I am having some problems with my brakes.

First, they are not very strong. They won't lock the tires up and I have to put a lot of force on them to just get them to stop quickly. What could be the cause of this, or is it just how they are?

Just within the past week I have noticed a new problem. When I apply the brakes, the engine's revs increase. The harder I apply the brakes, the more the engine revs. It never revs more than a few hundred, but it still it annoying and makes stopping a little more difficult.

Any idea what could cause this problem. Like I said, it just recently started happening and I haven't changed anything on the car.

Thanks!

Sounds like you may have a vacuum problem with either the hoses from the manifold to the Master vac or the Master Vac itself may have gone bad.

When you say you have to put a lot of pressure on the pedal it sounds like you may be losing or have lost all power assist to the brakes.

If you take it to a shop, they should be able to do a vacuum test on the Master Vac. Before you do that, check or replace your lines from the manifold to the Master Vac, and check to see if the check valve is OK(it's the round plastic piece in the metal bracket on the firewall) and if all the hoses are OK then I'd say the Master Vac diaphram is blown or leaking off vacuum.

exactly what 2many said . The master vac . is a vacume booster that assists y ou to add pressure to the brakes. This is the power brake unit. the large black round metal can on the drivers side , mounted on the firewall. :classic:

what is the best thing to replace this with? Can I get an OEM or aftermarket unit? Is there some sort of upgrade or some sort of swap that I can make? I know I've seen and heard of others swapping braking systems with other cars... is this the road to go?

Thanks for the input.

Originally posted by malder

what is the best thing to replace this with? Can I get an OEM or aftermarket unit? Is there some sort of upgrade or some sort of swap that I can make? I know I've seen and heard of others swapping braking systems with other cars... is this the road to go?

Thanks for the input.

MSA sells rebuilt Master-Vac units on an exchange basis. If your vacuum hoses or check valve are not the problem, I'd spring for one of these.

FWIW,

Carl

Your brakes are some thing you do not want to mess with . I agree with bambikiller . be sure to check your vacume hoses first before you replace the unit . if they are leaking that will be a much cheeper fix.