[Vwdiesel] bad brakes on 2001 Jetta

[Shalyn Shourds]

Not to hijack a thread, but I'm having a simliar problem with my '00 TDI.  Occasionally, I lose my power braking after a couple presses of the pedal.  Fortunately, fear of collision increases leg strength dramatically so it balances out.  As near as I can tell, the vacuum lines look OK.  However, reading the recent posts, I'll probably go ahead and replace all the lines I can get to.  Failing that, any thoughts as to how to tell whether it's the vacuum pump losing it's mojo or the vacuum booster packing it in?

-Shalyn


________________________________
 From: Tad <tadc at europa.com>
To: Travis . <tgott at hotmail.com> 
Cc: "vwdiesel at vwfans.com" <vwdiesel at vwfans.com> 
Sent: Sunday, July 7, 2013 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] bad brakes on 2001 Jetta
 


Re: the pedal getting hard after repeated stomps - this may indicate a
vacuum leak going to the booster.  This is very common on these vintages -
the weird rigid plastic pipe they use tends to split and leak over time.
Mine wasn't at all evident until I took it off.

I replaced it with a standard rubber coolant hose, which some have said is
a bad idea as it may collapse under vacuum.  Mine hasn't after many years,
although I suspect it does get somewhat "restricted" as I can exhaust the
booster vacuum supply in 4 or 5 rapid stomps, but the boost comes back
almost instantly.