Now that I know my brake booster is bad I need to decide on what to do, replace it or repair it. New brake boosters are no longer available. Rebuilding them is about $200. The 2002 Tii brake booster is longer and more narrow. It was needed to fit the larger fuel injected intake manifold. Since I am going to upgrade to dual side draft carbs the extra space will allow me to run a much wider variety of air cleaners. Since these are no longer made and Tii’s are more rare, there is usually a premium on the Tii brake booster. I started looking for Tii boosters and didnt find much. I put a wanted ad on BMW2002faq.com and I got an email from my buddy Julio at Euro Vintage Parts. He had a really nice one in great condition for about the price of a rebuild! He is in Northern California and amazingly enough I happened to be up there and was able to swing by and pick it up! The down side is that the Optima red top battery I bought recently is too big so I will either have to relocate the battery to the trunk…which was on my short list of things to do, or get a smaller battery for the stock location. The Brake Booster was in great shape with just a bit of surface rust. I sanded it down and hit it with a little satin black Rustoleum. (Said in Edd China’s british accent for you Wheeler Dealer fans!) Once cleaned up, Ken Blasko at Vintage BMW Racing did the install. In some cases new brake lines need to be installed because of the booster being longer. Ken and Tom were able to creatively stretch my brake lines.
The results:
WOW. I picked the car up and drove down the street, pressed the brakes for the first time and I almost flew into the windshield…the brakes were absolutely amazing! I know the Tii Brake Booster is supposed to add ZERO performance over the standard unit, but lets just say fresh brake fluid, rear brake adjustment, bleeding and a properly working booster all make a HUGE difference. My old booster may have been failing for months. Now my idle is nice and smooth even stopped with my foot on the brake and it stops on a dime! So here are a few pics. Now I need to clean up those wires on that side of the engine bay…Looks like thats my next job!
BMW 2002 Tii Brake Booster
Good condition, just a little surface rust.
Paint of choice! Quick drying Black Satin
Sanded and a bit of paint.
Dried and ready for install
Installed! Tight fit with a small battery there. Red Top Optima would not fit!
Tights fit…just a wee bit of room. Either a smaller battery will need to go in or the battery will have to be moved to the trunk.