How To Test & Replace the Brake Booster and Brake Booster Vacuum Hose

Today we'll be showing how to test and replace the brake booster and the brake booster vacuum line. The vacuum line tends to be an easy repair for most vehicles. The brake booster is a bit more involved, nonetheless, it's certainly something the novice mechanic or dyi can accomplish at home.

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Any attempt to repair automotive parts and/or systems carries risk of personal injury. Always adhere and follow safe practices when working on vehicles. Such as, safety glasses, jack stands, no loose clothing, etc. No guarantee or warranty is implied. Use the information in this video at your own risk. Carsntoys is a member of the Amazon Influencer Program.

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[spankymagee]

Well you just saved me $449. I had almost zero brakes. Maybe 5% and it was stuttering the engine idle, trying to die on me. It was just some little T barb in the vacuum line had a cap fall off. I put my finger there to plug that open T and the idle improved. So i found a screw and rubber.and made my own plug, and brakes working as should again. Thanks!!!

P.s. i just so happened to have a Honda Vtec too (08 CRV), so the similar visuals made it super easy to check lines

As a note for others, my brake pedal was extremely solid and wouldnt barely move up or down even with tons of force applied. Having car running, they felt the same as the car off. All that power lost from a tiny hole in the line. Now I'm back in action! Thanks again!!

[gerrypoulton]

That was about the clearest video and verbal explanation I have ever seen . Thankyou

[biffb]

I don’t know what it is, but your explanations, your descriptions, and your demeanor was very helpful and as simplistic but yet exactly what the doctor ordered!! Thank you good sir!!

[steven]

my mans even completing the video during a rainstorm

[mgaston]

Excellent video and explanation. I will be using your tutorial to diagnose the hiss when my wife pushes the brake in on her cord edge. Thank you for taking the time to being this to us, well done.

[traumajock]

A few days ago, I changed the cooling fan in a Kia Soul I bought from my nephew. To do that I had to remove the intake. When I backed it out, I noticed a very hard brake pedal. I could hear a hissing sound. After watching this and a few other vids, its pretty obvious a line is disconnected or perforated. The brakes worked fine before the cooling fan job. And I was about to drive the damn thing to a Kia dealership. Many thanks.

[g-man]

Thanks, I just changed the master brake cylinder and driverside brake line, both front side calipers and brakes in the front (driverside caliper wasn't opening fully dragging), bled the entire dark color brake fluid system out too, but still not 100 % I believe it's the booster, the brake pedal area I hear a air noise...I have the new brake booster in my garage ready, ill do your trouble shooting first, thank you sir!. Details: just got my truck 2nd hand 99 F150 V8 4.6 ABS 230, 000 miles

[gr]

3:25 there is no need to clamp down the hose, all u need to do is disconnect the end going into the intake and put a 14mm bolt on there and that will seal. Most people will eventially kink or cut the line of not done right.

[darrentalyaga]

Thankyou man. Great easy steps for diagnosing boosters. Watching all the way from Papua new guinea

[janetsanborn]

Great job, thanks for your thorough explanation and multiple tests.

[edizzleshizz]

Air seeping sound under hood & loss of brake pressure brought me here...

[lescobrandon]

Rubber hose on the vice grips is a very very nice touch, great idea and I’m totally doing that

[nonameduser]

Awesome video explanation, just did all the tests everything fine, no leaks based on your test suggestions. Yet, still pressing the brake pedal makes RPM increase. What to test, look for next?

[Ktea_x]

Very useful, thank you. I brought a bmw 1 series last month and for the first time today I was unable to start it as the brake pedal was rock solid. Tried multiple times but gave up and I rang my dad. Typically, it started for him first attempt with no issue... so he thought it was a me issue until we started reading some forum posts and found out about this issue

[ryanbishop]

Thank you for such a thorough video!! Thank you for also linking to the master cylinder video, that is infinitely helpful. Very informative.

[theSilvioRoesler]

Awesome, video, very detailed. After removing the air intake to do some maintenance I now have a hard brake pedal - I am pretty sure I have a vacuum leak, and this video shows me exactly how to troubleshoot

[calvindavis]

Great vid! Thank you. How do know if your check valve is bad?

[dgonthehill]

this BIG help, to see if brake booster bad, appreciate SO MUCH ty

[danthonyg]

Ty!!! I need to found out what's wrong with my braking and this vid definitely helped!!!

[reedbertsch]

Thank you! I wish I saw this before I replaced my master cylinder. I thought the rod (going to MC) was a solid rod going right to your pedal. Being as it solely relies on pressure to engage the WHOLE braking system, now it makes a lot more sense to me!