1995 3.1L - Replacing Master Cylinder and Booster

[blk95lumina]

Hello.
1995 Lumina LS 3.1L
ABS Brakes - Disc in the front and Drums in the back

Need to replace the master cylinder and booster and had a few questions before buying parts.

How do I know exactly which booster to buy?...push rod size seems to be all the same at 4.62" but the pedal rod varies - C24, A19, W2, W5, etc. - Where do I find this info. for the booster on my car?

I see 2 types of master cylinders...non-ABS and ABS. I have ABS but do ABS systems with all Disc versus front Disc / rear Drum use the exact same master cylinder?

If I remove the master cylinder, can I then remove the booster without removing anything else? (besides the vacuum line of course). I have seen pictures where the metal coolant line needs to be disconnected, etc. but not sure if first taking off the master cylinder will give plenty of clearance.

Thank you.

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by blk95lumina

1995 Lumina LS 3.1L
ABS Brakes - Disc in the front and Drums in the back

Need to replace the master cylinder and booster and had a few questions before buying parts.

1. You need the service manual for your vehicle.

2. Walk into any decent parts store, tell them about the car, and they'll get you the right booster/master cylinder. That said, COMPARE THE NEW PARTS TO THE ORIGINALS.

[blk95lumina]

Having 2nd thoughts now after reading this post.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...1086356&page=2

Seems worth a shot to try braking harder while backing up. I use the parking brake everyday but that appears to not quite be enough to keep the rears adjusted properly.

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by blk95lumina

Having 2nd thoughts now after reading this post.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...1086356&page=2

Seems worth a shot to try braking harder while backing up. I use the parking brake everyday but that appears to not quite be enough to keep the rears adjusted properly.

Originally Posted by Schurkey

1. You need the service manual for your vehicle.

If the rear brakes are duo-servo, self-energizing, stopping hard in reverse is how they're designed to be adjusted.

If they're Twin Leading Shoe, stopping hard in reverse does nothing in terms of brake adjustment. The adjustment is done with the park brake.

You need to figure out which kind of rear brake design you have.

[blk95lumina]

It needed a new booster and master cylinder.
The problem continued to get worse. I had both a leaky booster and a worn out master cylinder, so sometimes the pedal would go to the floor and other times it would be hard but no braking power. The booster also started to leak so bad the engine would die when letting off the brake.

Finding the right booster is tricky and no shop or store could confirm without removing the booster and reading the pedal code. Could not simply read it by looking up under the dash while it was installed.

There are 4 different pedal codes. W2, W5, C24, A19

I ordered A-1 CARDONE 5474804 (C24 or A19) and A-1 CARDONE 5474824 (W5). These are the only 2 that A-1 Cardone offers, so they do not have the W2. The original pedal code on the car ended up being W2, but after comparing each part the 5474804 (C24 or A19) seemed to match or be close enough to the W2. I had a shop do the install b/c I have ABS and do Not have a GM Tech2 to remove the tension on the ABS gears.

Even though the original pedal code was W2 and the C24/A19 version is installed, it seems to fit well and everything works OK.

Does anyone know if W2, C24, and A19 pedal codes are interchangeable or close enough to work?

If not, then seems strange that a common parts mfg. does not offer a booster w/ pedal code W2.

Link https://www.cardone.com/find-parts/v...mina&year=1995