Brakes sticking and firm pedal -- brake booster?

[pnwguy]

Hey y'all. I took my 2011 Ram 1500 into Les Schwab to get my ABS light diagnosed. They told me the pin (i think he meant the rod) was sticking and causing the brakes to be constantly engaged and that the brake booster will need to be replaced.

From what I've read, a firm pedal is more likely to be caused by insufficient vacuum and that a bad brake booster will cause the opposite problem: not enough braking/spongy brakes.

I removed the check valve from the booster and verified that it works in one direction, though air didn't pass through particularly easily. I would compare it to blowing through a coffee straw, maybe more challenging.

Can anyone verify whether these symptoms sound like a faulty brake booster?

If it does turn it to be the booster I'm just going to do the work myself. Les Schwab quoted $500 for a 30 minute job. No thanks.

Thanks for any help.

 

[James OBrien]

He might be talking about your caliper pins seizing, causing a hard brake pedal and taking out the master cylinder?

HARD Brake Pedal - My brakes are Locking/Sticking/Smoking "Don't forget this"

Don't forget to Lubricate Brake Pad tips

www.youtube.com

 

[Burla]

If it turns out to be the issue, then 500 dollars would have been fair, as in you don't even believe them, lol? That isnt a cheap part, so 500 isnt that far out of line especially for a chain. Anyhow, good luck hope that fixes you up. Did they charge you for the diagnose?

 

[pnwguy]

He might be talking about your caliper pins seizing, causing a hard brake pedal and taking out the master cylinder?

No, he specifically said it was from the brake booster.

If it turns out to be the issue, then 500 dollars would have been fair, as in you don't even believe them, lol? That isnt a cheap part, so 500 isnt that far out of line especially for a chain. Anyhow, good luck hope that fixes you up. Did they charge you for the diagnose?

No charge for the diagnosis, so that's good. $500 isn't too bad, but it's an easy fix that I can do myself. And no, I'm not sure I believe that the brake booster is the problem since what I've read tells me a bad brake booster makes it harder to brake, not engages the brakes.

They quoted $1800 total for new booster and new brakes and rotors (current rotors are gouged from the booster being engaged, he says).

 

[Mike F 2500]

Hi All.
Very interested in the investigation of what caused the brakes to engage. I have a new to me 2003 2500 that has what sounds like a similar problem. Brake pedal is stiff, immediate resistance when pushing brake pedal, also had to pull over because 3 out 4 breaks were rubbing hard. Smoke from 3 out of 4 hubs. I have been working on vehicles for many years, not my job, but have never seen this situation. I have been told that the front calipers should be replaced every second pad change. So just after buying this truck in Jan, I replaced both front calipers, pads, and the left rotor. I had also done this on my previous 2500 when the right caliper would not release. This problem is not calipers because at least one rear wheel now has the same issue.

 

[grizzstang]

There is no need to replace the Calipers unless they are sticking or seized.

Your brake hoses may need to be replaced as your truck is 21 years old. The rubber hoses deteriorate and swell on the inside and will not let the brake fluid pass easily or in some cases at all. If they have cracks on the outside that is another good sign to replace them.

Your calipers won't release if your brake hose is blocking flow.

If you undo your brake hose and your calipers will easily compress that is a good sign the hoses are done.

Make sure you grease your caliper slides with high temp grease to or the brakes will stick.

On a truck so old with unknown miles I would check the brake master for leaks and flush all the old brake fluid too.