sprucegoose

The brake pedal has gotten real stiff, and now have a hissing sound when I am holding my foot down on the pedal. Pretty sure this is my problem right?

How difficult of a job is this? I'm thinking of doing it myself, as it looks like it might not be too bad.

I can see the 4 nuts holding the booster to the firewall underneath the dash, but it'll be tough getting at them. Do I need to drop the column or remove anything else under there first? Is it OK to just remove the master cylinder from the booster as long as the lines are supported. I shouldn't have to bleed the brakes if this is the case...

Any tips or advice much appreciated, I'm going to get started on this in the morning I think.

__________________
~Dave~

'08 Chevy HHR SS, Victory Red, 5 spd. 2.0L Turbo, 36K mi.
'98 Buick Riviera, Black, 3.8L Super-Charged, 210K mi.
'98 Chevy Tahoe LT, 5.7 Vortec, Black 225K mi.
'70 Pontiac Firebird Formula 400, 4spd 200k+ mi., in process restoration

sprucegoose

Picked up a re-mfg booster for $141 today, but I have more work to do before that. I had never had to replace the rear brakes before on this truck... In fact, was never able to get the rear drums off.

Well, I finally got them off, and one wheel cylinder was leaking. The shoes where down to the rivets, but the drums are salvageable, so I'm having them turned. I'm going to repair this first and see what progress it makes, but I'm pretty sure the booster is going to be next.

No tips on the booster swap yet? Anyone have a manual that explains the procedure??

sprucegoose

Well, I have smooth, effiecient brakes once again! No more hissing and hard/uneven pedal feel. This new booster, along with fresh rear brakes makes a ton of difference in stopping distance!

It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it may be in replacing the booster. The rear brakes were a lot more time consuming than this part. The most challenging part was getting the stupid little retainer-clip off the end of the rod that connects to the brake pedal! It takes patience and a couple long, skinny screwdrivers to pop that off.

Not a real lot of room to work under there, you'll need a deep well 15mm socket on an air rachet to remove the 4 nuts holding the booster to the firewall, there isn't enough room to swing a standard length ratchet. All said and done the re-mfg booster cost me $148 at NAPA, and took me about 2 hrs to replace.

On to the next problem... (isn't that always the way it goes??) Now the stupid thing won't start after I got back from my test drive! It didn't want to stay running yesterday either when I was trying to bleed the brakes. That time it had been sitting in my garage for two days, now it had sat for just 15 minutes, but refuses to start. It fires, but dies right away... ughhhhhh!!

debrey

Thanks for your post, sg!

sprucegoose

Sure, no problem. I don't mind if sometimes you don't get feedback right away. Usually someone will need the info down the line, and find it through a search when they really need it!

Lodogg2221

Like me now! Mine is doing the same, although now I have only non-power brakes, and the booster hisses all the time when the pedal is depressed, and sometimes if I have to hold it a while, the truck almost dies.