crowmeyocks
Registered User
Welllp, I guess Eastern Oregon is as good a place as any to break down and start my new life as a cowboy...
‘91 Ford E350 Bantam 7.3IDI
Pulled off the highway yesterday and all of a sudden my brakes got as stiff as (bad joke here), no boost assist at all except the first brake after start up. Tried some troubleshooting and from the quick and dirty tests I think my booster is alright. My vacuum/alt belt was shot really bad bad so I replaced it and got hopeful when it first started and seemed to do the trick, but after some driving I had a rock for a pedal again. I couldn’t get the belt very tense though, its pivot is maxed and the alternator won’t go any further on its tension rail for some reason, but as much as I want to fix this and fix all I feel like it might be wishful thinking. Does squeak a bit on shut down tho, and I feel like it could be the culprit.
So I replaced the check valve after it failed the suck test (bad joke here) and it seems like the old one once removed worked again after blowing a little sand out from the booster side so I checked the vacuum line looking for trouble and cut a section at the end which looked iffy but didn’t seem to be leaking. No help there. Pulled codes, nothing but the good ol’ TPS I always get (too low, I kinda like it there and don’t wanna mess it up again—if that’s dumb tell me).
Suction on the vac line at idle seemed good, like a good hand dryer in reverse. Couldn’t find a gauge to test properly but my vent and defrost seem pretty top notch.
Engine off, the brake seems to get stiffer and then definitely lowers almost all the way when engine is turned on. When brake is really hard while driving a moderate pressure —not too soft or strong—will gradually depress it, but with a very lazy actual braking reaction. Could this mean a leak somewhere?
So, it went from working one times to working sometimes—that’s progress. But not at all enough to get on the highway and go home. I was hit by a car once and if that guys brakes were like mine I wouldn’t be writing this.
If my vac pump is going out would it be this periodically? Could my vent and defrost still blow consistently and with some umph? Could the booster be the culprit here despite passing the start up/engine off tests? Should I just take it to the shop and hope they can diagnose with some competence? Are there any brilliant ideas Ford had that could trip this issue? (My (P) (!) BRAKE light is stuck off, for instance. It does light if I fiddle with the E brake switch / disconnect harness at brake pedal and try to drive.) Could my issue be further down the line—master, lines, pedal, fluid, calipers, etc? Been a little stiff for a while but the change was verrry sudden.
And most important, can anyone come up with some stiff/hard brake jokes please? Cause I’m kinda screwed here.
‘91 Ford E350 Bantam 7.3IDI
Pulled off the highway yesterday and all of a sudden my brakes got as stiff as (bad joke here), no boost assist at all except the first brake after start up. Tried some troubleshooting and from the quick and dirty tests I think my booster is alright. My vacuum/alt belt was shot really bad bad so I replaced it and got hopeful when it first started and seemed to do the trick, but after some driving I had a rock for a pedal again. I couldn’t get the belt very tense though, its pivot is maxed and the alternator won’t go any further on its tension rail for some reason, but as much as I want to fix this and fix all I feel like it might be wishful thinking. Does squeak a bit on shut down tho, and I feel like it could be the culprit.
So I replaced the check valve after it failed the suck test (bad joke here) and it seems like the old one once removed worked again after blowing a little sand out from the booster side so I checked the vacuum line looking for trouble and cut a section at the end which looked iffy but didn’t seem to be leaking. No help there. Pulled codes, nothing but the good ol’ TPS I always get (too low, I kinda like it there and don’t wanna mess it up again—if that’s dumb tell me).
Suction on the vac line at idle seemed good, like a good hand dryer in reverse. Couldn’t find a gauge to test properly but my vent and defrost seem pretty top notch.
Engine off, the brake seems to get stiffer and then definitely lowers almost all the way when engine is turned on. When brake is really hard while driving a moderate pressure —not too soft or strong—will gradually depress it, but with a very lazy actual braking reaction. Could this mean a leak somewhere?
So, it went from working one times to working sometimes—that’s progress. But not at all enough to get on the highway and go home. I was hit by a car once and if that guys brakes were like mine I wouldn’t be writing this.
If my vac pump is going out would it be this periodically? Could my vent and defrost still blow consistently and with some umph? Could the booster be the culprit here despite passing the start up/engine off tests? Should I just take it to the shop and hope they can diagnose with some competence? Are there any brilliant ideas Ford had that could trip this issue? (My (P) (!) BRAKE light is stuck off, for instance. It does light if I fiddle with the E brake switch / disconnect harness at brake pedal and try to drive.) Could my issue be further down the line—master, lines, pedal, fluid, calipers, etc? Been a little stiff for a while but the change was verrry sudden.
And most important, can anyone come up with some stiff/hard brake jokes please? Cause I’m kinda screwed here.
