Brake booster rebuild?

[Das Delfin]

Hey guys. Tonight I got in the car to drive home and noticed a constant hissing noise from under the steering wheel as well as a super lumpy idle. I have my kick panel out right now and stuck my head in there and figured out the noise seems to be coming from the brake booster.

I popped the hood and pulled out the dipstick a bit and the idle got much better. Also when first pressing the pedal and when first releasing it the noise goes away for a split second (ie when the vacuum pressure inside the booster suddenly changes the noise goes away). So I have some kind of vacuum leak and it seems to be coming from the booster. I just redid my master cylinder, reservoir, calipers, lines etc so I guess the booster wanted to be done as well.

I have two questions:

1 - Is there a rebuild kit for the booster? So I don't have to buy a whole nother booster?

2 - Can I remove the brake booster from the car while leaving the master cylinder still attached to the brake lines? Ie can I undo the two 14mm nuts holding the cylinder to the booster and pull it out of the way with enough clearance to back the booster out? Just don't want to remove the cylinder since I lost a lot of fluid putting it on last time :P Plus same job twice and all that.

Thanks!

[AndrewBird]

It might just be the clevis connecting to the brake pedal. If it is adjusted too long, it will constantly depress on the booster and cause a hiss. Try adjusting that first.

[Das Delfin]

Thanks for the quick and easy tip, but I don't think it's what's ailing my car.

I've had this car for a number of years and never messed with the pedals so I don't see how it could suddenly be out of spec. I went under there again and there is yellow ink across the clevis fork where it mates to the pedal, indicating it's still within spec compared to when it was installed however many years ago.

If I press really hard on the pedal, as in under heavy braking, the hissing noise will go away. But I obviously can't adjust that out. Also on the drive work this morning my power brakes seemed to be reduced. I've called around and everyone wants like a week lead time for a reman one. I was hoping to do this tomorrow!

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I just bought a new 944 booster from blunt. Was like 190? Well worth it though

[Das Delfin]

I ended up getting a booster locally from a friend. I saw a video on replacement on an e46 where he left the brake lines attached. I'm going to try it this way and see how it goes! If not I'll have to find my 11mm flare...

[ThatOneEuroE30]

I ended up getting a booster locally from a friend. I saw a video on replacement on an e46 where he left the brake lines attached. I'm going to try it this way and see how it goes! If not I'll have to find my 11mm flare...

I was not able to get the master cyl off the booster without taking off the lines