[CDTJ]

Am I missing something?
I have had trouble with getting a brake booster to work for months. First, I had the year wrong, then the correct year wasn't working, and finally, after finding my old booster, I find out why.

Is there some odd edition of brake booster I don't know about? And can I take the old actuator rod and put it in the new one? If I can find a new one of this booster, I would love to, as the old booster just sounds worn out and had liquid (brake fluid?) leaking from it when I first took it off. I would much prefer a new one. Or perhaps someone knows a business that rebuilds them?

Thanks for anyone's advice or help.

CDTJ

 

[BlueOvalRacing]

Yes, you should be able to switch to the old actuator rod. You can also cut and weld longer or shorter. I've also seen adjustable actuator rods on the market.
I hope that you bench bleeded the master cylinder, if you put in a new one.

/Tommy.

 

[CDTJ]

I do bench bleed them. The best that I can, anyway. Also, is there a trick to getting out the old rod, and putting in the new one? Or just brute force?

 

[DrCougar]

The picture is a little dark but I don't see the spacer that fits over the studs. It is about 1" thick and made out of sheet metal. It also has a hole on one end for a bolting the booster to the firewall. Here is a picture of it. This one is not removeable but some of them are. The second picture is just the spacer. Without the spacer the push rod could be too long.

 

[CDTJ]

I have the spacer, I just didn't include it in the picture.
On the contrary, the new one I'm trying to use is not long enough (pictured left). The old one (right) with the longer rod works perfectly with the spacer, but the new one is too short with the spacer. And I need a new booster on there, instead of the old one that is tired and worn out. Should I switch the rods, or just drill a hole into the firewall, for that short stud that you attach the spacer to, and skip the spacer?

Edit: Here is what happens when I have the new booster w/ spacer hooked up, and hook the brake pedal on.

Before:

After:

And it won't budge upwards without pulling the rod out.

 

[CDTJ]

I have the spacer, I just didn't include it in the picture.

On the contrary, the new booster's rod is not long enough. The old one (right) works perfectly with the spacer, but the new (left) one is too short with it. Should I just switch the actuator rods, or attempt the new one without the spacer? And would that mean I need to drill a hole in the firewall for that one short stud that is supposed to attach the spacer to the booster? I really want the new booster as the old one is worn out.

Thanks for replying DrCougar and BlueOvalRacing.

 

[CDTJ]

Here is before the hook up:

Hooked up:

After hook up:

And it won't budge upwards without pulling the actuator rod out.

 

[SeanD]

Does it all bolt up, but the pedal is just really close to the floor? I have a friend with a 68 Mustang dealing with (I think) the same thing.

 

[Cougar Bill]

Buy a rebuilt one from auto parts store. A1 cardone is the main mass rebuilder. Cost just over $100. The booster/ rod is for a 70 w/ Bendix booster. Don't change years, or problems will persist. I personally would NOT swap push rods/ cut weld or modify it at all. Tip is adjustable for fine tuning.

Please don't waste time w/ old booster that had fluid in it. Bad master cyl. Again Bendix NEW master cyl is the way to go. You won't regret it!!

 

[CDTJ]

Yes SeanD, that is my problem. I just got a new booster from WCCC, for the 70 model. It has the exact same tip as my old booster, but still seems to be too short. Cougar Bill, I didn't know they were adjustable? I will definitely try fooling around with it then. If not, perhaps I should send my old booster to booster dewey, because I'm about to throw some boosters across the road in exasperation.

Is there a way to adjust it Cougar Bill?

 

[polanskys]

I use Booster Dewey on the west coast to rebuild the original booster. Comes back looking like new.

Steve

 

[Cougar Bill]

OK, back to basics

If the pedal is too low to the floor, AND you have correct spacer on new correct booster,

1. Where did brake pedal come from?

2. Were the old booster AND pedal orig to car from Factory or just in the car when you bought it?


The old booster does not look correct for the Cougars, that's why I believe the pedal is wrong and the problem.

Let us know what you figure out!

 

[CDTJ]

1. Was in the car with old booster

2. Came with car. Doubt it was factory since nothing that is stock will work with it.

They were both in the car when I bought it, and they worked properly. I'm going to say, no, they aren't factory. My car is a 69, and that obviously doesn't work, and now neither does a 70, even though it looks the same, but with a shorter actuator rod. I think that the pedal is incorrect, at least for my car. Are the mustang brakes the exact same, or is it possible that they are very very similar, but not quite exact (like the actuator rod being longer)? I believe that this was probably at first a manual brake car, and someone got a power conversion from a 70 cougar (or something). Maybe they found a 70 mustang at a junkyard and pulled the pedal and booster? (If it did happen to be slightly different)



Thanks for your help cougar bill.

 

[MagCats]

I responded to your thread over on the Mustang Forum and told you the Actuator Rod might be the problem. Well, 1969 and 1970 use a different actuator rod and if your car is a 69 then the 70 Rod won't work.

 

[CDTJ]

Roger that MagCats. But the problem is, there was a 70 booster on the cat to begin with when I got it, and the brakes worked. So I think the pedal is also a 70 pedal.

I have tried both the 69 and 70 boosters, with the curved and straight rods, and both are too short. That is my dilemma. I can't seem to find the booster with the correct actuator rod length.

Between the old booster and the brand new one from WCCC, everything is the exact same, except for the length of the rod. The old booster is about an inch or so longer.

 

[CDTJ]

I apologize for the double post.

But, I think I have figured out my difficulty. After looking at the brake pedal, and then finally going to look at the manual brakes section on WCCC, I have discovered that I have a manual brake 1970 pedal.

I really have no idea how, but someone somewhere along the line got a 70 manual brake pedal to work with a 70 something booster (but not factory). This sort of sucks, as I have to now buy a 70 power brake pedal for manual trans.

Thanks for all of your help guys. Hopefully I can find one for fairly cheap.

 

[CougarCJ]

Manual disc brake pedals are fairly easy to make from automatic disc brake pedals. I have trimmed them down several times

 

[CDTJ]

Sorry for not being clear. I mean, It's a manual brake pedal for manual transmission. Somehow, they got it to work for power brakes and manual transmission. I need to get a power brake pedal for a manual trans.

The hook in for the manual brake pedal is up higher on the pedal. The power brakes are lower down. Which is why every time I hooked the brake pedal up, my pedal was so close to the floor. I don't know how they got the old booster to work with it.

 

[MagCats]

What 'CougarCJ' was saying is that he realizes how hard it is to find a Power Brake-Manual Transmission Pedal for 1970, most 1970 cars were Automatics and most had Power Brakes, so it is much easier to find a Power-Auto Pedal. If you trim the bottom part of the pedal where the rubber pad fits down to the size of the Manual Trans pedal so it will clear the clutch pedal and fit the Manual Trans rubber pad, it might be a route you can consider if you have a hard time finding a Power Brake-Manual Trans pedal. This is the only difference between the Factory Pedals.

 

[CDTJ]

Oh wow, I didn't realize that is what he was saying. Thanks for clarifying. That makes a lot more sense now. Haha. Ironically, I just saw you in Don Rush's video of the last swap meet in Oregon. Do you happen to have a 70 power brake pedal on hand that you're willing to sell for less than $165? Thanks for giving good advice and explaining things to a rookie, MagCats.

Sorry for misunderstanding you, CougarCJ.

CDTJ