Should be. How much prior experience working on vehicles do you have? Haha.

That being said...we're all here for the same reason, guys. Some of us are old school, some of us are new school, some of us are middle school, 5th grade like junior high. Point is we've all heard or learned stuff this or that way and should put that knowledge together rather than debate over it. Peace and love, my brothers. Hahaha

 

Not knowing your mechanical ability and by the questions you asked, I would say take it to someone who knows what they are doing and not someone who just wants to do gravy work to make some money by doing a tune-up. First you have to verify the problem. Diagnosing a problem over the internet is difficult, kind of like one of my customers wanting me to diagnose a vehicle over the phone. Once the problem is verified, then you have to fix it. By your description, to me, it sounds like the brake booster is ONE of your problems. Without the truck in front of me I can't verify that. To do the booster you have to get under the dash to get to the bolts that attach the booster to the truck. Then you have to remove the master cylinder. Sometimes you can just undo the master from the booster without opening up the hydraulic brake system, other times you can't. I think you have another problem causing your running condition, unless your brake booster is THAT bad. You can use a pair of vice grips to pinch the vacuum line going to the brake booster to stop the vacuum leak and see if the running condition clears up. If it does, then it's only the booster. Sometimes its a process of elimination. Start with the most obvious and work your way down.

I disagree with this. I think a debate is healthy and worth while. It helps sift through speculation and bad information to get to the truth and real world solutions.

A.J.

 

I'd have to disagree with you. It all depends on the situation. I've seen boosters act both ways before. Some were bad like you're saying. Some just leaking in some way or somewhere around the area like Crazy and 1993v8DakotaSport said. Hell, my Durango gets a low idle and even stalls when stopping due to the battery being shot and the cold doesn't help. Maybe hes low on fluid. Maybe his pads and shoes are gone so his pedal and pressure drop and it feels and/or acts like a vacuum leak. START SIMPLE. Its somewhat apparent hes not incredibly mechanically inclined (no offense, of course...we all only know so much) so just another reason to help him start off simple and help increase his knowledge before he takes it in and gets screwed by a shop.

 

We're pretty much saying the same thing. The important thing is if you can't do it yourself, find someone you can trust who will shoot straight with you, and fix it right for a reasonable price. It sounds like the guy he took it to doesn't know what he's doing by wanting to throw a tune-up at it thinking it will fix it. It might but I think it's deeper than that. Nobody wants to spend a couple hundred dollars and not get their problem fixed. Being in this business, I hate seeing people get screwed.

A.J.

 

I'll somewhat agree with you. The tune up on the Durango did make a difference but then the problem was here and there til I had the battery tested and it came down to that. So I'd say, yes find a trustworthy person or check for leaks, check the booster, battery and its connections, your fluid and brakes yourself. I hate to add on to the list but sometimes these things get overlooked and the problem is that simple.

 

Damn guys...you are all awesome. I'd be the first to admit I wish I knew more about cars than I do. The mechanic is a friend of a friend, so I doubt I'm getting screwed. I will talk to him when I take the truck in on Tuesday and tell him what you guys suggested and see if we can just start with the brake booster and vacuum hose and work up from there.

Thanks again and Merry Christmas!

 

Well, dropped my truck off this morning and just picked it up. He said they couldn't find a vacuum leak anywhere, so I will probably have to get my brake booster replaced soon. It still feels completely normal.

He then replaced all the parts I listed in my original post. He said the one o2 sensor was completely broken and the fuel filter looked like it hadn't been changed on over 100k miles. It is running way smoother now and a bit faster too.

 

Heh, I had the same issues a month ago. changed the IAC and TPS. Fixed the problem.

 

And throughout all of this, THAT was the main point I was trying to get across. I wasn't in any way completely ruling out that the brake booster was bad. Just up until this point, my experience with them has been just that, when it fails, you lose power assist. I haven't experienced it any other way yet. All the OP was asking was WHERE he should start. So I basically said to start simple, look for a vacuum leak else where before you go spending 200 bux on a new brake booster, you know what I mean?

But all in all, Glad the truck is running better MerchantMilan! Sad to hear that the vacuum leak was actually the brake booster, but it was worth a shot. Let us know if it makes any difference when you do change the brake booster!

 

Oh I know lol I was agreeing with ya