Shep69 149 Report post Posted February 15, 2018 With all this talk about brake boosters lately and my brakes being on the average side I decided to have a look at a couple of things. I have a couple of spare boosters laying around and noticed that the original midland booster pedal rod sits further in than the spare gold booster one that I have . The one thats in my car currently is the same as the gold spare one and I noticed when connecting the pushrod to the pedal I had to push the booster rod in about 8mm to get the rod to sit on the pedal. So my question is should the pedal rod have freeplay ? The brakes aren't dragging but im sure there is valving inside the booster. I pulled the rubber boot off the spare gold booster and the rod has been adjusted all the way in so theres no way of making it shorter other than cutting it . I also vacuumed checked the booster in my car and it has a slow leak. The one way valve tests ok. Wonder if the leak has anything to do with the pre applied pressure applied to the booster due to a long rod. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 772 Report post Posted February 16, 2018 Shep, good question... I am looking at the same thing right now. I am about to install my booster and pedal. I usually rely on the Ford Factory Shop manual for these type of things. There is typically adjustment information in there that helps. To further complicate matters, there are 2 different rods. Your booster and rod pictured are for a 1969. The 1970 rod is actually straight, without that slight downturn. I will be putting mine in over the next week, and will post some pics on my restoration thread. The 1970 power brake pedal is also about 1/8" off from the 1969 for the distance between the clutch pedal support bracket pedal pivot point, and the brake rod attachment point. It is one of those Ford oddities between the '69 and '70 steering column and brake pedal arrangements that make the parts swapping very difficult..... By the way, nice job by that Aussie snowboarder to finish in 3rd place in the half-pipe. He is quite a large guy, and really put down a nice performance... 1 Shep69 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LoneWolf2U 136 Report post Posted February 16, 2018 This is one of the problems with old cars and new replacement parts. The new parts are made to fit more than just one model/year car and may have some adjustable points to make them fit. The pedal connection point it one, it allows movement in or out. You stated the rod is fully in and still too long, remove it and shorten the threaded end by a 1/4 inch to get your needs met as the connection should be. the pedal end is floating, this is where the pin is free to move in or out without preload of the pedal. The other adjustment that is VERY important is the booster to master rod. The depth of the master should be checked and the measurement of the rod made to match for proper brake operation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shep69 149 Report post Posted February 16, 2018 Yesterday I adjusted the rod to suit . It wasn’t that far out once the new booster was fitted. The pedal now floats as stated by Mach1Rider. My son helped with the brakes and now I finally have good brakes. I found the old booster had a slight leak and the pedal rod spring was shot. This booster had only done a few hundred miles. Just shows you that brand new replacement parts can be shot straight out the box. Anyone putting a new booster in MUST vacuum test it before fitting it. That will save you some pain later on. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vicfreg 772 Report post Posted February 17, 2018 Good job sorting that out. 1 Shep69 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
