Brake booster R&R

[Keith Seymore]

Well - I need to change the power brake booster in "Tony", my '97 Suburban.

I'm clear on the attachments to the firewall, and to the master cylinder, but how do I disconnect the rod from the brake pedal?

The attaching point seems to be covered by the brake light switch, and all of that is obscured by being on top of a large brace and above the steering column.

Any insights on this one would be appreciated.

K

[70BLAZERX2]

there is a very hard to get off clip on there , that holds the rod,switch on the pedal..Once you have that off, loosen the bolts and you have to tilt the booster toward the drivers fender to get it off the pedal. I just did this on my 94 ,same thing..Clip is very hard to get off..

You can swing the brake lite sw. up off the rod..to get clip easier

well my 94 dont have airbag..

[Keith Seymore]

Thank you -

After being outside for last hour plus, I think I can be more clear:

Any tricks to getting the !@#$$#%^ clip off?



Thanks again -

K

[Keith Seymore]

Two and a half hours now, still trying to get the clip off -

K

[ChevyTech]

How ironic, a GM engineer fighting with a GM engineering disaster.

Those clips suck.

How would you like to be a GM mechanic paid with the flat rate system getting paid 12 minutes to get the switch changed. That includes picking up the part and driving the vehicle in and out of the building.

If you could look at is in your hand, it would help you in getting it off.

My suggestion is, on the first one you remove, you should destroy the clip, and replace it.

[Keith Seymore]

Done.

Yes - fer sure if I worked flat rate I would be a hungry man....

I was never immune to the "...those d@rn engineers" rants while my dad was living, either (lol).

Got it off, but it is destroyed. I assume new ones are available at the dealership, or through the LMC catalog? Any trick to getting the new one installed?

When I see the brake guys on Monday, I will give them a kick in the head (both on your behalf and for my own).

K

[Keith Seymore]

Ok - it's all back together, with the exception of the new clip, and seems to work fine (as far as braking).

The only issue is that it is a bit clunky coming out of park. I assume the Brake/Trans interlock is sensitive to the brake light switch moving around a bit, and will be taken care of once I install the new clip.

Thanks again, guys, and ChevyTech you have my sincerest, empathetic apology for that stupid clip!!

K

[Boog]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Thank you -

After being outside for last hour plus, I think I can be more clear:

Any tricks to getting the !@#$$#%^ clip off?



Thanks again -

K

Ha ha. How about that. I just went through this deal on my 97 a month or so ago. That's the second one I've done. There may be a special tool to reach up in there and release that rediculous clip, I don't know. All I could do is use a long screwdriver and stab and twist it until I broke it into pieces and go buy a new one. $2.84 at the dealer for that clip. As far as putting it back on I used a small magnet stick to hold it in place while I pushed the clip back into place. What was wrong with the stout hair pin the manufacturers used for so many years?

[ChevyTech]

Thank you Keith but no apology needed. I was just dishing a little out. In my work with the Chevrolet field engineers I usually did not do much ribbing as I valued our working relationship. Those guys seem a bit burnt out at times. I figured they had enough pressure from the other end that they may not appreciate comments from me.

I appreciate input from your point of view here on the message board.

Here are two posts from the board here on these brake light switches.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=308234

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=352437


For what it is worth, many people have trouble replacing the switched on the 1993 and earlier trucks also. They don’t notice the big square lug on the side that must be slid into a slot when it is installed.

[ChevLoRay]

I love reading this banter...especially between Kieth and ChevyTech. Good stuff, guys.

[70BLAZERX2]

sorry i didnt reply more,there was a bad storm come through here shortly after my last post and i lost power..

Those clips were designed after they had problem with the clips falling off the 95-up s-10 blazers..when they were new,my brother drove them off the train ,to a parking lot where they went onto trucks..They would hit the brake coming off the train ramp...and no brakes...several were totaled before they ever got to the lot..

saturn caught on fire ,once 5 train cars of them..bad alt. fusible link.

the ford contours...had problems,ford sent 12 guys with torches and they cut 250 of them up,loaded them in dumsters....there were new cars too..Throw them away..

[Keith Seymore]

A final thought about the clip situation:

I put it back together yesterday with a "hairpin" style clip (like would be used on a hitch pin). I thought this was pretty clever -

I made a small installation tool using a piece of 1/2" wooden dowell rod (approx 4" long). By cutting a slot in the end I could insert the hairpin clip and the dowell would hold it. I could then come up from the forward side and insert the clip onto the brake pedal pin "longitudinally" from the front.

The only problem at that point was that the hairpin wouldn't open up enough to slip over the brake pedal pin, and I couldn't push it on. So....at that point I took a 1/4" piece of dowell and slipped it into the "throat" area of the hairpin. That opened the hairpin enough that it would start over the brake pedal and engage; the sacrificial piece of dowell just fell to the floor once the hairpin clicked into place.

I'm driving it around today to exercise the brakes and make sure the hairpin stays in place, but it was the only way I could think of to get any kind of clip back in there - plus - I'm pretty sure I can get it off fairly easily should I ever need another repair in that area.

So far, so good -

K

[Boog]

Golldarnit! I just replaced the brake booster on my 97 GMC a few months ago and fought with that dangbusted little piece of retainer clip on the pedal pin and now the brake switch is bad and I have to go through all that torture all over again. Man, I'd rather be bit in the ash by a snaggled tooth mule as to have to do this. I'm buyin 3 of those clips tomorrow. May never need one again after this.
Keith do me a favor and go to work tomorrow and punch that somebody in the nose that came up with this deal, will ya?

[ChevyTech]

Originally Posted by boog

...
Keith do me a favor and go to work tomorrow and punch that somebody in the nose that came up with this deal, will ya?

Twice!

While you're at it, go find the guy that designed the power steering set-up where the pulley needs to be pulled. Why they did not make it so the bracket can be removed without removing the pulley and pump is beyond me.

If the whole bracket could be removed and set aside, with the pump on it, would be so much better. The bracket bolt right behind the pump is a poor design.