Brakes Hard To Press

[Bonnell]

I have a 1988 Coupe with 126K miles. The car is a lot of fun and runs very well. I have noticed that the brakes seem to require a harder pressure to stop than they used to. You have to press pretty hard to stop.

I read here once that someone seemed to have about the same issue and he was told to check his brake booster. I am a little concerned about this because my 16 year old son (who has been driving all of one month) lost all braking and ran into the side of a Quick Lube store - no one hurt but you can bet that was some experience for a 16 year old. The booster and master cylinder were replaced (I took it to my Vette mechanic and they changed both because it looked like someone had put something like tranmission fluid in the brake system at some time).

Is there a simple way for me to test my booster? The brake fluid level looks ok and I have the brake pads changed last summer (most of my milage is highway so pads should be ok).

Thanks for your help.

 

[c4cruiser]

A "hard" pedal is usually indication of a vacuum booster going bad. Find a street with no traffic and pull the vacuum hose off the booster and plugging the end. While driving at a slow speed, depress the brake pedal to see if there's any big difference.

How long ago was the booster and M/C replaced?? Failures of the brake booster are not real common. It could be a faulty booster if poor quality replacement was used. What does the fluid look like now? Have the brakes bled again just for drill (this should be done every couple years in normal street driving).

 

[Bonnell]

A "hard" pedal is usually indication of a vacuum booster going bad. Find a street with no traffic and pull the vacuum hose off the booster and plugging the end. While driving at a slow speed, depress the brake pedal to see if there's any big difference.

How long ago was the booster and M/C replaced?? Failures of the brake booster are not real common. It could be a faulty booster if poor quality replacement was used. What does the fluid look like now? Have the brakes bled again just for drill (this should be done every couple years in normal street driving).

Thanks for the answer. I have never replaced the vacumn booster and I don't have the history to know if it has ever been replaced. Once I find out where the booster is, I'll try your test.

 

[c4cruiser]

The booster is the large round (either black plastic or metal) piece that the master cylinder bolts to. The vacuum hose is black and about 3/4" in diameter and is attached to the front of the booster.