Good evenin guys

Ill get to the point here, bein i dont wanna bore anyone, But has anyone ever had the brake pedal on their ram go hard? My brakes just went hard today all of a sudden when i depress the brake pedal down and i dont know why, IThe truck slows down but just barely, If it were air in the lines, wouldnt the pedal be mushy? This one is just hard, I checked all the hoses and they seemed to be ok, Its just a lil beyond me, ive never had brake issues other than changin brake pads..

Thanks guys

Rick

 

Have you been playing off-road lately? Sometimes when we go out and play in the mud I will get a rock or a stick or something else stuck in the caliper and that causes a hard pedal.

 

Sounds like a bad brake booster to me. Mine did the same thing - changed the vacuum booster and it was fine.

My '95 has vacuum brakes and I know they changed to hydro-boost brakes sometime (not sure what year).

If your '96 has a vacuum brake booster I would check it - if not then please ignor this post!

 

No off roading whatsoever..

i removed the wheels and checked them all, nothing..

This is interesting, this was happening to me before this happened, it would happen every once in a while...

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...threadid=75800

any ideas? Bad booser seems to be the culprit, but i did notice there is a thick hose that connects to the 11 o clock or so position on the booster deal that goes to some pump or somethin in the engine, im thinkin that might have alot to do with it too, or am i wrong?

Tx

 

I would definitely check the vacuum supply to the booster. I would think that's your likely problem. A leak anywhere in the vacuum system will cause what you describe. That includes cruise control, 4WD axle disconnect, heater controls. System vacuum should be at least 18 inches at idle with a gauge teed into the system. If it's lower, pinch or plug vacuum hoses until the reading rises.

 

Thanks Torquefan,

OK, on edit to this post, not to boost my count, I found what the problem was, There is a Little T connection right above the brake booster, One of the vacuum lines connects to the brake booster, another line (which was really loose) connects to the A/C vents, and goes to the left hand side, if you are on top of the engine, and the bottom of the T, was missing, the little line fell off, (which goes all the way down to the transfer case) This line was dragging on the ground Well, it had to be the only line that goes to the base of that T, so i hooked it up and was loose as well.

Problem solved on loose connections (dont laugh please) I got some small cable ties that were left from a variety pack i bought at big lots and put them around the two loose connections, all seems to work well now, and if this works, as a temporary fix, i have about 25 little bitty 3 inch long cable ties, i will cable tie most vacuum connections, and in the process familiarize myself with what goes where and what does what, I imagine the huge pump infront of the power steering pump is the vacuum pump.... if not someone please correct me..

Thanks! Ok now laugh with me...

Tx

 

The vacuum pump is attached to the power steering pump, which has the fill cap.
If you changed your fuel filter lately you might have accidenty disconnected a vacuum hose in that area. Any disconnected vacuum line will cause hard brakes with the vacuum assisted type brakes.

 

Those little rubber connectors have a habit of getting loose on 96 trucks. They swell when they get oily, and the vacuum pump on the 96's would sometimes introduce a little oil into the vacuum hoses. I remember a bulletin or recall on that issue. I've fixed them before with those little cable ties, because I've never had any luck at finding those rubber ends as replacements.

 

would oil in the vaccum lines also cause a hard pedal?

 

Oil in the vacuum lines will destroy the system, that's why there was a recall that involved adding a check valve and if any oil was found in the system all the oil soaked hoses and components were replaced.
I've seen oil make it to both the HVAC and 4wd controls and melt them.

Your '97 doesn't have vacuum assist brakes.

 

were is the check valve on mine ive read the recall and i think that its is were the vaccum line connects to the vaccum pump. but i did have oil in my vaccum lines when i first got my truck but i think it was you that told me to replace all my vaccum lines and i did but don't know if i need new check valve or not.

 

I found them

Believe it or not, at O Reily auto parts, in the Help section, in a purple little canister, called VacTite, but the cable ties work really well...

Tx

 

That's good to know. Thanks TxD.