Hey guys. how long does it take to actually install the spring, not including the bleeding of the brakes. It seems pretty straightforward but nothing ever goes smoothly in my car when I'm installing things. I'm going to have a buddy who is a mechanic do it, but neither of us know what to expect. Are there any special tools you'd recommend?

 

 

Snap ring pliars, its sort of a pain but its doable.

 

I'm not a fan of those springs, but they aren't hard to install. My car's an 86, but I don't think yours is much different. Before you unbolt the master cylinder from the booster, loosen the large nut on the front of the master. You risk cracking the casing or the ears if you try and undo it while the master is off the car or in a vise.

Once the master is off and you unscrew that front bolt, you can see the proportioning valve in the cylinder. It's going to be stuck in there. You will have to bang on the side and back of the cylinder where the proportioning valve is with a rubber mallet. Eventually it should come out far enough where you can pull it out. Be careful not to damage the valve or the cylinder bore.

 

Hah! That sounds like a pain.

With the early Vette style masters you don't need to remove it from the booster at all. Just unscrew that main bolt (foremost on the master cylinder). Put a catch can below to catch all the brake fluid and then use a small headed nail to catch in the lip of the valve body. It then pulls out.

Much quicker and easier.

 

Like C4Boy said; its kinda tough.

Well.. more like a real PITA!

Getting the proportional valve out is just the first part. Then you have to remove the snap ring which releases the spring. Best to have someone nearby with a rag to keep these parts from flying all over the place. That person also needs to be deaf..

Thank your lucky stars that you'll only do this once....

 

I had my wife put mine in. After a half hour of me cursing, she took the pick and snap ring pliers away and did it in about 2 minutes.

 

Do you think your wife could do mine?

 

Probably could. Now would she? Eh, she's gotta mind of her own. You could ask her...

 

No wife yet but you got me thinking.
This could be a job for my girlfriend.

 

I just busted out laughing on that one. Too funny. Does she have any exhaust experience? A sister?

 

Hey guys, it's not that tough. I had mine done in 10 minutes flat and had never done it before. I did a write up on it last year. See if you can search it in the archive. I had all the details in it but now I can't remember everything. You don't have to take off anything on a later style C4.

Let me see what I can remember. Remove the low brake switch and wire on the side of the housing. It's plastic so be careful, not much pressure to unscrew and to screw back in. Remove the cap on the end of the master cylinder and pull out the cylinder housing inside. A couple of o-rings hold it in place so it may be a little hard to slid out. I used a small mechanics pick. Be careful not to scratch the inner sleeve. Once you get that housing out, remove the snap ring in the end of it; it's under pressure from a spring so it can be a little tight. Once it is off, remove the spring inside and replace it with the DRM spring. Shove the snap ring back in making sure it firmly locks into the grove because it is under pressure from the new spring. I used a flathead screwdriver that was sized to fit inside the cylinder but yet large enough to firmly push on the snap ring. I guess I was lucky to have a screwhead just the right size to do that. Replace the housing in the master cylinder and put the cap back on, replace the switch and wire on the side of the housing, bleed the brakes.

That's it. Hope this helps.

 

thanks for all this info. I'll try to read your other post as well before attempting this. Thanks!

 

The first time I tried the spring shot out across the garage. It took me about 15 minutes to find the snap ring and spring again. Second time, only took me about 2 minutes.

 

wow, that easy the second time? Maybe I'll try this afterall...

 

I sent mine to DRM and had Randy install it for about 10 bucks. It was worth i, because I know I would have FUBARed it.

 

man, I'm bummed. i've been digging around the archives for about 30 minutes and I haven't seen anything yet. Anyone know the link? Thanks in advance.

 

The search function doesn't always work well. Most of the important points are in the above post so go ahead and give it a shot.