Cardone booster for '67: Updated - please help!

[Supermike]

Good deal... then the square hole will go down!

[seattle67]

Mike, this post has been going on for awhile, and my memory isn't what it used to be , so I cant remember, are you replacing the master cylinder or using your old one? The only reason I ask is, if you're replacing the master cylinder, make sure to bleed it before you install it.

[Supermike]

I decided to replace the MC while I'm messing with it all. I'm actually going to have an experience person help me (or even just do it), because I don't have that skill. But the brakes need to be bled anyhow because the proportional valve is off, making my brake light come on. Figured I may as well install it as a unit.

Thanks for the reminder! I'll be sure to remind the guy...

[seattle67]

Thats cool Mike, sounds like you're good to go. If you can, take lots of pictures of the whole process, I didn't when I installed my booster and now wish I had. Pictures sure are helpful to other people thinking about taking on the same project.

Good luck!

[Supermike]

I'll try to do that if I can... I'm due to have some surgery and thus won't need the truck for about a week, so my guy was maybe going to work on it then. If I'm around, though, I'll get some pictures!

[kilog55]

all i could find around here is dot 3 synthetic so anything 3 or 4 will be fine

the booster brackets mount with the flanges outboard the ones with the halfmoon cutout go on the firewall and you want the other sides to be upward if i remember correctly i put em on wrong at first and wondered why i could not get the hole to match up with the hole in the firewall.

i know you want to have the diamond and circle cutouts on the top diamond on the left i believe.

either way you should be able to get a ratchet on all eight bolts/nuts.

if you have any doubt you can always loosely tighten the nuts on the booster to the bracket to make sure you get the pushrod in the hole

[Supermike]

Okay, here's the deal... I need some info/help here. Got a call from the guy installling my booster for me, and ended up leaving the truck there when I went to get it. This really has me pixxed off right now!

First, he said he could not get the proportional valve to equalize. He said he tried, and bled the brakes a few times, but it would not go off. He said the switch looked fine, etc., so he wasn't sure what it was. So he disconnected it for now.

Second, the booster is in and he said the brakes worked great. My wife was hurrying me along, so I didn't get a chance to drive it. However, when I pressed down on the brake pedal, it felt to me like it pushed down almost all the way to the floor. Now, I'm used to the manual brakes, so I have no idea what the brakes should feel like with the booster. How far should the pedal travel?! Does this perhaps indicate that the push rod needs adjusting? He SAYS it brakes great, but

Finally, after all that (and keeping in mind he told me he drove the truck across town and it was braking great), I found the brake lights were not working. I DID have them put a new switch on the pedal (got it from NPD), but there flat out are NO brake lights. I'm confused. Perhaps the switch isn't installed right (I didn't have time to look closely). Any ideas? The switch is traveling with the pedal, so why wouldn't it work? That switch is pretty much all mechanical, so it should be OK. Oh, and I had my brake lights working PERFECTLY when it took it in.

I'm pretty upset, because this guy came highly recommend and has done decent work for me in the past. But I've also started to realize he cuts some corners. Kind of a shade-tree guy that went "pro" and has done really well for himself. But he's had my dang truck for a week and a half now, with it in his shop for like 2 of those days.

Any advice is welcome here!

[fordman]

have him rehook what ever it was he unhooked from it. equalizing the differential valve is a hard thing to do. but i can be drove without it being exact. but if he disconnected the wires to it that could have some sort of wierd affect to the brake light in a feedback loop or something who knows. or maybe he didnt get the plug back on right or on all the way. maybe he bumped the turn signal switch harness and created a loose connection.

the soft brake pedal. depends. if it was running when you pushed it it could see to be real soft. but not all the way to the floor i would think. if it wasnt running i would think the rod is in need of adjustment.

[fordman]

this last weekend i replaced the brake line on my 93 and i barely bleed the rear brakes only and it stops so good you would believe it. all i bled was one of the lines right on the rear axle. because the bleeders were stuck shut. i probably got lucky with that.

[Supermike]

So the booster should make the pedal feel fairly soft... as if, if you were only used to manual brakes, it would feel like "no brakes"? It doesn't HIT the floor, but it travels quite a bit.

You think unhooking the warning light made the brake stop lights stop working??

[fordman]

i thought maybe he unhooked the wiring on the valve. i misunderstood. but maybe he jarred some wires under the dash when he unhooked the light. i do know there is quite a difference of travel or softer pushing of the power vs manual brakes.

[SteveC]

check to make sure that the brake light switch is hooked up you can look at my pics of my 67 booster to see what it should look like from before i messed with it.

http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=31596 maybe the brake light switch isnt on correct or like fordman said that maybe the prop valve being unhooked is causing the brake lights problem

and my brake pedal when the vehicle wasnt running was faily stiff...havent tried it running since i had to leave before we got the vacuum line hooked up

[Supermike]

Okay... I'll talk to him in the morning. The frustrating part was I found all this out and didn't get to talk to him, and my wife was rushing me to leave because my daughter had to be at dance class. That got me double-frustrated because I was asking her if the brake lights were coming on and she was going "I can't tell"... and I'm shouting "dangit, woman, can't you tell when a light comes ON?"

Both wires are connected to the brake light switch, but it's quite possible he has the wires reversed or something. Though I think I found that didn't make a difference? It's also possible the switch is just hooked up incorrectly. It is also possible that he jarred something underneath, or that whatever he unplugged or unhooked made the lights not work.

Stupid me didn't check the brake BEFORE I fired it up, really. I just got in and fired it right up, and THEN put my foot on it. I left him a message that I thought the push rod may need to be adjusted, but now I'm not so sure so I may owe him an apology on that one. I thought I was still supposed to have a firm pedal, but just not have to work so hard when pressing it. I really needed to drive it, but could not because of the brake lights and time.

Arrgh.

[seattle67]

Mike,
As far as the brake lights not working, I would start by looking at Steve's picture and make sure it is installed correct. Then I would check that the plug on the switch is pushed on all the way. A connector kind of pushed its way out of the plug and wasn't connected properly after I did my booster.

Also, when I installed my booster, at first the pedal went almost to the floor when I pushed on it. The brakes worked well, but it took way to much pedal. What fixed that was adjusting the rod that is between the booster and the master cylinder. The booster should have come with instructions for that adjustment, but if you cant find them I think I explained in my original post how to do it. Im pretty confident it is that adjustment being off that is giving you the low pedal.

Installing the booster really didn't change the "feel" of the pedal on mine at all.

[Supermike]

Hey Steve, you said:

There is the bolt a plastic bushing and a plastic ring that fits snuggly over the round part of the bolt towards the head of it. the bolt goes into the stop light switch then the plastic bushing goes inbetween the tabs on the switch and the bolt continues through the tabs where is is head in place by the ring that snugs over it and that bolts to the peddle.

Do you (or does anyone) have a picture of this?! Perhaps he left that bushing off?


Also... I forgot to add that I requested he save the old MC so I could get my core, and he almost threw it away (even though it's fine), and he threw away the box the booster came along with the directions (I made a copy before giving it to him, per Seattle67's advice).