Brake booster compatability?

[Mispeld]

Will a brake booster fit a 73 F100 from a 80's or 90's F150? Explorer?

I've done a ton of searches and have not found anything regarding brake boosters. I've info on master cylinders from Explorers, and universal boosters from ebay but nothing on later year Ford boosters.

I was able to aquire pedal to MC setup from a 77. Of course the MC and booster are complete trash but the brackets and linkage are all good. I was just wondering if I can pull one from the junk yard. Thanks.

[Maximus]

Are your 1977 donor parts from a f100/150 or a f250/350?

If your donor parts (including your trashed booster and MC) are from a F100 or F150, I would turn them in as a core and buy a rebuilt booster from your local auto parts store.

that's what I did, less that $100 for the booster after core

here is a 1977 f100 booster from autozone...
http://www.autozone.com/brakes-and-trac ... 31640_7889


Too many working rebuilt units (that also come with some sort of warranty) for sale to play around with another wrecking yard booster. if you get an 80's booster, your still playing with possibly a 30+ year old rubber diaphragm inside of that unit...

[Mispeld]

It came off a 77 F250. You're saying there is a difference between F250's and F150's booster and MC?

I assume and hope I won't need a proportional valve since my '73 has disks up front already??

I know I'll end up getting a new MC and booster in the end. Usually stock parts work best and fit (something I would have never said 20 years ago)! I still need calipers, rubber lines, rotors and pads. I have not even pulled the drums so I'll probably need wheel cylinders, shoes, hardware etc with my luck. Thanks.

[Maximus]

from what I recall, most of the F250's used a dual diaphragm unit that was capable of more pressure and was physically a larger unit.
You won't need another prop. valve, or "Combination Valve" since it also operates a break warning light. I think some with the 1/2 tons may switch to the dual diaphragm booster but I will let someone else chime in on that one, I used a F100 booster on mine and it works great for my light little short bed.

If you post some photos of the parts you have we can confirm what your working with.


This thread goes over using a dual diaphragm booster on an F100, he decided to use a newer master cylinder to compensate for the added boost from the booster.
http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... hp?t=83185
Does your booster look like the one in those photos?

This is a dual diaphragm booster, typically on 3/4 ton and up due to the larger calipers, they wanted to have more assisted pressure to stop the bigger trucks:



This is a single diaphragm booster, standard size for the 1/2 ton trucks:

[Mispeld]

Thanks for that info. Here are the donor parts from the 77 F250 2wd. It doesn't really look like either one. The date on the battery from the donor was 1997 so I'm thinking it's been sitting for 15-20 years. The truck was a little beat up and rusty but looked all original. Either way, I have the pedal and linkage. I'll just have to add a booster and MC for a F100. I appreciate your help and input.

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[Maximus]

from a few quick searches it looks to be totally OEM for a 77 f250, the 77-79 f250s had a slightly different booster apparently. I know the F250's had much larger calipers, and you can probably run that booster fine it just may be a little too powerful...

Depending on your local parts store, you still may be able to order a f100 booster and use that as a core. I had a old Kragen Auto Parts that didnt care what your core was. I even turned in an old iron core master cylinder in replacement for an aluminum SHO mustang unit that I put in my older mustang...

Maybe ask your auto parts store if that core would be acceptable? I like to stick with the factory parts when I can, as they are the ones who engineered everything to work together, and there was a reason they didnt put a bigger booster on the little trucks.

Thats not to say the reason wasnt cost based, sometimes they only put nicer parts on bigger trucks because they are only required on bigger trucks, and more expensive to make, that doesnt always mean those stronger parts wouldnt work just fine on a little truck...


Has anyone here used an f250 booster ? results?

[Mispeld]

No worries. The booster has water in it and is rotted. I remember my father cursing at Fords for changing everything all the time. Chevy parts are more interchangeable.

My 1st car was an 84 or 86 Topaz. It needed a CV joint, and wouldn't you know the splines in that shaft were only made for 6 months. I must have pulled six diferent shafts from escorts, exp, tempos etc. Ended up piecing one together to create the right shaft with splines. Off topic... I know. Just goes to show Ford sure likes to change their underwear less than they change their part designs!

[colnago]

On Ford's constant design changes, I once asked a friend why I could find so many more Chevy engine parts and crate engines than I could find for Ford. He said that Chevy used one basic block, and everything was designed around that block. Ford constantly changed blocks, so you had more difficulty with parts compatibility. I'm not a Chevy guy, so I don't know for sure, but it sounds good to me.

On the booster, your '77 booster looks a lot like the booster in my '67. I don't think it ever had a dual-diaphragm booster, and I don't think that was an option at the auto parts store. But then again, '67 is an odd year for brakes. When I converted, I got a booster for a '67, and MC and calipers for a '68. I also learned that the calipers for a '72 are different from '68 - '71. And I learned that all of the parts stores have the passenger caliper and the driver caliper backwards, and if you only need one caliper and you order the "right" one, you'll get the wrong one.

On the proportioning valve, I found one in the junk yard, but after I installed everything, I found that the shuttle between the front and rear had become stuck, and I couldn't unstick it. So, I chucked it and bought a new one. I think it was the brass PV2. You see them all over the place at different prices, and listed for different cars/trucks, but I think they're all the same. You do have to be careful and get the disc/drum version, and not the disc/disc version.

Joseph