to replace it? I really just don't want to install a new MC, bleed the brakes AGAIN, and the light stay on. Then I'd have to move to the next plan ( which I don't know what that is yet) and then have to bleed it AGAIN. I just want to get these brakes working. I didn't order a new booster yet. I figure I can still replace that later and not have to bleed. I'm just wondering on the distribution valve.
Seldom does the proportioning valve go bad, but maybe. Some try to rebuild those but that gets back to the question of: are good brakes important to you? Willcox has new ones for around $90.
The light came on not because the valve is bad but it detected a loss of pressure somewhere and tripped the valve. Think of it as a brake GFCI. It detects leaks and lets the driver know there is an issue. The leak could be in rear system, in the front system or in that MC system you have been working on. Slamming on the pedal will sometimes reset the valve. But its a one time fix.
There are some exploded views of the P. valve on "the net" if you want to see the inside of one. I bet its ok, (for now). You should get the tool that holds the P. valve centered however. Great little tool for $15.
Seldom does the proportioning valve go bad, but maybe. Some try to rebuild those but that gets back to the question of: are good brakes important to you? Willcox has new ones for around $90.
The light came on not because the valve is bad but it detected a loss of pressure somewhere and tripped the valve. Think of it as a brake GFCI. It detects leaks and lets the driver know there is an issue. The leak could be in rear system, in the front system or in that MC system you have been working on. Slamming on the pedal will sometimes reset the valve. But its a one time fix.
There are some exploded views of the P. valve on "the net" if you want to see the inside of one. I bet its ok, (for now). You should get the tool that holds the P. valve centered however. Great little tool for $15.
Thanks Headsup. I'm going to just take it one thing at a time. Getting ready to bench bleed, then install and bleed the system. See where I'm at. I do need to get that tool for the p. valve though. So, I'll see where I'm at in the next few days. Going to work on this in between working my job, so hopefully by this weekend I'll have brakes! My registration is due in 6 days and I have to go to the DMV, so I need to get this baby running (and stopping!)
Well, I've hit my first issue. The slot in the back of the new master cylinder is deep, however the old one is shallow. Am I missing something? Is there something I need to put into that slot? I assumed this wouldn't be an issue since I ordered the period correct MC, but now I wonder if something else was changed. Any ideas where I go from here??
You got the wrong one no doubt. I have seen this before but can't remember the out- come so I will throw some questions your way.
The one on the left is for manual brakes maybe?
The one on the right looks like mine, shallow, power brakes, 1977-82? maybe?
Maybe someone will chime in here that recognizes the unit on the left.
Hey all. So the one on the left, the new one, I was told is correct for my year (76.) The one I had on apparently was not period correct. So, I ended up ordering a new booster as well. That way everything should be correct to my year. I'm supposed to get everything tomorrow. I pulled the booster out (story below) and I'm glad I decided on this. The old booster was definitely not the original like I originally thought, and it was falling apart! Parts were banging around inside. I'm going to feel really happy and safe when this is all new. And it'll look pretty nice as well.
Really quick on pulling the booster...I was dreading it, based on the horror stories I've read. I made up an extension about 18", swivel head and deep socket. I started with the upper left as everybody says that's the hardest. With the clutch, it is extremely hard to see. I put the socket up there, not seeing where the nut was, I began cranking but it definitely wasn't on it. So, I got as far up as I could to see where the nut is, and low-and-behold, Bubba didn't even put the nut on! So, I had the other 3 off in about 2 minutes. Then the clevis. I got my long pliers, began tugging but I didn't have good leverage. So, I reset my arms to get in there and I felt something hit my head. The clip fell right out! This removal took me no more than 5 minutes. It's a wonder how this brake system even worked. I'm really going to be happy to have all new parts in there.
Now, on to my question.....the yoke that holds the clevis pin, at the bottom of the booster. My new booster apparently doesn't have it. Only a threaded rod with a nut. Does anybody know how to remove the old one? Or what I can do? I have been using vise grips and a C wrench and it will not budge for the life of me. It doesn't even look as though it's threaded on, but looks permanent. Do I need to buy a new one? Anybody know where to get one??? I really want to get this one this weekend, but this part might hold me up.
I know this has been covered by these guys but I would like to re-iterate, the one place you do not want to skimp is the brakes. I just went through a situation where I tried to save a few bucks on a master cylinder and booster on my street rod. After replacing the cheap junk with quality parts the car is a joy to drive (at least stop). One question, did that MC come with an insert for the hole? Many master cylinders have an insert to allow one MC design to take a long or short booster rod.
I know this has been covered by these guys but I would like to re-iterate, the one place you do not want to skimp is the brakes. I just went through a situation where I tried to save a few bucks on a master cylinder and booster on my street rod. After replacing the cheap junk with quality parts the car is a joy to drive (at least stop). One question, did that MC come with an insert for the hole? Many master cylinders have an insert to allow one MC design to take a long or short booster rod.
So I ended up ordering a new booster and master cylinder from Vetteco.com. They are really nice, stamped on the MC, and I ended up ordering the booster now rather than later because the new one does have the insert for the deeper hole. The booster and master that were on the car were apparently not as original as I thought.
Anyway, yesterday I got everything installed, including the upper left nut on the booster! Not easy, but with a little patience, it actually didn't take me long. I bled the system, and today, low-and-behold, I stomped on the brake and the brake light flickered. I did it again and went out for good!!! So when I thought the valve was plugged or not working, guess it's all good. Only thing is now, the brake light won't come on when the parking brake is engaged either. Weird. I don't care about that, but I just hope everything is working properly.
Regardless, she runs great, stops better than ever before. I'm very happy today!!
Good deal. Wasn't that a fun run? C3 brakes are awful to work on with the proportioning valve, booster nuts you can't get at, a drum parking brake and extra bleeders.
Wait a few days and pop the lid on the MC to double check fluid level.
09-22-2017, 03:16 PM
) so you have a bit of dust coming down as your hand rub up against pieces . But to get at it you need to pull the dash out ,steering column , not sure that's what Danny wants to do at this time
