Installing Brake Booster question.. (1 Viewer)

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Loomis, Ca
Ive watched OTRAMS and Timmy the tool mans vid on removing booster without undoing a couple brake lines on master cylinder which seems like they totally struggle to get booster out and bending brake lines in the process....is there a reason they dont undue the lines then after just bleed the whole system? ...I have a vacuum bleeder.....any thoughts from those that have done this?

Thanks
 
Bleeding the system on these rigs is not an easy task. Don't open the lines unless you have to, you will regret it. The ABS appears to be the main culprit as it needs to be activated to properly purge all air from the system once the lines are open. I may be the worst example but, none-the-less, I can guarantee you I have used 5 gallons of fluid attempting to bleed it. Vacuum, pressure, gravity, two man method and then taking it to the dealer (a reputable dealer with a cruiser mechanic), none have worked. As a result I am now trying to wrap up a hydro boost system on mine.

If you don't have to open that pandora's box, DONT!
 
Bleeding the system on these rigs is not an easy task. Don't open the lines unless you have to, you will regret it. The ABS appears to be the main culprit as it needs to be activated to properly purge all air from the system once the lines are open. I may be the worst example but, none-the-less, I can guarantee you I have used 5 gallons of fluid attempting to bleed it. Vacuum, pressure, gravity, two man method and then taking it to the dealer (a reputable dealer with a cruiser mechanic), none have worked. As a result I am now trying to wrap up a hydro boost system on mine.

If you don't have to open that pandora's box, DONT!

ok, thanks...I just pulled on lines, they moved way easier than it looks, so master cylinder is out of way.
 
I'm curious to see if I run into any trouble on my non-ABS HZJ80. I'm planning a rebuild of the entire brake system from the master cylinder to the pistons. Just keeping the hard lines, replacing everything else. Without ABS it doesn't look too difficult on paper to bleed, but I'll find out when I try it.
 
I'm curious to see if I run into any trouble on my non-ABS HZJ80. I'm planning a rebuild of the entire brake system from the master cylinder to the pistons. Just keeping the hard lines, replacing everything else. Without ABS it doesn't look too difficult on paper to bleed, but I'll find out when I try it.

I'm doubting you'll really have any issues since it always seems to get stuck at the ABS module. I'll be attempting to active the ABS on mine via one of the schematics I found instead of the loose gravel method. Hopefully that finally gets all of the air out. I've replaced everything else so that's literally the last possibility.
 
:popcorn:
 
I got the brake booster out, goodness that was tough!
On mine, the booster hits manifold like nobodys business, had to use a pry bar to get it pass manifold, not looking forward to crunching the new $500 dollar one back in...
 
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Got brake booster in, Timmy the tool mans vid had the best advice…u want to just push in top and bottom booster studs on right side (drivers fender side) and get em started in firewall then you will need a
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hammer with a 2x4 and give it a good wack at the manifold side till it pops past manifold…done!
 
Do it half a dozen times, it gets easy. You must remove the lower dash, unfortunately the brake pedal at it will slide out. You have to jockey it but, it is not terrible.
 
I did mine twice. First time we were in a full shop. Undid one of otor mo uh nt and lifted the motor a little. 2nd time I skipped this step and it still worked out just fine. Bever undid the brake lines. They are not the issue.
 
I did mine twice. First time we were in a full shop. Undid one of otor mo uh nt and lifted the motor a little. 2nd time I skipped this step and it still worked out just fine. Bever undid the brake lines. They are not the issue.
That is a great idea.
 
I did mine twice. First time we were in a full shop. Undid one of otor mo uh nt and lifted the motor a little. 2nd time I skipped this step and it still worked out just fine. Bever undid the brake lines. They are not the issue.
I was pondering this route only if all else failed....I ended up lightly sanding down the lip of the manifold gasket which was sticking out a bit and making it harder to get booster by, polished it up and it sqeeked by with a few whacks..
 
Didn’t seem so bad when I did mine, twice due to aftermarket failure. What I did notice though is when it was out you look right down on that PHH.
 
I would rather do the PHH twice than do another brake booster.

My plan was to pull the MC and booster together since my MC needs to be rebuilt. Yeah, that didn't work at all. I removed the MC from the booster and naturally made a mess of that. I did evac the reservoir as much as possible with a large syringe before tackling this job. MC came out fairly easy.

I dug under the dash and quickly removed the spring, cotter pin, and shaft from the brake arm. Removing the nuts for the booster was easier than what was pictured in the videos. However, pulling the booster out was a nightmare. I could get 3 of 4 pins out but there was no way to get it past the intake. I was completely convinced the previous owner installed the wrong booster that was slightly bigger. The rubber boot got destroyed, I cut two of the threaded studs off with a hacksaw, and this @#$**& still wouldn't come out. After several hours of fighting it, I was pissed and got the 3 foot pry bar and popped it right out past the intake.

Now the reinstall. I've got a $400 booster that needs a tender touch. My patience is gone and I briefly considered a hammer and pry bar. Instead, I pulled the driver's side engine mount nut and jacked up the engine. After several attempts the engine lifted and rotated just enough for the booster to clear and slide past the intake with several aggressive palm strikes.

During this ordeal, one of the studs on the booster became bent slightly and the rest of the studs were not lining up with the holes. I removed the booster (grrrr), put a deep socket on the stud and pryed it straight again. The booster was reinstalled in the Cruiser and the studs lined up, however they are not going into the holes even with a lot of convincing shoving and cursing. WTH.

I crawl under the dash and none of the videos mentioned this. The support bracket for the booster fell down about 3/8". I could barely see the bottom of one of the studs through the holes. Without hesitation, I grabbed the Toyota mechanical jack and a 2x2 square tube cutoff I had laying around. I wedged the square tube against the support bracket and put the jack under the tube. I jacked the support bracket back into place. Once I saw the end of the studs lining up, I pushed the booster home. I immediately installed the nuts to hold it into place, reinstalled spring, cotter pin, and shaft. Finally success.

The plan was to rebuild the MC tomorrow. As I was finally wrapping things up, I noticed my brake lights on. This can't be happening. I just so happened to read about the brake light sensor pad breaking with age. One more trip under the dash and I confirmed mine was now in pieces. I wedged a felt pad in there temporarily just to turn off the lights.

The videos will have you convinced this can be done in 20 minutes but for me this was a 6 hour ordeal from hell. Hopefully, the MC rebuild goes much smoother tomorrow.


TL;DR the booster does NOT come out like the videos and the new booster required lifting the engine and using a jack under the dash.
 
I ran into a similar situation, key issue was as lumbee1 mentioned was that the brake pedal bracket can slip out of place and when that happens the booster studs won't slide through the firewall then through the corresponding holes in the pedal bracket because they are not aligned.

Glad you got it done.
 

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