So the power brake booster on my 83 D150 is on its way out. Searching around online today has shown they're getting hard to come by. On Rockauto, Cardone offers a rebuild service on my existing booster. That puts my truck out of service until I get it back. That, and the fact I haven't heard great things about Cardone's products recently has me considering a swap to manual brakes. So, what I'm wondering, is what steps do I need to take to eliminate the booster? Any help is appreciated.

ez pz.. you need a manual brake rod that fits you pedal hook up. this was my hang up on my 85/88 trucks.

older manual brakes use the shoulder bolt and rod with the pedal drilled for bolt. so get the pedal/rod/bolt from a manual brake parts truck.

not sure if the mid 80s trucks use a stud/clip/pedal or used a shoulder bolt//rod/pedal but if you find a parts truck.

there is also a firewall reinforcement plate between the MC and firewall. it is size and shape of the foam gasket behind the booster/firewall, you can use it as a template to make you one 1/8" thick metal.


on my 85 I found only a manual brake rod for a shoulder bolt/no bolt-pedal. my 85 pedal is stud/clip. looking at my booster only difference I see was thickness of the rood loop end. I ground both side of loop to thin it till the clip fit on securely. (so it can mix-match and made to work)

to mount the plate/MC you have to drill 2 holes for the MC. IIRC the manual brake MC will have 2 studs/nuts but you can use your MC right off the booster and not open lines. just get 2 bolts/nuts

so main thing you need is a plate and manual brake rod 2 bolts.

IIRC>>>they do make an adjustable conversion rod if you find one of those. mopar performance or SS brake company

I did not change MC just used what was on the booster but you might look into the MC bore size to adjust you pedal pressure. for example IIRC...on my 68 dart I used large wheel cyls/11x2.5 rear drums and the small MC bore size with stock disc up front = less pedal effort. but then again I may have that backwards. bigger mc smaller wheel cyl

hit me up, I may have a plate already made up hanging in the shed.

Have you tried Ebay for a booster?

scratchn: you the MAN! That's exactly the kind of info I needed! I knew it had been done before, and I was sure I'd read about it here, but my searching skills were not good enough to find the posts.

stumpy: Yep I checked Ebay as well for one. Only related results I got were master cylinders or just the mc reservoir.

Type in "D150 brake booster"

Quick question for you. I have been planning to do the manual brake setup on my 88 Ramcharger.

I pulled a manual brake rod, and a brake pedal from a donor 74ish D100.

Do you think that brake pedal will bolt in to the 88? Then my rod to pedal issue isn't an issue.

I have been hunting for a manual brake 88 but haven't found one in years of searching. I am not even sure if it was an option at that point.

IIRC the manual/auto clutch/brake pedals from late 70s will swap into mid 80s trucks. only change I remember is when it went hydro clutch. and it looks like the same thing only mopar added a offset piece for the hydro clutch MC rod onto the clutch pedal arm -vs- manual clutch rod hook up.

they all hang on a pivot bar secured with a small nut/bolt. which is the hardest part of the swap. dust/rust/grim can slow removal of the pivot bar but not to hard go back in with some cleaning and lube.

don't forget the plastic bushings either. they are called anti-rattle bushing for a reason. DAMHIK!

You sure got a lot more results than I did! I haven't used ebay much for several years. I guess my searching skills are out of date.

So any reason why this wouldn't work on an 83? Says it fits 84 and up. [/url][url=https://www.ebay.com/itm...AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true]ebay