Sorry but I'm here again with another problem.

 

First "BIG" problem with the car after we bought it was brake booster failure. When driving, suddenly we started to hear, bus air brake like noises coming when using the brake accompanied with irregular braking. It was like the brake pedal was loose and brakes weren't apply properly. But if you press the pedal further, sudden and sharp braking happened. It was scary in the middle of the traffic so we went right away to the mechanic for the first time.

 

When I told them the problem, they told me it was the brake booster. They told me they would change the part but could not give a guarantee because parts were not original and same problem could happen again. We went to the nearest parts shop and found an aftermarket brake booster there. There was only this part available. The brand is Lisyus.

 

After that, the mechanic disassembled the clutch pedal, clutch cable, brake pedal, lastly the brake booster. They told me clutch cable was worn and stiff too so the clutch cable was also changed.

I saw them taking measurements on the push rod before installing the brake booster. They handed over the car to me after the work had finished.

 

The first thing happened halfway was, I could no more change the gear to from 2nd to 1st. Clutch cable was not properly adjusted. I had to do it on the road. The next morning was more delightful. The car had some kind of power loss. Felt struggling at acceleration from full stop. We quickly discovered that, brakes were rubbing. So I had to readjust the brake booster push rod too.

 

All of the above happened at January this year.

 

What happens now, I started to hear a faint hissing noise coming from front when I press the brake pedal. You can hear it only when the vehicle is stationary and idling with the windows closed. Brake performance seems not affected much but the pedal is slightly softer then usual.

 

Is this the telltale sound of a failing brake booster? Again? in just 7 months of use?

Are these parts really so bad or is this normal life expectancy? (Lisyus brand)

Do you really have to remove clutch pedal, clutch cable and brake pedal in order to change the brake booster?

Can the brake booster be fixed if there is a leak somewhere and how one can find the source of a brake booster air leak?

1 hour ago, R_Blue said:

The first thing happened halfway was, I could no more change the gear to from 2nd to 1st. Clutch cable was not properly adjusted. I had to do it on the road. The next morning was more delightful. The car had some kind of power loss. Felt struggling at acceleration from full stop. We quickly discovered that, brakes were rubbing. So I had to readjust the brake booster push rod too.

Never heard of this "Lisyus" brand. Not even remotely impressed with that garage's "workmanship" though.

52 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Never heard of this "Lisyus" brand. Not even remotely impressed with that garage's "workmanship" though.

 

This is exactly what I have right now.

 

About "workmanship".... well I don't know how to describe it properly. You get used to this kind of workmanship in everything. It's very common. You feel yourself trapped between ignorant, unqualified and malicious. You choose one and accept to face consequences of each end. OR you do it yourself if you can. It's VERY hard to find the right people to do the job.

 

Since January I feel like running a car service and the only customer is me. We did tons of work on the car to keep it running in hard times. It's a rewarding job though. When you do it properly, the gains are huge. Both financial and performance wise. I'll never forget the first drive after overhauling the carburetor.

(I mean this carburetor: )

(It was worse inside: Broken air jet, intentionally bent choke plate, almost completely loose main body screws, no seal around idle cut-off valve, idle cut-off valve pin removed [wtf!?], enrichment valve holes completely sealed [wtf v2.0], all of this was sitting on a heavily deteriorated rubber flange)

 

Let aside a Skoda Favorit, we never owned a car before. The most hardest part is not the work itself but the inability to compare the results or not being able to determine what is normal.

This particular garage we are talking about right know is one of the most knowledgeable one. Some time ago we went there again for front wheel bearing replacement. I completely renewed everything connected to beam axle at the back but for front wheels, I lack the tools.

After the work is done, we did a test drive with the head mechanic there. While driving the car I asked twice if anything else was wrong. He insisted everything was OK. That was only days before I did the head gasket replacement job.

There was a compression leak between 2nd and 3rd cylinder. That was causing more than normal vibrations with some other problems.  After the repair the engine is now running silky smooth. Even with this tiny experience I can tell now if the engine has more vibrations than it should normally have. With their experience level I'm sure they could tell it even only by touching the car. The problem is, they knew it but didn't tell me. I think they wanted it to become worse for a more expensive repair.

 

This week, I was having a hard time with the LPG system then suddenly this brake booster issue have arisen. I hope I can find the source of the leak.

First of all I congratulate you for having the time, money (not that much, I know) and passion to repair the car. The satisfaction is huge indeed. Keep on going and eventually you'll have a reliable car. Even if it will not be perfect, the extra mechanical experience will help you in the future. Skoda Favorit/Felicia are best cars to learn on. Not too simple, not too complicated, just enough to know the basics of all cars.

Now let's get to work:

5 hours ago, R_Blue said:

Do you really have to remove clutch pedal, clutch cable and brake pedal in order to change the brake booster?

Yes.

5 hours ago, R_Blue said:

What happens now, I started to hear a faint hissing noise coming from front when I press the brake pedal. You can hear it only when the vehicle is stationary and idling with the windows closed.

 

5 hours ago, R_Blue said:

Can the brake booster be fixed if there is a leak somewhere and how one can find the source of a brake booster air leak?

Have a friend press the brake and find the source of the hissing. Use a stethoscope for mechanics or something similar.

That's why I don't trust mechanics. They don't care its not their ride if they fix it today and it breaks tomorrow they just get more money. Maybe it's not the booster itself but rather a loose or cracked vaccum hose. That would also cause the lpg to malfunction as it is mostly driven by vaccum. 

Check vaccum hoses with ether or brake clean. Now for the clutch adjust it so low as to have the longest possible travel before disengagement that is going to keep your clutch happy and tightly clamped down even if you have bad habits. (resting foot on clutch) 

Although that's mostly a women problem. 

10 hours ago, R_Blue said:

intentionally bent choke plate,

I've never worked on a Jikof, and only once on a Pierberg (to remove it and fit a Weber kit), but a bent choke plate has to be deliberate sabotage! (I have worked on Dell'orto, Solex, SU and Weber).

Weber all the way 

21 hours ago, R_Blue said:

 

When I told them the problem, they told me it was the brake booster. They told me they would change the part but could not give a guarantee because parts were not original and same problem could happen again. We went to the nearest parts shop and found an aftermarket brake booster there. There was only this part available. The brand is Lisyus.

 

Can the brake booster be fixed if there is a leak somewhere and how one can find the source of a brake booster air leak?

In one case that i had a similar problem (the brake pedal was stuck in the low position on traffic lights) they told my that i had to buy a used one because there aren't any original or OEM parts for my Felicia.

I didn't knew that brand, thanks for the information.

Almost everything can be repaired but it's 100% positive that the ''hiss" comes from the drum? Alone you can do anything,at least 2 persons must be involved, you in the pedal and the other on the engine bay because the source of the noise maybe it's a hose leak (happened to my case).

 

As for the clutch wire you should do some tests static and then few blocks around the repair shop before pay him and leave although he must have done this before deliver the car to you.

It's a common question here in Greece to the mechanics: ''you have tested it?" and if he says ''No" then ''Go and do it now".

On 22/08/2021 at 02:43, RicardoM said:

First of all I congratulate you for having the time, money (not that much, I know) and passion to repair the car. The satisfaction is huge indeed. Keep on going and eventually you'll have a reliable car. Even if it will not be perfect, the extra mechanical experience will help you in the future. Skoda Favorit/Felicia are best cars to learn on. Not too simple, not too complicated, just enough to know the basics of all cars.

Thanks RicardoM. You are like Dominic Toretto of the forum.

We have changed the brake booster today. All answers about that are below.

On 22/08/2021 at 10:06, Thefeliciahacker said:

That's why I don't trust mechanics. They don't care its not their ride if they fix it today and it breaks tomorrow they just get more money. Maybe it's not the booster itself but rather a loose or cracked vaccum hose. That would also cause the lpg to malfunction as it is mostly driven by vaccum. 

Check vaccum hoses with ether or brake clean.

 

We have changed the brake booster today. All answers about that are below.

On 22/08/2021 at 10:06, Thefeliciahacker said:

Now for the clutch adjust it so low as to have the longest possible travel before disengagement that is going to keep your clutch happy and tightly clamped down

I've adjusted the clutch just like that before! It also helps reacting fast at green lights or hill climbs.

On 22/08/2021 at 10:06, Thefeliciahacker said:

even if you have bad habits. (resting foot on clutch) 

Although that's mostly a women problem. 

No bad habits like that. So there is this forth pedal I see in some classy cars. It is at the far left. Is that a foot rest for women?

 

On 22/08/2021 at 12:34, KenONeill said:

I've never worked on a Jikof, and only once on a Pierberg (to remove it and fit a Weber kit), but a bent choke plate has to be deliberate sabotage! (I have worked on Dell'orto, Solex, SU and Weber).

 

I've read that people favor Weber over pierburg. Can one install a different carburetor? Maybe with a custom made flange? I know that's a totally different topic but I really got curious. What advantages could be gained installing a weber carburetor on a Favorit? I think it won't work without installing optimized jets for the cars needs. For tuning a different carburetor one must have dyno tester right?

 

On 22/08/2021 at 12:34, KenONeill said:

but a bent choke plate has to be deliberate sabotage!

 

The "mechanics" doing things like this to the carburetor are thinking the LPG system only.

This is how the LPG enters to the carburetor: (Old picture)

(This how LPG shops make the entrance. Easy&lazy. I've made a rubber sock around the hose hole so no dust is bypassing the air filter now. I also repaired the broken mounting points.)

This part is called the LPG mixer. This kind of systems are called open loop LPG systems. The LPG evaporator works by the vacuum created in here and nothing else. There are no active control to the LPG evaporator.

The jikov carburetor is a clone of Pierburg 2E3. They are very similar. The automatic choke plate is normally gets fully open when the engine is hot. When the engine is cold, the choke plate won't close if driver didn't briefly press the gas pedal before cranking. For cold weather cranking, It's a must. You must press the gas pedal half to let the choke plate fully close.

What happens with lpg is the opposite!

When you turn the ignition key to ON position, LPG electrics will also turn on. Which in turn, opens the gas tank valve at the back, high pressure valve at the front and LPG evaporator valve. Gasoline line to the carburetor also has a valve and it is always closed unless LPG switch is turned to the Gasoline position. So the carburetor is always completely dry. When you left the car for several hours, left over LPG gasses will be gone to. No fuel for initial crank. To counter that, LPG evaporator has a special start mode. When ignition is turned on, LPG evaporator gives a large amount of gas briefly to ease the initial crank BUT if you pressed the pedal before that and let the choke plate close, it gets harder for the gas to reach the intake manifold. So drivers who don't know how to properly crank the engine in LPG mode, goes to the LPG shop, complaining, wanting a faster crank. LPG shops don't know much like the car's mechanic. When they can't provide a proper solution, they go berserk like this.

Open loop LPG system owners should also be very careful about their carburetors if they want a proper operation. They need maintenance more often than default gasoline system. Main reason is that black sludge you see on the carburetor. LPG is not pure and has some lubricating additives also unfiltered molecular sized oil residues. This sludge is washing the carburetor upside down. Clogging jets. Gathering dust on the surfaces.

 

On 22/08/2021 at 12:34, KenONeill said:

deliberate sabotage!

I really want to know what you think about this one? (Made by previous owners mechanic)

 

 

On 22/08/2021 at 18:42, D.FYLAKTOS said:

In one case that i had a similar problem (the brake pedal was stuck in the low position on traffic lights) they told my that i had to buy a used one because there aren't any original or OEM parts for my Felicia.

I didn't knew that brand, thanks for the information.

Lisyus, Nova and Vika brand brake boosters are available for Favorit/Forman. I think Felicia brake boosters are different. I also found a brake booster for Felicia too. The brand for that one is Wisco. Price is €52.2. Strangely, Felicia brake booster availability is lower than Favorit.

Whenever you need, feel free to ask me for any part. I can look them up for you. I will gladly help.

On 22/08/2021 at 18:42, D.FYLAKTOS said:

It's a common question here in Greece to the mechanics: ''you have tested it?" and if he says ''No" then ''Go and do it now".

That's what should be done.

I heard some of them are cunning enough to invent short-lived fake solutions too.

We you say something happened to your car and you will visit the industrial area for car mechanics, people make comments like someone close to you has died. Really.

 

Now I'm preparing what is done today with pictures. It will be here in the next post.

6 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

I've read that people favor Weber over pierburg. Can one install a different carburetor? Maybe with a custom made flange? I know that's a totally different topic but I really got curious. What advantages could be gained installing a weber carburetor on a Favorit? I think it won't work without installing optimized jets for the cars needs. For tuning a different carburetor one must have dyno tester right?

Let's unwrap this because it's a complex subject.

 

The Jikov and Pierburg happen to have the same baseplate, so you can swap one for the other as long as the new one has much the same jets. Let's presume you're contemplating a swap for reliability rather than more power or better economy.

Now most manufacturers of compound twin choke downdraft carbs realise this offers a decent market, so they make their their baseplates the same size too, and this means that a Dellorto, Solex or Weber, or indeed a Ford or GM downdraft compound will physically bolt on in place of a Jikov. You may have to modify the throttle and/or choke operation and/or the carb top plate or air cleaner base, but if you can buy one that's already jetted for your engine, all you need to do is set the idle and mixture screws, then drive off into the sunset.

 

If you want more power, then the picture changes; now we want to fit a horizontal twin choke carb on a different manifold, and unless you can buy one ready jetted for your engine, you will need a bot of jets and some rolling road time, but the results can be spectacular. I've seen a 5 port Skoda 1300 engine with custom manifolds and silencer, and a Weber 40 DCOE carb making 120 bhp at the wheels, call it twice what the standard engine makes at the flywheel.

The brake booster had started to effect the mix ratio in idle so we had to repair ASAP. On a bargain hunt, we have found a new brake booster as low as $40. Considering the car's downtime cost, renewal seemed a viable solution.

In a very narrow time window, we have changed the brake booster.

Before the change:

 

I started by removing the battery (-), vacuum hose and removing this cotter pin holding the clutch cable:

 

 

Then, brake pedal C clip: (Picture is taken after the assembly) (I also removed one of the brake light switch's cable.)

 

 

After removing C clip, it was very difficult to move the input rod. I had to pry with with a screwdriver. After the release, the input rod jumped out of its position a good 0.5cm.

 

After this, I removed the three nuts holding the plate between brake booster and firewall.

 

This picture shows exactly why the clutch cable needs to be removed. Thanks @RicardoM.

Also the middle plate mounting points and brake booster bolts can be seen.

 

Another angle:

 

Nova (new) vs Lisyus (old) brake boosters:

Note the notch is missing on the input rod of nova brake booster. I also used input rod bolt and nut from old booster. Because new one had a defect in its threads making it hard to screw in.

 

Lisyus output rod:

 

Nova output rod:

 

New brake booster here doesn't have securing clip on the rubber seal. I transferred old one's to the new one too.

 

I adjusted input rod height exactly as 116mm from flat base surface to the center of the rod's eye. Before transferring it to the middle plate.

Before installing the brake booster to the firewall, I measured master cylinder depth from the extruding boss then deducted the boss protrusion.

Also before installing the brake booster, output rod must be adjusted for ease of operation. I deducted 0.3mm from the master cylinder depth value and adjusted the output rod with help of a metal sheet. (Sheet thickness deducted)

Picture here is taken just before mounting the master cylinder. I took this picture for showing measurement points.

 

Installing pedal linkages is reverse of disassembly. I was afraid it would be hard to insert the input rod to the brake pedal but 116mm is a magic number. I fit just perfect. It fit without need of any force. I installed the C clip and cotter pin of the clutch cable. Connected the brake pedal spring, brake light switch cable, battery (-), vacuum input and the work has been completed.

 

 

Now once again, I did something but I don't know if it's good or bad. The connection which had been done by the mechanic before was definitely applying static force to the input rod. My connection does not. Which one is correct?

How can I check if I adjusted the output rod properly?

 

Brake pedal was feeling like a rubber ball under your foot. Brake effect was immediate like there is only a little soft section before it gets harder. Now it feels like a pillow under your foot. It has a longer soft section where the brakes start to hold and eventually gets harder.

When engine is not running, I measured the the distance of soft travel of the pedal and it is 1.5cm. If the engine is running this will raise to 5cm.

2 hours ago, KenONeill said:

Let's unwrap this because it's a complex subject.

 

The Jikov and Pierburg happen to have the same baseplate, so you can swap one for the other as long as the new one has much the same jets. Let's presume you're contemplating a swap for reliability rather than more power or better economy.

Now most manufacturers of compound twin choke downdraft carbs realise this offers a decent market, so they make their their baseplates the same size too, and this means that a Dellorto, Solex or Weber, or indeed a Ford or GM downdraft compound will physically bolt on in place of a Jikov. You may have to modify the throttle and/or choke operation and/or the carb top plate or air cleaner base, but if you can buy one that's already jetted for your engine, all you need to do is set the idle and mixture screws, then drive off into the sunset.

 

If you want more power, then the picture changes; now we want to fit a horizontal twin choke carb on a different manifold, and unless you can buy one ready jetted for your engine, you will need a bot of jets and some rolling road time, but the results can be spectacular. I've seen a 5 port Skoda 1300 engine with custom manifolds and silencer, and a Weber 40 DCOE carb making 120 bhp at the wheels, call it twice what the standard engine makes at the flywheel.

Very impressive. Thanks for the information.

5 hours ago, R_Blue said:

The brake booster had started to effect the mix ratio in idle so we had to repair ASAP.

soo i was right

5 hours ago, R_Blue said:

If the engine is running this will raise to 5cm

that I think is a bit too much
also if I want to change the clutch cable am I supposed to remove the brake booster?

7 hours ago, R_Blue said:

The connection which had been done by the mechanic before was definitely applying static force to the input rod. My connection does not. Which one is correct?

I'm not clear on which direction this static load was in. If it was at an angle to the bore of the cylinder then it was definitely wrong, because it would tend to stop smooth activation and full release of the brakes. I'm also not sufficiently familiar with the design of the braking system to comment 100% on a force along that line, but I'd doubt it was correct unless it was the force of a return spring inside the master cylinder, or an anti-rattle spring on the pedal.

1 hour ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

soo i was right

About LPG right? I forgot that. I'm still hunting for a an electrical failure that affects front LPG shut-off valve. Sometimes it won't open. I've found bad connections, corroded stuff etc. but that still happens. I've replaced some of the cables, especially the chassis connections. Still couldn't find the root cause. There is 12V at the input of the valve but randomly it refuses to open. Maybe it's the valve itself. It's ten years old.

 

1 hour ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

that I think is a bit too much

I wish you were here to test it for me. This is one of the hard to describe situations.

The pedal is softer than before. That 5cm movement I mean not before actual grabbing of the brakes but where it gets really hard. When engine is running and the car is rolling on the road, brakes start to act after 1.5-2cm of movement of the brake pedal. The is a little free play like 1-2mm inside of the input rod pin. I can easily make it zero. This will reduce the initial movement further.

 

2 hours ago, Thefeliciahacker said:

also if I want to change the clutch cable am I supposed to remove the brake booster?

If your Felicia's brake booster mounting plate is just like this, I'm afraid you have to.

The is a separate part installed on the brake booster plate. The groove of that part is not large enough to allow sliding the head of the clutch cable. There is a weird design. That clutch cable groove's single bolt is resting between the plate itself and the firewall! There is a recess on the firewall for the bolt's head. From what I've learned, one must remove the clutch cable cotter pin, brake pedal C clip and separate the input rod from brake pedal. Then, you can loosen the brake booster plate nuts just to give enough clearance to reach that clutch groove bolt. This job requires 2 people.

 

Luckily, your Felly semms to have a different brake booster mounting plate.

https://skoda.7zap.com/en/cz/felicia/fel/2000-101/6/612-612000/

12 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

This is one of the hard to describe situations.

The pedal is softer than before.

See my last. As I implied there, a load at an angle to the master cylinder bore would make the pedal move less smoothly, and this could manifest itself as higher pedal effort.

7 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

I'm not clear on which direction this static load was in. If it was at an angle to the bore of the cylinder then it was definitely wrong, because it would tend to stop smooth activation and full release of the brakes. I'm also not sufficiently familiar with the design of the braking system to comment 100% on a force along that line, but I'd doubt it was correct unless it was the force of a return spring inside the master cylinder, or an anti-rattle spring on the pedal.

When I separated the input rod from brake pedal, the rod popped towards me like the full diameter of the pin on the brake pedal. So if had to install that in the same way, I had to press hard on the input rod to be able to get the brake pedal pin inside. This is how it was installed.

 

The brakes were grabbing after that mechanic's work. I didn't know about input rod adjustment back then so I adjusted the output rod. I think I compensated that by adjusting the output rod.

 

Now we did it all ourselves from scratch.

11 hours ago, R_Blue said:

I also found a brake booster for Felicia too. The brand for that one is Wisco. Price is €52.2. Strangely, Felicia brake booster availability is lower than Favorit.

 

I didn't knew that, they told me many times that only a ''second hand'' can be found, thank you !

5 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

When I separated the input rod from brake pedal, the rod popped towards me like the full diameter of the pin on the brake pedal.

And now I'm certain that the "technician" left you with a drag pre-load on the brakes, which made your car harder to drive smoothly.

4 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

See my last. As I implied there, a load at an angle to the master cylinder bore would make the pedal move less smoothly, and this could manifest itself as higher pedal effort.

The input rod is not forced in any direction now. There is only 1-2mm play from the pedal pin and rod's eye.

You think this is correct connection for input rod? It is softer than before.

 

Also how a properly adjusted output rod should feel? Could you describe it somehow?

6 minutes ago, R_Blue said:

You think this is correct connection for input rod? It is softer than before.

Pretty sure yes; reasoning already stated above.

10 minutes ago, D.FYLAKTOS said:

I didn't knew that, they told me many times that only a ''second hand'' can be found, thank you !

You are welcome.

For unavailable parts, there are usually known substitutes from other cars. Parts sellers know this and keep that parts stocked too.

For example rear door rubber for Favorit is unavailable. Common substitute is Lada Samara rear door rubber. It's a only a little shorter but you can always add that small part from your old rubber.

Cars are horribly, disgustingly expensive so, many people can't throw their cars away. That makes spare part business lucrative.

 

28 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

And now I'm certain that the "technician" left you with a drag pre-load on the brakes, which made your car harder to drive smoothly.

Forum says I've reached my reaction level for today but I will add them tomorrow.

So this is escalated to DIY or DIE for me.

24 minutes ago, KenONeill said:

Pretty sure yes; reasoning already stated above.

Thanks! That was a relief.

22 hours ago, R_Blue said:

I've read that people favor Weber over pierburg. Can one install a different carburetor? Maybe with a custom made flange? I know that's a totally different topic but I really got curious. What advantages could be gained installing a weber carburetor on a Favorit? I think it won't work without installing optimized jets for the cars needs. For tuning a different carburetor one must have dyno tester right?

Russians and some Colombian/Ecuador Felicia owners ditched the Pierburg 2E3/Jikov LEKR 28-34 in favor of some variants of Weber. They used a new flange/adaptor. A big drawback is they have manual choke, hence the need of a cable to regulate it from the cabin. The main reasons for changing the carburetor are: no spare parts and lack of knowledge for setting it properly. The only secret is that you need perfect vacuum. Any vacuum leak and the engine runs so bad that you want to set the car on fire and push it into a ravine. No advantages in terms of power / acceleration, etc. For tuning a carburetor you don't need a dyno, but a vacuum meter, a tachometer, a small screwdriver and lots of prior experience

23 hours ago, R_Blue said:

The "mechanics" doing things like this to the carburetor are thinking the LPG system only.

This is how the LPG enters to the carburetor: (Old picture)

I've seen worse. But you are right. The flow of air is heavily disturbed.

23 hours ago, R_Blue said:

I really want to know what you think about this one? (Made by previous owners mechanic)

Replace it, otherwise you will either lock the brakes or lose braking completely. That was a 'temporary' fix that remained definitive.

12 hours ago, R_Blue said:

The pedal is softer than before. That 5cm movement I mean not before actual grabbing of the brakes but where it gets really hard. When engine is running and the car is rolling on the road, brakes start to act after 1.5-2cm of movement of the brake pedal. The is a little free play like 1-2mm inside of the input rod pin. I can easily make it zero. This will reduce the initial movement further.

The yoke distance is vital. Each brake booster has its own setting.

22 hours ago, RicardoM said:

Russians and some Colombian/Ecuador Felicia owners ditched the Pierburg 2E3/Jikov LEKR 28-34 in favor of some variants of Weber. They used a new flange/adaptor. A big drawback is they have manual choke, hence the need of a cable to regulate it from the cabin. The main reasons for changing the carburetor are: no spare parts and lack of knowledge for setting it properly. The only secret is that you need perfect vacuum. Any vacuum leak and the engine runs so bad that you want to set the car on fire and push it into a ravine. No advantages in terms of power / acceleration, etc. For tuning a carburetor you don't need a dyno, but a vacuum meter, a tachometer, a small screwdriver and lots of prior experience

Thanks!. Good to know. I'm making a list of missing tools that you advised. One by one I'll complete the list.

 

22 hours ago, RicardoM said:

Replace it, otherwise you will either lock the brakes or lose braking completely. That was a 'temporary' fix that remained definitive.

Did you see a another problem than the raised strut?