6.0 brake booster help needed
I think my brake booster vacuum pump is on the way out. I'd like to fix it myself if I can.
I have a 2008 Ford E350 with the 6.0 PSD, with a little over 47K miles.
Symptoms:
Driving for several minutes or longer, the brake pedal is fine, and can stop the van easily. Feels like I have normal brakes.
Shortly later after a full stop, as in driving in stop-and-go traffic, the brake pedal then gets really hard after the initial stop. I almost have to stand on the pedal to get the van to stop, even at low speed.
With the van at a full stop, but tranny in Drive and with my foot on the brake, I can feel it getting harder to push to keep the van still. It's like the boost is there, and then drops off. The power steering is easy to turn the wheel all the time, and I never get a brake warning light on the dash.
When I feel the pedal getting hard to push, I found that if I two-foot it on the brake and gas pedals, I can rev the engine a little to about 13-1400 RPM and the brake boost returns.
I noticed this behavior after my last trip, some of which was on badly washboarded dirt road. Could my vacuum pump be starting to bite the dust, or could I just have a loose vacuum hose or a leak? I don't hear any squeaking, rattling, or an air/vacuum leak, but I have diesel, so it's hard to hear anything out of the ordinary. Prior to my last trip, the brakes worked just fine.
I have a vacuum reservoir drum behind the master cylinder, so I don't believe I have HydroBoost.
If it is the vacuum pump, how do I get to it? I've been searching here, and on Diesel Forums, and FTE. The best description I have found is that I have to loosen the serpentine belt, remove the air filter assembly, and move the power steering reservoir out of the way.
I took the doghouse off, but everything is so tight, I can't see much. I also crawled under the van and identified the A/C compressor and power steering pump (I think), but can't see what looks like the vacuum pump.
Any help or insights are appreciated! If I haven't been clear, about the problem, please ask all the questions you want. Thanks!
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DesertBoat ...has been SOLD. Sad to have seen it go.
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