[christover1]

My brake booster don't work, probably hasn't since I bought the car.
Can I use power boosters off any model Vitara,
being swb or lwb,
or GV's (or anything else) ?
I figure newer ones may be a better buy, if buying 2nd hand.
New ones seem a little pricey for me..
thanks all
christover

[Fatzook]

They will probably all work the same, but I can tell you they are all different diameter and depths. So to keep it simple just get the same one.

[christover1]

Fatzook wrote:

They will probably all work the same, but I can tell you they are all different diameter and depths. So to keep it simple just get the same one.

That sounds sensible.
Brakes work great, but I have to push real hard.
Poor old legs are wingeing

[royce]

yes later ones with teh battery on the passenger side have a larger booster that wont clear the battery tray and clutch cable if applicable

can you hear the vacuum rushng though when you press the brake? hose or check valve not clogged? Boosters are a fairly simple animal

[christover1]

royce wrote:

yes later ones with teh battery on the passenger side have a larger booster that wont clear the battery tray and clutch cable if applicable

can you hear the vacuum rushng though when you press the brake? hose or check valve not clogged? Boosters are a fairly simple animal

Only done a quick check of the hose.
Can't see anything else to check without removal.
Manifold vacuum is there, hard to start with hose off.
At first I couldn't self suck anything thru hose,
but then it suddenly became easy.
Was a feeling of resistance in a vibrating/pulsing way.
Didn't hold any pressure/vaccuum.
Can't hear well enough to listen for air sounds.
Pedal does not change/soften when motor is started.
Will have a better look see before getting another.

[christover1]

I changed title, now this is more relevant.

I just removed vac hose from the booster end this time,
got a huge rush of air (in or out not sure)

replacing the hose with some fuel pipe,
gives me a softer pedal,
and a slight drop at pedal when engine starts.
This suggests to me booster may be ok.

There is some kind of valve inside the booster pipe,
seems to only let air move one way.

It seems to work ok,

May just clean it all up see what happens

[royce]

yeah thats a check valve, allows the engine to create a vacuum in the booster that remains during full throttle (no vaccum available) or if the engine is off so you still have a few goes at the brakes

If you run the engine, turn it off and pull the fitting from the booster (its pushed into a rubber grommet? not the hose from the fitting) you should get a big hissing sound, that means vacuum is making it to and staying in the booster

then all hooked up again, run the engine for a bit then turn it off and press the pedal while listening to teh booster, you should hear a hissing noise, this is the booster allow air into the rear chamber to boost

you hose replacement might mean the old hose was jsut blocked so you werent getting much vacuum

[christover1]

Mine don't appear to have a rubber grommet,
it is a normal hose type fitting on both ends,
the check valve is about 30mm inside the pipe.
I best check it aint got 2 check valves..

It is working now, maybe I disturbed some crud.
Will see how test drive goes,
may buy new hose and check valve,
and carry a spare.


You have all been elevated to AZ God status now

[christover1]

Went for a drive with the check valve fitted,
lasted about 10 minutes, then it blocked up again.

So went for a drive with just hose and no fuffer valve,
great brakes, apart from low speeds and stopped, to be expected.

So now its just a valve/hose hunt, which local shops dont wanna know me.

So back to internet shopping and/or wreckers.

Much happier out come than needing a new booster.

[royce]

Sierra might have the same thing, somebody here will have one that can get to you I am sure

[christover1]

royce wrote:

Sierra might have the same thing, somebody here will have one that can get to you I am sure

Mine didn't have a booster,
I forgot all the rest do.
Found a few online suppliers,
a lot of cars have in line check valves,
and hot rods use them too,
So won't be a drama

cheers
christover

[christover1]

Every old Datsun/Nissan I looked at today had the right size, inline check valve.
$4 all fixed.
Thanks to AZ that I got out of this without expensive mistakes.
Brake shops just stared at me like they knew what drugs I take.
New ones were available from escam from USA at $30.
Thats why I knew where to look in the wreckers.
Happy boy now

[matty_wall]

i'm having a similar problem with my vitara brakes. When im in car parks and i swing into a car space, sometimes when i push the brake, it goes straight to the floor. It only ever happens when i turn sharply under low revs.
Would the load from the power steering be affecting the vacuum to the booster?

[christover1]

matty_wall wrote:

i'm having a similar problem with my vitara brakes. When im in car parks and i swing into a car space, sometimes when i push the brake, it goes straight to the floor. It only ever happens when i turn sharply under low revs.
Would the load from the power steering be affecting the vacuum to the booster?

If booster malfunctions, pedal is still good, just very hard to push.

If you have slack in wheel bearings, pads can be pushed away from disc, thus getting a poor pedal once, then comes good.
Or look at other steering related looseness.
Sticking slide pins in calipers is possible, too.

[royce]

matty_wall wrote:

i'm having a similar problem with my vitara brakes. When im in car parks and i swing into a car space, sometimes when i push the brake, it goes straight to the floor. It only ever happens when i turn sharply under low revs.
Would the load from the power steering be affecting the vacuum to the booster?

is yours lifted? a few times I have noticed people saying the same thing and somebody mentioned the caliper was hitting the spring on full lock and knocking it, in which case adjsuting the stops would fix it

[matty_wall]

royce wrote:

matty_wall wrote:

i'm having a similar problem with my vitara brakes. When im in car parks and i swing into a car space, sometimes when i push the brake, it goes straight to the floor. It only ever happens when i turn sharply under low revs.
Would the load from the power steering be affecting the vacuum to the booster?

is yours lifted? a few times I have noticed people saying the same thing and somebody mentioned the caliper was hitting the spring on full lock and knocking it, in which case adjsuting the stops would fix it

Yes it is lifted about 50mm. ill look into that idea. thanks

Wheel bearings are all good. only just replaced them.

[zuk94]

matty_wall wrote:

i'm having a similar problem with my vitara brakes. When im in car parks and i swing into a car space, sometimes when i push the brake, it goes straight to the floor. It only ever happens when i turn sharply under low revs.
Would the load from the power steering be affecting the vacuum to the booster?

Mine was doing a very similar or exactly the same thing . Thought it was a caused by the leaky cylinders on the rear drums . Replaced them , no difference . Can't remember the exact sequence of events but it got worse as time went by .
Anyway if you want to read the whole thread that was posted on NBS it's here http://nbs4x4club.com/forum/index.php?topic=12404.0

Or just what I had success with and is still good to this day.

Quote:

Just an update :

It's a waste of money buying cheap wheel cylinders as they are leaking all ready and it's not driven daily.

The brakes have never been good since doing the wheel cylinders and yesterday I thought I'd replace the the rear shoes as they were low.
Anyway, replaced the shoes and had trouble putting the drum back on as I did last time . This time however I released or backed off the brake adjustment
something I didn't do when replacing the wheel cylinders . Then as per the book with the hand brake backed right off it's adjustment I drove the car forward brake an then reverse brake for a bout 10 times to make sure the new shoes were aligned properly. Then I adjusted the handbrake.
Even though my rear wheel cylinder is weeping worse than before the brakes are perfect again .
So once again I have rear brakes which is obvious now that I haven't had for some time. I'll also add that a few weeks ago I was around at Nissvit place and he adjusted the LPSV which didn't do anything until todays correct procedure in adjusting the rear brakes.