Brake problems

[ejf]

1987 with brake problems. No stopping power. If you jump on the brakes they won't lock up. They used too. I took the car to a Chev. dealer and they fixed it . They just told me a LINE was off ?
They worked fine after that. Now years later I sold the car to my neighbor who is having the same problem.
1. He would like to spare the expense of the dealer, So he ask me to send in a post.
2. If I remember correctly I think they said it was a vacuum line. Is there a vacuum line or some type of assist?

 

[Ken]

^^^

 

[vader86]

soft/no pedal-master cylinder
hard pedal-brake booster

sounds like a bad MC

 

[handstjg]

I checked my 86-shop manual and under the diagnosis chart, "excessive brake pedal effort", the first item to check is leaking vacuum system. The vacuum booster has a hose connection on the upper left hand side looking at it from the front towards the firewall. Start there and look for the obvious.

 

[Rodney Gold]

With no vaccum , the pedal effort would be hard , but the brakes would still lock unless you cant apply enough pressure.
Im not sure why one would want the brakes to lock , I would imagine the best scenario is that with the max pressure applied the brakes are just below the point of lockup.
Do the other vacuum systems work? Is the idle rough etc ?