I ended up just going with the Napa single reservoir master and Napa's rebuilt replacement booster. Instead of going the $125.00 combo setup, I went for the separate components, as they looked a little better to me. I think it was about $175.00 altogether. Put everything in last weekend and it seems to have solved all of my problems.
The brakes feel so much better, but a buddy of mine says they may still be a bit spongy, so I need to bleed the lines which I'll do when I re-shoe and spring the system in the next few weeks.
The booster was a bitch to get out, because you have to stand on your head under the dash. I ended up taking my drivers seat out which made it a TON easier. I also ended up taking out the diagonal braces between the fender and the cowl to get more room to work in the engine bay. Putting the whole system back together was a snap. I bench bled the master like several websites (Cardone in particular) instruct and that was that. I put the lines and fitting back on, didn't use any thread sealer or the like. I was sort of suspecting a small leak or something because of it, but so far after a hundred miles or so, it's bone dry around everything and the fluid level is the same.
BTW, the Napa booster has an adjustable length push rod. I left mine the default length, and it seems to be correct. There may be a little and not very frequent groaning from the master cylinder/booster area when applying the brakes at low speed when the car is cold, but that may also be something else, because I had the same noises before doing the work. Any suggestions would be appreciated on that angle.
ATTENTION: Make sure that when you have your booster out, you check that lower steering column bushing. Mine was gone and so I had a good opportunity to replace it when I did this brake work. I don't see any other way to get to that bushing without taking out the master and the booster. It's a $10 part and its improved my shifter feel 100%.
Good luck.
__________________
Bob Asher
1964 Thunderbird Convertible
|