Universal Power brake booster experiment
Moderator: redstangbob
Re: Universal Power brake booster experiment
Here is a before pic.. Pretty close. But the new one is smaller.
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Re: Universal Power brake booster experiment
Quick update... I got the engine in.
I bolted the booster and bracket up, and it is very close to the valve cover.. but does not touch.
It sits pretty low, but doesn't seem to interfere with anything.
The master cyl I haven't been able to bolt on yet.
I got a wilwood style master cyl. and it was much too large. the compact wilwood will work.
I also got this one from speedway motors that is a ford style.. but it won't bolt up to the booster because of the ford bolt pattern
So, I've got to figure out a way to bring the mounting holes out slightly and I will be done.
I did find the same master cyl on the stainless steel brakes site already with slotted mounting holes, but didn't want to buy another one.
I bolted the booster and bracket up, and it is very close to the valve cover.. but does not touch.
It sits pretty low, but doesn't seem to interfere with anything.
The master cyl I haven't been able to bolt on yet.
I got a wilwood style master cyl. and it was much too large. the compact wilwood will work.
I also got this one from speedway motors that is a ford style.. but it won't bolt up to the booster because of the ford bolt pattern
So, I've got to figure out a way to bring the mounting holes out slightly and I will be done.
I did find the same master cyl on the stainless steel brakes site already with slotted mounting holes, but didn't want to buy another one.
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Re: Universal Power brake booster experiment
Ok. It looks like we finally have a winner!
This is a master cyl. for a 99 blazer with a KT stamp #mc390427. It is 1" bore and very compact. This one has the outlets to the right, which works well for me.
Everything has good clearance right now. The valve cover is a little close, but I will adjust the whole assembly up a 1/4" or so and it will be perfect.
So this is using the aftermarket bracket, universal 8" dual diaphragm booster, and the blazer MC.
Here is a summary of what I have learned so far.
1- universal boosters use a GM bolt pattern master cylinder and a square mounting pattern that is very close to ours, but will not fit without modifying our brackets.
2- GM bolt pattern master cylinders are mostly HUGE and patterned after old corvette MCs. Ford MCs are much smaller, come in various configurations.. and can be modified to fit the GM boosters. There are some vendors that sell ford MCs with slotted mounting holes which will fit just fine( stainless steel brakes) . Wilwood MCs are also huge, unless you get the compact one.
3- The aftermarket bracket I found will work , but lowers everything and sticks out further than the factory bracket. If I was going to start from the beginning I would probably just modify the original bracket.
4- both my original bracket and my pedal assembly needed to be completely taken apart, wire brushed out, cleaned, painted, greased, and reassembled. They were both binding quite a bit. If you pedal feels hard and makes noise.. don't ignore these components. They suck to get to, but safety is important!
Total investment:
Brake Booster $55.00 amazon- made by inline tube
Master Cyl $70.79 Rockauto
Bracket $65 Piratejack.net Ford truck Booster bracket
I will update when I actually drive this thing eventually and let you know how it actually functions.
This is a master cyl. for a 99 blazer with a KT stamp #mc390427. It is 1" bore and very compact. This one has the outlets to the right, which works well for me.
Everything has good clearance right now. The valve cover is a little close, but I will adjust the whole assembly up a 1/4" or so and it will be perfect.
So this is using the aftermarket bracket, universal 8" dual diaphragm booster, and the blazer MC.
Here is a summary of what I have learned so far.
1- universal boosters use a GM bolt pattern master cylinder and a square mounting pattern that is very close to ours, but will not fit without modifying our brackets.
2- GM bolt pattern master cylinders are mostly HUGE and patterned after old corvette MCs. Ford MCs are much smaller, come in various configurations.. and can be modified to fit the GM boosters. There are some vendors that sell ford MCs with slotted mounting holes which will fit just fine( stainless steel brakes) . Wilwood MCs are also huge, unless you get the compact one.
3- The aftermarket bracket I found will work , but lowers everything and sticks out further than the factory bracket. If I was going to start from the beginning I would probably just modify the original bracket.
4- both my original bracket and my pedal assembly needed to be completely taken apart, wire brushed out, cleaned, painted, greased, and reassembled. They were both binding quite a bit. If you pedal feels hard and makes noise.. don't ignore these components. They suck to get to, but safety is important!
Total investment:
Brake Booster $55.00 amazon- made by inline tube
Master Cyl $70.79 Rockauto
Bracket $65 Piratejack.net Ford truck Booster bracket
I will update when I actually drive this thing eventually and let you know how it actually functions.
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Re: Universal Power brake booster experiment
I know this post is old..... but I thought I would revive it.
I was excited when I first came across it as it seemed like the OP may have the perfect solution. A universal brake booster with the original brake pedal bracket (with some small modification).
Unfortunately, it will not work. The universal boosters require more space on the firewall side and if you try to use the original bracket there is just no way they will fit. There is a plastic housing around the stud on the universal booster that interferes with the brake pedal lever. Even if you cut that plastic away the stud does not have threads low enough for a fitting to connect to the lever.
At this point I have nothing to loose, so I'm going to try cutting away the plastic, then using a die to thread the stud further. Even then, I think I will need to use spaces to push the booster farther from the firewall (guessing 1/4-1/2 inch).. I did an eyeball measurement and I should have tons of room between the master cylinder and the cross member (like an inch).
I think I can make it work, but not exactly what I wanted. I was hoping everything would be off the shelf and easy to replace down the road. With booster mods, that won't be true. However, it should be good for another 20-25 years.
I really appreciate the OPs original post as it saved me TONS of time that I would have spent looking for things. If I was going to do it again, I would buy the FT5772BPR bracket. I would modify it and the mount for the booster on the firewall. I would add some extensions (weld) to "raise" the whole system up about 1". That would give some breathing room from the valve cover, but still keep it clear of the cross member. At that point any future owners could just buy off the shelf stuff in the event of a future failure!
I was excited when I first came across it as it seemed like the OP may have the perfect solution. A universal brake booster with the original brake pedal bracket (with some small modification).
Unfortunately, it will not work. The universal boosters require more space on the firewall side and if you try to use the original bracket there is just no way they will fit. There is a plastic housing around the stud on the universal booster that interferes with the brake pedal lever. Even if you cut that plastic away the stud does not have threads low enough for a fitting to connect to the lever.
At this point I have nothing to loose, so I'm going to try cutting away the plastic, then using a die to thread the stud further. Even then, I think I will need to use spaces to push the booster farther from the firewall (guessing 1/4-1/2 inch).. I did an eyeball measurement and I should have tons of room between the master cylinder and the cross member (like an inch).
I think I can make it work, but not exactly what I wanted. I was hoping everything would be off the shelf and easy to replace down the road. With booster mods, that won't be true. However, it should be good for another 20-25 years.
I really appreciate the OPs original post as it saved me TONS of time that I would have spent looking for things. If I was going to do it again, I would buy the FT5772BPR bracket. I would modify it and the mount for the booster on the firewall. I would add some extensions (weld) to "raise" the whole system up about 1". That would give some breathing room from the valve cover, but still keep it clear of the cross member. At that point any future owners could just buy off the shelf stuff in the event of a future failure!