Started the wagon after work last night and heard it... that lovely hissing when the brake pedal was pressed. Had a look this morning and... 'oh joy!'.. the booster is leaking.
My question.. Are all brake boosters from the EF/L series interchangeable? And what about AU ones, will they also fit?
I ask as I'll be visiting the local U-Pull-It to source a replacement for the time being and figure the newer the better.

Last edited by Esteven8 on Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.

EF EL are the same, booster itself in AUs should also be the same IIRC.

Provided it's an AU series 1.

Thanks guys.

I have replaced the brake booster and while I was at it I thought I'd take some pictures and go through the process step by step on here, as cracking and loosing vacuum seems to be a fairly common issue with the EF/L and AU1 boosters. So for those who need the help, (after all that's the point of this site isn't it? ) here it is.

Step 1:
Remove the vacuum line from the booster and disconnect any wiring from the brake cylinder.
( On the 1st picture you can see my crappy attempt to patch up the crack in the booster with sikaflex and tape to get me through the weekend. I cannot attest to it's effectiveness as the loss of power assist got steadily worse, but who knows what would have happened without it?)


Step 2:
Undo the two 12mm nuts on either side of the master cylinder and, taking care not to bend or damage the brake lines, move it to one side.


Step 3:
Working inside the car, remove the brake light switch. (Take out the yellow pin, unplug the wiring and the try to move the switch upwards. The whole lot should then come out when you slide the brake pedal to the right. Take note of how the bushes on the pedal go.)


Step 4:
Undo the 2 13mm nuts as shown. Then back in the engine bay you should then be able to remove the booster from the car.


Installation of the replacement booster is the reverse of the above steps.
Then to test that the replacement booster is working correctly: With the engine off put your foot on the brake pedal, then start the engine. The pedal should fall away smoothly and without that godawfull hissing. Also ENSURE YOUR BRAKE LIGHTS ARE WORKING!! before you go out on the road. The brake light switches do not like being messed with in my experience.

Last edited by Esteven8 on Mon Sep 03, 2012 12:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

And a good tip for those looking to save $$ (Yes Jewy bastard, I mean you! ) If you are using a self serve wreckers, take a look at the sticker on the booster as they have the date of manufacture on them. In this case 7-7-11. And $35 beats the hell out of $275 new any day!

 

 

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