Author Topic: Brake booster pedal rod removal  (Read 1821 times)

Offline fiddler

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Brake booster pedal rod removal
« on: January 29, 2020, 07:21:27 PM »
Anybody know of pics or a video showing the easiest way of removing a brake booster from a 1974 chevy 1/2 ton pickup?  I am particularly interested in the connecting rod.  Not sure about how much I need to remove in order to get that rod disconnected from the pedal....
  Thanks all,

Ricky
Ricky

Offline JohnnyPopper

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Re: Brake booster pedal rod removal
« Reply #1 on: January 29, 2020, 07:45:37 PM »
I recently did that to a '80 I'm working on, get a bright light down there, its easier than it seems. Took two minutes.
1957 Apache 3100 235 Inline 6, 3 on the tree
1973 C-20, 3+3 454 4BBL TH400  Water Injection
1978 K-10, 350 4BBL TH350 NP203 M.M. Part time Kit/Hubs
1980 C-10 under construction

Offline fiddler

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Re: Brake booster pedal rod removal
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2020, 12:03:05 AM »
So I remove the bolt from the casing around the pedal bar??
Ricky

Offline JohnnyPopper

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Re: Brake booster pedal rod removal
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2020, 09:13:03 PM »
Pretty sure that's what I did, was surprised how fast it went.
1957 Apache 3100 235 Inline 6, 3 on the tree
1973 C-20, 3+3 454 4BBL TH400  Water Injection
1978 K-10, 350 4BBL TH350 NP203 M.M. Part time Kit/Hubs
1980 C-10 under construction

Offline fiddler

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Re: Brake booster pedal rod removal
« Reply #4 on: February 03, 2020, 07:41:50 PM »
So I finished installing the brake booster on my 1974 chevy 1/2 ton stepside (C10).  I modified it to a dual diaphragm booster.  The rod was not long enough on the replacement and the thread sizes did not match the old unit so I had to modify the rod to fit the truck.  I bought a 3/8 coupling nut and drilled one side 25/64 and tapped it to a 7/16 fine thread, then cut off a 7/16 fine thread bolt to couple the 7/16 truck connecting rod to the 3/8 booster connecting rod.  I had to cut off some of the coupling nut and the truck side connecting rod to get the old rod to be short enough.  Cleaned off the stuff with Xylene and blew it out and then assembled using loctite thread locker.  Turns out in order to remove the coupling rod from the pedal you have to take a 9/16 hex size 3/8 inch diameter nut off of the bracket that covers the connecting rod and depresses the brake light switch, which exposes the coupling rod connection.  The rod goes over a 1/2 inch stud with a couple of washers, and a cotter pin to hold the whole thing together.  In order to replace the rod, put the washer back on, and then install the cotter pin.  Then put the brake light pushing bracket back on the pedal.  Then straighten out the wiring you screwed up messing around down there, and replace the bottom steering wheel shaft cover.  I think it helped not having the new booster installed tightly.  I just had it in place with a couple of nuts loosely, then once the rod was in place I installed the 6 nuts on the firewall.  Getting the right depth of sockets to fit between the booster and the firewall was a challenge, but once that was done the job was reasonable.   Works so FINE!!  The power brakes did not work when I got the old truck, and I have been looking forward to getting power back.   Gotta say I wish I had done this a couple of years back.   

Ricky