Sooner or later, you too will have to replace the brake booster in your 10 year old econo-hatch... It wasn't easy, however, I believe if I had been warned about a few simple things ahead of time, the repair would have gone much smoother. The process is pretty self explanitory, and a helms manual helps, but basically what you'll be doing is removing the master cylinder and unbolting the booster from under the dash inside the car. This is where you'll spend most of your time -- on your back, cussing and bent out of shape... all for 4 pesky nuts and the linkage to the brake pedal.
REMOVAL: When taking the old one off, make sure you are removing the 4 nuts that secure the booster. There are plenty of nuts very close by that look identical. A quick way to know if you are removing the correct nuts is to make reference from each one so that the ones you remove are in a square pattern. For example, starting from the top left, looking straight across to the right will be the next nut, then straight down, then straight left. This sounds simple, I know, but due to the angle you'll be looking at it, it takes good spacial orientation, and a little concentration. Trust me on this. You don't want to make the mistake of removing the wrong nut, because some of them are hell to get back on.
The pedal linkage is a little easier, but there is a dowell pin that needs to be removed and that can be tricky. I ended up damaging it on removal and using a nail that was the same diameter as a replacement. Whatever you decide to use, just make sure to bend the end of it.
When you are sure you have the brake booster completely free, go ahead and yank on it from the other side of the firewall. If it doesn't come out easily, you've removed one of the wrong nuts. Have fun.
INSTALLATION: When installing the new booster, make sure the booster is pushed all the way into the firewall and the pedal linkage is connected before you start tightening nuts. I say this for two reasons. First and foremost, if you tighten the nuts on the booster and get it snug against the firewall without first doing the linkage, the linkage might not line up with the pedal, and then you'll end up doing the whole thing all over again. (yes, I did this) The second reason I say this is because when I did it, I ended up smashing one of the hard brake lines that go to the master cylinder between the firewall and the booster. Luckily there was no damage to the line itself, but guess what? I had to do the whole thing over again. ALSO, make sure you transfer that little rubber gasket that goes between the firewall and booster from your old one to the new one if it wasn't included.
You may need to refer to a helms manual to make sure the booster linkage is adjusted properly. I got mine out of another CRX, so it was already adjusted. If you do the same, do not move the little adjustable nut that the brake pedal linkage connects to. If you do, you could potentially create a situation where the pedal is calibrated too far down causing the brakes to be engaged all the time.
You don't want that.
