hearing a hissing sound...

[Edmond]

when I step on the brake pedal. Any thoughts to what this could be? Master cylinder?

It doesn't happen under hard breaking, only happens under light breaking, ie. parking lot conditions, bumper to bumper moving, etc...

 

[JonM]

Brake Booster is starting to go on you.

 

[Edmond]

Jon,

How much am I looking at for a brake booster? Is this something that is best left for a professional or can this be done at home?

 

[vader86]

Its the booster.

 

[BORDERBUM]

Edmund,

I have a c3 and have the same problem, I found the exact hose that the hissing sound is comming from, I asked around on the c3 tech forum and I was told it was a valve that takes in vacume for the brake booster, and that it is normal. The problem was that the filter in the "valve" was bad or missing so you hear the hissing!

I am not a mechanic, and sure as heck ain't trying to say anyone is wrong, but just an idea instead of forking out the cash for a new one.

My "valve" looked sort of like the c;licker of a ball point pen, when the pedal is depressed the clicker is out and the hissing sound is heard, then when the brake is let go the brake pedal hiits the "clicker", pushing it in and stopping the hissing sound.

Maybe someone else knows for sure.

GIT R DONE _________________________BORDERBUM

 

[paintdaddy]

I think borderbum is talking about the check valve.That would be a good start.Id replace that first.I dont know how much the booster is on a vette but I had to replace the one on my truck and it was about $100 and a ***** to get to the dash side of it.

 

[tyrel]

Yes, it is almost certainly your booster going south. You can replace it yourself with simple tools. I did it a year ago, and a new booster cost me around $200.

It's easy to remove the nuts on the master cylinder and swing it out of the way, but the inner nuts are a killer to get to, you have to twist your body into strange shapes. I had to remove the drivers seat to get under the dash. Not the most difficult repair, but certainly not the easiest.

 

[JonM]

Its not that bad to replace...you need a couple of extensions (about 12 inches total, I used a ¼" drive extension for the last 4 inches) on your ratchet, a swivel with a #10 socket. I found the hardest part was removing the pin and reinstalling it for the pedal. Shouldn't take you more then an hour. Hint...when putting the nuts back on, use a little grease on the nut to hold it in the socket (stack two nuts) You can get a booster for anywhere from 110-150, depends where you shop.