Unfortunately I think my patch is not working 100%. Although the wheels do spin now there seems to be a slight drag still. Seems like the engine is working harder and the car is not as zippy. I will compare this to my other cars to see if those tires spins the same. I shortened this rod even more producing a "soft pedal" and although yes I can drive it around town something just isn't right. Perhaps a complete booster replacement is in the works here.

 

PinkFlamingo: Agree that your methodical approach points to a failing brake booster that prevents the brake master cylinder from fully retracting. An ABS malfunction would not cause the problems you describe, IMHO.

Replacing the booster is not difficult. The tedious step is loosening 4 bolts on the backside which secure it to a mounting bracket on the firewall. You can't see these 4 bolts, so must work by feel, and there's not enough room for a socket wrench, so a box wrench with built-in ratchet is a lot faster than a regular box wrench:

https://www.harborfreight.com/7-piec...set-95552.html

For better access, move the coolant reservoir (2 out of 3 coolant hoses can remain connected, IIRC, so no need to drain). Also, disconnect the vacuum line from the Evap purge solenoid (the vacuum line that goes to the top of the intake manifold, behind the throttle body) and loosened the small metal bracket on the firewall, next to the brake booster, that holds the Evap solenoid and 2 electrical connectors for the Bank 1 oxygen sensors - the firewall side.

No need to disconnect 2 brake lines from the master cylinder. Instead, unclip those 2 metal brake lines from a clip located on the firewall directly under the brake booster. Once those 2 brake lines are unclipped from the firewall, you can pull the master cylinder away from the front of the brake booster without disconnecting the brake lines.

Final thought..... you'll need an assistant to install the new brake booster: one person slides the new brake booster into position in the engine compartment, while a second person reaches under the dash and guides the brake booster's metal input shaft thru the hole in the brake pedal arm.

 

Thank you sir!!! I will definitely look back to these instructions if I decide this is the route to take. Surprisingly after driving it 20 miles, letting it sit for 45 min (still should have been very warm) then driving it another 4 miles I put it in neutral and jacked the front end up. Both front tires spun noticeably better than all my prior checks. Prior to this I could spin them but they would want to stop right away - even after my last rod adjustment. This time not so much. I will continue to monitor the situation. The pedal still wants to stiffen up over time which concerns me - I don't think this is normal behavior. At the same time the tires spun well while the pedal was still stiff which was good news. So time will tell. I am also worried I may have messed up the seals in the calipers by the excessive heat while locking. Perhaps, with a little luck, this car will sort itself out eventually lol.

Thanks again.

 

Ok 2 cents I own a 04 SuperDuty and have done the brakes numerous times, the sliders in the brake assembly have rubber type material inside the caliper if lubricated with the wrong type the rubber material bushing will swell to the point of freezing movement due to the hydraulic lock due to the swelling.