Re: brake booster replacement

["Gary G. Erickson" <erickson@teleport.com>]

First, I don't remember exactly what car Ken was talking about, but I'm
pretty sure it was a 4kq/GT.  My comments are with this platform in
mind.

Ken Keith wrote:
 
> Looking at the Bentley, it almost looks like you don't have to crack open
> the hydraulic portion of the brake system to replace the booster.  Is it
> part of the "wet" part of the system?

Well, that will depend on what the reason for failure was on the vacuum
booster.  The only mode of failure that _I've_ ever seen was that the
rear seal on the master cylinder gives up, allowing brake fluid into the
booster.  Over time, the break fluid eats away at the membrane inside
the booster, thereby killing it, and leaving you w/o power brakes.

> Is it possible to replace the booster without getting into all that brake
> fluid mess?

In theory, you might be able to do it with some CAREFUL bending of the
brake lines as you pull the MC off of the booster, IME, you'll need to
pull the MC because it's going to need to be replaced as well.

I replaced the MC in my '84 4kq because it failed in this fashion.  I
used a rag to remove as much as the fluid from the booster as I could,
but didn't bother to replace it at that time.  After about a month, the
booster failed.  I've been driving it w/o the power assist since the
lack of doesn't bother me, and I'm too lazy to replace it since the
brakes still work just fine.  (And no, it doesn't require nearly as much
leg effort as you might think.  I just wouldn't try it using the
MetalMaster pads!  <grin>)

HTH!

Gary