2004 Silverado - failing brake booster?

[mrsilv04]

It seems like to me that I might have a failing brake booster in my 2004 Silverado (81,000 miles).

It started late in the winter, with an occasional stiff pedal. Now it happens more often, stiff pedal that even will even make a creaky noise as I press on the pedal harder.

I'm not hearing any hissing from a vacuum leak, as I kind of expected that I would, just a stiffer than normal pedal, and the creaking noise.

I do have a bad habit of having my foot on the brake pedal as I get out of the truck, and pushing on the pedal to "ooomph" myself out of the seat. I was involved in a wreck in 2009 that involved extended physical therapy, and doing this has turned into a bad habit.

I would assume that this is probably not helping the booster in any way, and may have shortened its life.

What should I be looking for or considering here?

 

[mmavet]

Does the ABS light come on?

 

[Realtech214]

my 2003 silverado said on the DIC "SERVICE BRAKE BOOSTER" once but i never saw it again. Happened about a year ago at around 90,000 miles. Brakes have always been fine. Hmmmmmm

 

[mrsilv04]

No abs light.

 

[another Todd]

Assuming you have a vacuum booster and not a hydro-boost:
Is it possible the booster is loosing vacuum via a kinked, internally separating, or otherwise clogged vacuum hose? How about a sticking shut one way valve?

 

[mrsilv04]

Yep... it's a vacuum booster.

I was just out in the garage playing with it. With the truck at idle and a warm engine, I pumped the brake pedal several times.

The engine RPM's started fluctuating by a couple hundred RPM, up and down and up and down. There was something about doing that, which it didn't like.

 

[EvanD]

Google hydro boost upgrade. That's what I'm doing next.

 

[yonyon]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Yep... it's a vacuum booster.

I was just out in the garage playing with it. With the truck at idle and a warm engine, I pumped the brake pedal several times.

The engine RPM's started fluctuating by a couple hundred RPM, up and down and up and down. There was something about doing that, which it didn't like.


The engine liked it plenty, I'm sure. Operating the booster depletes the vacuum which it them has to replenish. Obviously, vacuum isn't something that can be pumped into the booster; to replenish the vacuum the booster has to release air which goes to the vacuum source, the intake. That extra bit of air makes the engine get happy and excited which it expresses by revving up a bit for a moment. It's all perfectly normal.