Dlowkes7

I have been working on my truck, and only a few thing left before i put her on the road.

One issue i have is that the truck has no brakes. I mean when i drove it across the yard, not even on the gas, i cringed when i put all my might into to pedal to make this hog stop.

My question is.. ... is this a bleeding issue?
... booster issue?

I forgot to check the vacuum today at the pump.

Trebor

That's the first place I would check if the brakes work but lack the power assist.

wannadiesel

On an intercooled truck the problem is more likely a big vacuum leak (hose off, bad brake booster) than a failed vacuum pump.

Kansascrewcab76

How was the pedal?
Soft, goes all the way to the floor, hard as a rock???

Little more info is needed

sdseva

he mentioned "all his might" on the pedal so i would say a hard pedal. mine had the same issue not to long back. i traced the vacuum leak to my booster, replaced it and now my pedal is perfect.

RuralCruiser007

Worse case scenario, talking about hard pedal, is that someone put oil in the brake fluid and now everything is swollen. Replace everything. No choice in that matter. Oil makes every rubber component swell like a pregnant pig. From front to back and top to bottom.

Take the master cylinder cap off. Is it swollen and funky? If so then someone has put oil in the master cylinder. Sorry but start a parts list and replace everything that has rubber in it.

Dlowkes7

Ya the pedal is very hard.

Any model number on the booster?

wannadiesel

Get a loaded booster from your local auto parts store. Fluid from a bad master is what usually kills the booster.

Dlowkes7

What is the difference of a loaded booster and a regular booster.

HappyCamper

Loaded booster is one that already has the master cylinder attached.

jimbo486

so in other words, a new booster and master cylinder should fix the problem. don't forget to bleed the master before you install it.

Dlowkes7

i hope i have a vacuum leak. i priced out just the booster for 99 at napa, i guess i will price out the whole unit tomorrow

Dlowkes7

Ok so today I ordered a loaded booster.

I took the boost/Vacuum gauge out of my car and attached it to where the cruise control vac line goes. It only pulled about 8 hg but I didn't block off the booster or the other line. If the booster was bad would it hurt the reading? Or would it still reflect the vacuum pressure.

Vacuum increased to about 10 or 11 hg when throttle was applied

Also does anyone have a picture or diagram of all the vac lines?

wannadiesel

Yes, a leak would cause low vacuum. Connect directly to the pump to make sure it's OK.