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The Silver Devil strikes once more. the 5th booster in 12 months, this time steel ,failed in 12 ! miles. It's now official , the car has given me PTSD. my repair shop is adamant that there is nothing wrong with the master cyl., even though they were told to change it . they tell me they "saved me some money". the amount I have spent in the last 18 months on brakes is preposterous. many on this forum have purchased a C4 for less. I am at a total loss as to what do . is there any type of after market booster/ master cyl. that can be fitted ? Other than a fire i'm clueless as to what to do next. I'm going to get drunk and cry in the beer , that's what the Silver Devil and PTSD has done to me.
The Silver Devil strikes once more. the 5th booster in 12 months, this time steel ,failed in 12 ! miles. It's now official , the car has given me PTSD. my repair shop is adamant that there is nothing wrong with the master cyl., even though they were told to change it . they tell me they "saved me some money". the amount I have spent in the last 18 months on brakes is preposterous. many on this forum have purchased a C4 for less. I am at a total loss as to what do . is there any type of after market booster/ master cyl. that can be fitted ? Other than a fire i'm clueless as to what to do next. I'm going to get drunk and cry in the beer , that's what the Silver Devil and PTSD has done to me.
It's a 96, right? This one is metal and it is the same one Autozone sells.
I have been using one on mine for years and it works great.
If the car were mine, I would have the mechanic examine the push rod and everything behind the dash. Although I've never seen it, I do have to wonder if there's too much travel or something is stressing it during application. The plastic boosters are crappy, but what you describe is just nuts. You're either the unluckiest man on earth or something is very, very wrong. Good luck!!!
the part has warranty, it's only been on the car 4 days. I now have 2 boosters to file a parts/ labor claim on. I think I am screwed on the unit installed in Durango, Co. it's 1500 miles away, so they know they will never see me . thank GOD it lasted 36 days and at least got me home .replacements lasted 3 miles,10 months (3k miles ?) 36 days (1,800 miles) and 12 miles. to say I am loth to spend even more on this crap is an understatement. other than the park brake , every possible part has been changed in 8k miles .i don't know how anything could be misaligned under the dash, the tolerances are just too tight. so..... any options for a "race" type booster/ mc ?
When the boosters fail what happens? Brake pedal goes hard I assume? Not a lot inside a brake booster to go wrong, if you have one there that you can't claim on why not open it up and see whats what.?
Some history on what was happening to the brakes before the first failure might give some clues. How long have you had the car? I would be looking at the pushrod length and the travel.
I have had the car 20 months so far. I know 1 plastic unit broke at the base . I assume the other failures were internal . I am not about to blow any chance for a parts failure claim by cracking one open . I did make one major mistake : tried to do an exorcism on the Silver Devil myself (true) . I should have called in a Jesuit to drive the ALL the devils out......I still might.
An option, probably something you'd need an offroad shop for, is to convert to hydroboost. It was used on vans where there wasnt enough room for a vacuum booster, and on diesel trucks that don't have vacuum. Converting requires tapping into your power steering hoses.
Are you anywhere near Huntington Beach, CA? It's time for a brake system expert to figure this out! Matt Sweeting at Power Brake Service is good at special problems, and you certainly qualify! http://powerbrakeservice.net
They built a custom metal booster for me about 14 years ago (which I installed myself), and my brakes are excellent!
one booster fails in 3 miles , another in 3,000 miles . check valve changed , shop tells me the hose is good. missing parts not likely but will double check that. as of now I will be checking on a custom built booster in the am.( many thanks for lead Mr Hot ROD) the root cause is simply crap reman process. I mentioned to DR. Cook on another post that if you were ever inside a reman plant (I have been in a few) you would be astounded any part ever worked out of the box.
Really think you should take this to a brake expert and stop buying more parts. I have had my share of failed reman parts too, but 5 in a row is pretty difficult to believe are solely do to poor workmanship.They are pretty simple devices really.
A hydroboost conversion ? Astounding ! MR Hot Rod Roy, PLEASE share with me (us) what was required to do your custom conversion. any custom fab brake lines etc. required ? At this point I am being 100% stone walled trying to make parts/ labor claim with NAPA store in Durango,CO. the store is indy owned and they don't give a rats *** about any claim from out of state . told me to call NAPA HQ.in ATL. and tell them my sad story,so I did. no call back as of yet .....worst case , will crack open the booster that failed in 36 days and take a look. IF there was a competent brake shop in New Orleans I would have used them months ago .Alas , there ain't one.
Could there be an actual pedal alignment problem? I honestly have only had 1 booster on any vehicle I've been around and it actually was a hydroboost... not fail completly but leak power steering fluid like a ****. I'm curious what the failure actually is. Someone is missing something.
A hydroboost conversion ? Astounding ! MR Hot Rod Roy, PLEASE share with me (us) what was required to do your custom conversion. Any custom fab brake lines etc. required? IF there was a competent brake shop in New Orleans I would have used them months ago.
As I said, that conversion was done by Power Brake Service. Yes, there would be considerable custom work involved in the HydroBoost conversion. In a previous post, I was led to think that you're in California. Please fill out your Personal Info so we can be more informed about how to help you.
The special power booster I installed on my car was a bolt-in job (it's a modified Mazda SUV dual-diaphragm booster). A relatively easy installation, and it works great! But we still don't know why you are having so many problems! You need to find a brake specialist.
My 88 coupe is on it's ORIGINAL booster with probably 40k miles on it, and it sat outside its whole life, some of which was with the hood off.
in addition to that, I autocross the car and now run half mile stuff.
ABS is deleted. M/C was replaced with dorman reman like 3 years ago.
silicone dot 5 fluid.
it also has the original vacuum check valve that gets abused with more than 15psig boost.
I sold an 89 coupe last year that needed a booster at 120k miles, and I replaced it with a dorman reman. Worked like a champ.
Pretty sure my dad's 87 vert is still on the original booster.
What I am trying to say is that there must be something else going on. Quit your whining and go find a competent mechanic or even one who specializes in the braking system of cars.
There's a saying down here in the south,
"fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
beyond fricking PREPOSTEROUS
