PSA - Cardone Remanufactured Boosters are Bad.
So short story long. I have had my ass handed to me all due to a bad Cardone brake booster. I installed a customer provided brake booster without any diagnostic of the vehicle. After I installed the booster the vehicle continued to have a soft and over traveling pedal. I replaced all components of the vehicles brake system including the ABS module and several master cylinders trying to correct it. The rear calipers had seized slide pins, which most likely was the original cause of the soft pedal, but I didn’t see them till I had already installed the booster. The pedal did improve but was still crap. So after countless hours, new parts, and gallons of brake fluid I reinstalled the original booster to see if it changed the pedal in any way. When I started the vehicle and had a perfect pedal, I shit myself.
In my desperation I talked to other tech friends to pick their brains about what I had going on. Turns out, one of them was going through the same issue but on a different vehicle manufacturer. He also was chasing his tail replacing all of the brake components. Once I found the booster to be the culprit I let my friend know. There was shared silence on the phone then he informed me that his customer had installed a Cardone booster prior to bring it to him. He swapped it out with the used one and had a perfect pedal as well. I know quality of remanufactured parts and just new parts in general have plummeted in the last few years but this one definitely takes the cake.
Long story short, stray away from Cardone remanufactured boosters.
So short story long. I have had my ass handed to me all due to a bad Cardone brake booster. I installed a customer provided brake booster without any diagnostic of the vehicle. After I installed the booster the vehicle continued to have a soft and over traveling pedal. I replaced all components of the vehicles brake system including the ABS module and several master cylinders trying to correct it. The rear calipers had seized slide pins, which most likely was the original cause of the soft pedal, but I didn’t see them till I had already installed the booster. The pedal did improve but was still crap. So after countless hours, new parts, and gallons of brake fluid I reinstalled the original booster to see if it changed the pedal in any way. When I started the vehicle and had a perfect pedal, I shit myself.
In my desperation I talked to other tech friends to pick their brains about what I had going on. Turns out, one of them was going through the same issue but on a different vehicle manufacturer. He also was chasing his tail replacing all of the brake components. Once I found the booster to be the culprit I let my friend know. There was shared silence on the phone then he informed me that his customer had installed a Cardone booster prior to bring it to him. He swapped it out with the used one and had a perfect pedal as well. I know quality of remanufactured parts and just new parts in general have plummeted in the last few years but this one definitely takes the cake.
Long story short, stray away from Cardone remanufactured boosters.