booster repair kit vs. replacement

[Lori and Dave Noyes]

How reliable are the booster repair kits? Are they worth the work or is it better to get an aftermarket booster? My mechanic has talked to one person who has rebuilt one, but asked me to check around, so thank you for any helpful info I can pass along.

Lori N.

[George and Beverly Coleman]

If you rebuild it it may not last long, if you need it to be the original unit I would get it rebuilt at White Post in VA. it will cost you! But it will be right.

[v-mad]

I have rebuilt two units now using the kits. The first (Alpine 7 inch) needed a better grease, but has now been working for over 3 years. The second (small Tiger 5.5 inch unit) worked well but had a clonking thing. You could hear it, and feel it through the pedal as you pressed it. I decided to replace that with a later unit which is much more progressive. One day I will investigate the clonking effect.

If you decide to try it, make sure you follow the best advice on grease, seal and vacuum cylinder finish (please ask again if you are unsure).

[anonymous]

If you’re not worried about total originality I would suggest removing the booster and the master cylinder, replacing the master with a unit from an earlier Alpine. The smaller bore gives a softer pedal pressure than the original master without the booster.

Don’t forget to rebuild all the masters, the clutch slave, calipers and wheel cylinders. The fluid is hygrscopic and corrodes the bores of everything. A friend just had his brakes redone and the rear cylinders were frozen. He had to buy new ones.

The March, 2008 issue of the Rootes Review has an article about redoing the brakes and front ball joints, using parts from Austin-Healeys and Jaguars where the Sunbeam parts were no longer available.

Fred Baum

[Author]

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