silver_goat

I have noticed lately that my brakes feel very hard and I have no pedal travel. The truck stops but it feels like I have no power brakes. I have also noticed that the power steering is making some noise when I turn sharp.

Are the brake tied to the PS pump? If so, is this a sign my pump is going out?

bluesurf

becareful my ps went and so did the brakes. I took a left turn and everything locked up I almost hit a tree. Pretty serious stuff. So yes they are tied togeather.

BlackPuff_Gone

Check your cap.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...d.php?t=161640

Read the last part of the thread.

It's worth a try and could save you some $$$

Deesil

Your brake booster uses hydraulic pressure from the power steering pump instead of vacuum like in gas trucks/cars. The booster also has a nitrogen canister that is used for a very short time in case the engine shuts down while you are driving. This accumulator gives you power brakes for about 3-5 pumps with no engine/power steering pressure. It's not unheard of for these units to go south especially if it's a pre-05 unit. They were updated in 05 in think. In fact when I had to replace mine it was a different unit from what was in the truck. The old unit actually had a sight glass in it and you could see the fluid in there was frothing badly. The truck made a hissing noise that got gradually worse when you would turn the wheel. Over time it hissed on any and every steering input. It turned out to be the accumulator was defective and the whole hydrobooster had to be replaced. I still had good brakes tho, so it sounds like you are having a different issue. If you have good steering but no brakes then it's likely an issue with the booster. If you have neither brakes nor steering then it's likely the power steering pump. Give me as much detail as you can and I'll see if I can help diagnose it for you.

silver_goat

Thanks for the info. It seems the brakes are the main issue. I can fire it up and if feels like there is no boost at all right from the start. It never seems to build up as it runs. Steering is good but the pump makes noise but nothing I would say that is abnormal.

silver_goat

Is this the reason for the "pop" sound when the cap is removed?

silver_goat

How did you get your corrected?

Deesil

well it sounds to me that something let go in your hydrobooster. It sounds like it might be by-passing. I haven't taken one of these things apart so I don't really know what or where it could be failing in the booster itself. Since your steering is good I wouldn't be putting too much blame on it unless you find out otherwise. It doesn't sound like an accumulator problem, rather it sounds like a seal may have let go inside the booster itself. I suppose it possible that the power steering pump is still the culprit as I'm not sure what kind of pressure the booster takes to operate correctly. Though I can't imagine that it would draw more pressure than the steering box. I can tell you this, the booster is VERY easy to take out and replace. I know it looks like it would be a pain, but I had that sucker out and back together in about 30 minutes. All 3 of the nuts are accessible inside the cab above the brake pedal. You don't have to disconnect the master cylinder from the brake lines. You just disconnect it from the booster and hold it aside while you remove the booster. This way you don't have to screw around with bench bleeding the master cylinder and then bleeding all the brakes. If you have a friend with a 05 CTD (or newer) you might consider swapping it out to test it with a known good unit. You don't want to have to buy one unless you are absolutely sure it's bad. I think the best price you will find is gonna be at least $400. The dealer wants 7 bones and change for it. I bought mine from Dodge Parts. com

Good luck

bluesurf

the dealer actually fixed it out of warranty since the truck had so many problems. It also was at something like 37k. I know they put a new gearbox in since it turned into a bunch of metal chips. I cant remember but I think they also put a new pump in and flushed the whole system out. I only had it maybe 10k more and then the computers fried and dealer killed my truck. They said it was unfixable. Total BS.

dirtygoat

Did you get this fixed yet? I am also having similar issues with my booster. Everything on mine in the engine compartment seems to be fine. I looked for leaks or low fluid levels evrything looks to be in good shape. My problem is that it is leaking in the cab at the brake pedal linkage. Did you replace your booster? How much and was it tough to change?