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Bypassing Brake Booster

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BrandonBJ8

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I just spoke with my former mechanic back home and I told him that I needed to have my servo rebuilt. He said that he has bypassed it many times and there is a negligible difference in braking power without the brake booster. I am thinking about trying this so I can hold off on getting the booster rebuilt. Has anyone tried this or heard of doing this?

Thanks!
-Brandon
 
brandonbj8,yes it can be done,but by the time you splice in the three way connector[thats the line that runs from the brake pedal to the servo],into the 4 way pipe[thats the one that comes out of the servo and goes to each brake]you may as well take out the 4 bolts that hold the sevrvo in its bracket and rebuild the unit,the rebuild kit is about $80.00-least thats what id do,besides this mechanic you keep mentioning,if he was so good why you havin all these problems?and hes probably not goin for any rides in your car ever again anyway. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
Well, I've read that not many have had success with rebuilding the servo themselves. I don't need to spend the $250 on PBE to rebuild it, so this is a great alternative for the time being. (I have already removed the brake booster from the car.)

My mechanic is great. He's worked on Healeys for at least 20 years. We brough him our Healey which my dad neglected for 8 years...and when I say neglected, I mean that he didn't touch or move it. Before that, he had his Chevy monkey wrench friend toy around with it. Needless to say, the car was in bad shape and our mechanic did an excellent job. But, with any project like this there are going to be some growing pains. Now that I am over 1,000 miles away from him, it's not that easy to bring it to him so he can take a look.

Thanks
-Brandon
 
Brandon, Some of the Big Healeys were not equipt with the servo,or what we call a power booster (think its the same thing) one thing to remember, Stoping is more important than going!I think you would be wise to save a couple bucks on something else other than the brakes. Good judgement comes from experience... most experience comes from poor judgement. Ever try to fix an alumium Shroud? Bob
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
Well Brandon your mechanic may be great but he has not tried to stop a big Healey BJ8 at 65-to-80 MPH without the booster.On the otherhand, if you must bypass it is very simply done by fabricating a short line with matching female ends to accept the booster hydraulic lines presently left disconnected on the car,Then bleed the brakes.---Fwiw---Keoke
 
BlueRidge1, /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/iagree.gif You are dead right.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
 
Brandon,

The BJ8 (and booster equipt BJ7's) have a 7/8" dia. master cylinder. If the car came without a brake booster the master cylinder dia. is 5/8". So, if you want to remove your booster you should switch to the 5/8" dia. master. It will still take more leg power to stop the car but Healey's are he-man cars anyway and you don't really need the complexity of power brakes!!
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

If you are planning to rebuild the booster then maybe you should just let the car sit until you can sort it out.

Cheers,
John
BJ7 (without PB's)
 
Any money you might save will be more than offset by the orthodontist who replaces your teeth when you can`t stop and hit someone. If it came on the car I would suspect it might need to be there. I sort of wish my cars had one. Skip
 
[ QUOTE ]
Any money you might save will be more than offset by the orthodontist who replaces your teeth when you can`t stop and hit someone. If it came on the car I would suspect it might need to be there. I sort of wish my cars had one. Skip

[/ QUOTE ]
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
Add one Skip they work a treat.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
Brandon,
I removed a leaking booster from our BJ8 many years ago. Used the bypass method mentioned by Keoke and later changed the master cylinder as mentioned by John Loftus. The car was driven by myself, my wife and currently by my daughter without incident. If you remember you don't have a booster any more I don't think you will have any problems.
 
I appreciate everyone's concern. This is by no means a permanent fix. I would just like to drive the car around the block on the weekend for the time being to keep everything running. Being recently married, I don't have the luxury of spending money on the car every week. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif However, the next thing I fix on the car will be the booster.

Since I already removed the booster, it was extremely simple to bypass it by just looping the line. I won't be going over 35mph for the meantime and will be extremely careful. I really just wante to drive around the block to enjoy the car and to see what other problems I need to add to my Healey To Do List.

Thanks!
-Brandon
 
That sounds like the right idea Brandon just be careful, If you have the time sometime I will tell you about the Georgia State Trooper who caught me going 70 on a country road at my home in my BT 7 with no body on the car, no insurance, only one seat, drivers license at home, no registration, and wearing a court jesters hat. And I got off with no ticket. Skip /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
skip&lynne,especialy lynne,hes not that much of a nut!i could tell you about the time i drove from river st. to armstrong college,without driving around the parks and plazas along the way ,oh ya, usta work for the grum.in the late 70's early 80's,and hang out at the "other end"playing pool and drinkin and eatin for nothin!wish i could still play pool that way!you guys are right,if you took just half the time working on your car as you should workin on a "aeroplane"boy that would be somthin!sorry i still cant speek savannahies,i had a tr6,my lic.plate was {bklyn 1}boy did the cops love that! but i still never got a ticket! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 

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You don't really need any seats, nor the windshield either !
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/driving.gif
 
I couldn`t resist running it down the road that afternoon. I had been playing with the grandkids and forgot about the jesters hat I had on. The trooper just stood there looking and told me he didn`t have enough time to write all the tickets before he got off work. He followed me back to the house and pulled up in front of the shop and talked for a few minutes about the car. I see him from time to time on the road and he always has a big smile and waves. Bay Street and City Market are great fun to drive down on a warm summer night but I ain`t never going down River Street with my car on those cobblestones. There would be a trail of parts 3 blocks long down there. Skip
 
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Hi Keoke can I add one to a BT7? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure why not??-Keoke
 
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