69442C

I finally got a few hours to get out in the garage to do a little more work on the 69 442 convertible project. On the list today was to install the new aftermarket brake booster, master cylinder and proportioning valve and then on to other things. I've R&R'd plenty of boosters over the years and expected a failry quick install. I mounted the booster to the firewall and was in the process of installing the master cylinder/proportioning valve when the unthinkable happened. One of the studs on the booster that holds the master cylinder/proportioning valve snapped off, actually twisted off and it didn't take much effort as I was only using a 7" combination wrench. I had purchased this booster along with many of the other brake components from a major supplier and I also purchased the new lock nuts for the MC to Booster from the same supplier. Nothing like working with new parts or so I thought. But before I could get the one nut to even bottom against the proportioning valve bracket, the stud just twisted off. All I can say is this thing is junk!! I guess it was better to have this break now instead of when the car was going down the road. But I'm still quite shocked at how easily this thing came apart. In looking at it closely, the metal for the stud looks very porous at the break and was not a quality item.
I post this to show others what can happen. Maybe I just was the lucky one who had this happen but in my mind, this should never happen. If I was using a long 1/2" drive ratchet, then shame on me. But a small combination wrench.... no way. I'll be calling the supplier tomorrow to see about a refund as I think I'll just get the original booster restored. No more of this chinese brake stuff for me. In fact, I may send the MC back too.

firefrost gold

who was the supplier do you think they will stand behind it ? are those lock nuts? sid it go on hard all the way down or just at the end? looks like it snapped were the coating started or not?
?

69442C

I don't want to mention the supplier as I have not spoken to them and I'm not out to trash them as they didn't make this part. The boosters are sold by many vendors and there may even been more then one manufacturer. They nuts were lock nuts but they weren't dragging to the point where they would snap something like this and especially since I only had a small 7" long wrench. The cadmium plating was being removed by the lock nut as it went on so the studs were fully plated when the boster was made. It didn't give the feel of galling either. I just think the stud was a defect due to poor materials.

Lady72nRob71

Do let us know how it works out - stud looks defective alright...

2blu442

I can see the booster says Delco Moraine stamped right in it. So is this a cheezy rebuild? My first thought was all the bright gold boosters you can find on ebay that I figured were made with our scrap metal. But that name has me confused. John

OLD SKL 69

I've seen those for sale on ebay from different suppliers. They are a licensed GM reproduction product, probably made in china and assembled here. I hope they do the right thing by you, keep us posted.

69442C

This is a new aftermarket unit that is sourced overseas and they license the use of the Delco name. These aftermarket units ca be identified by the crispness of the edges in the stamped triangles on the front surface. The original units did not have such a sharp line defining the triangle.

My442

This is exactly why I ALWAYS refurbish, repurpose, or restore original GM parts.

The chineseum stuff is of inferior quality, especially in material.

Think about a failure on a spindle....

firefrost gold

I was just trying to make a kick the seller thread out of it I was just wondering if they have a good track record of other parts ? Who does boaster rebuilds ?

oldsconv

I bought a repro booster but the box said Made in USA and had no issue. However, maybe Made in USA means it is from China and "boxed" in the USA but I remember looking clearly and it did not say assembled in USA like some things you buy.

Definitely call the vendor and ask for a new one.

I think "Booster Dewey" and Steve Gregori rebuild original ones.

oldcutlass

Did you get anywhere with the seller???? I do understand that the stud failure looks suspect as it looks like it broke where the nut would be flush with the master cylinder. Hey who knows they may warrant it?

69442C

It's on the list of things to tackle today. I had a lot of meetings yesterday and didn't get the chance. I'll be curious to see how this works out because I did buy it about a year ago and just got around to installing it. When I bought it, I also ordered all of the other brake items including the lines as well as the fuel lines. Tried to save on placing several orders that would have just added shipping costs to the project.

69442C

Well, here's the update. It took 2 days to pry a position out of the supplier but their position is the manufacturer will only honor warranty issues for 6 months and the manufacturer said the stud shouldn't fail like that. I told them no kidding, this is why I was contacting them! I sent them the attached photo of the proportioning valve bracket to show it wasn't chewed up from someone really cranking down on the nut as it shows the bracket is just barely scored and the plating isn't worn off. It's hard to see in the photo but there is a small area on the bracket without any scoring as I just hadn't really started to tighten it all that much. In the end it didn't matter. I expected this response so it didn't come as a surprise.

I suspect there may have been an issue where the plating that was being removed by the lock nut may have caused the nut to gall and when I let it sit for a few minutes to work on the other nut it may have started to lock the nut to the stud. When I came back to it I think it just twisted the stud and off it came. Just a theory.

The supplier I used was InLine Tube and I have spent between $2K and $3K with them on this 69 442 convertible project not to mention other projects. They did offer to sell me another booster for $85 plus shipping which was better than their regular price of $135 but I told them I would pass. I instead ordered a restored original booster from someone which should arrive in a couple of weeks.

I did check the CSM today and I see it says to torque the master cylinder nuts to 25 ft lbs. Just for the heck of it, I think I'll give that other stud a little test with the torque wrench and see if it will come close to that.

My442

Inline Tube WILL NOT back up a warranty on their parts.

If simething goes wrong, they blame the customer.

69442C

And for that reason, I told InLine Tube that my future business would go elsewhere.

Lady72nRob71

Sorry to hear... IT seems to have a bad rep on warranty service. Never used them for that reason.
Yep, go elsewhere for sure. When the time comes, I will have my original restored.

69442C

It's been a few weeks since I posted anything on this problem I had with an aftermarket booster and thought I would give a final update. After I told Inline Tube I would be taking any future business elsewhere, there seemed to be a change of opinion. I guess I had shown them that I wasn't someone who was doing this type of job for the first time and that I knew what I was doing. The salesmen at IT, Bob, came back and told me he would be heading to a swap meet/show for business and he would be going by the manufacturer of the booster, MBM in NC. He told me if I wanted to send him the booster, he would take it to MBM and plead my case. I sent the booster and he took it to MBM who agreed something looked odd. I got this call today and I was given a refund.

Before sending the booster back, I wanted to see if the other stud would break. I installed the MC and tightened the nut as hard as I could with the combination wrench I used initially when the other stud broke. I couldn't get it to break so I stepped up to a longer box wrench which still wouldn't allow me to break it. I finally pulled out my 1/2" drive torque wrench and was able to break the stud at 40 ft lbs. Not bad at all since the CSM calls for 25 ft lbs on the MC nut. I passed those findings along in a letter I included with the booster so IT and MBM would know.

In the end, I made out OK and I guess IT and MBM realized they did have a bad product that got out the door. I should have the OEM booster that I bought from a booster restorer by the beginning of next week.

Lady72nRob71

Glad this worked out for you!
Yes, you DID have a defective product.
Hopefully they will not deny the refund since now it has two busted studs........

69442C

I guess I'll know for certain in another few days about the refund. IT asked for my credit card number yesterday and I provided it. They said it should hit in 2-3 days because they run the credits at the end of the week. I'm not anticipating a problem but I'm not saying that the money is in hand either. MBM kept the booster so they could do testing on what went wrong and they told IT they would receive credit for it. So everything appears to be working in my favor. It surely didn't start out that way and I'm not sure where it would have ended up had I not pressured them a little. Hemmings Muscle Machines is interested in a feature on this 69 442 conv when I finish it and I think that fact, when presented to IT, seemed to cause them to change their position.