Hi. I have a 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan 3.8L. I think my brake booster is bad. I am calling around for prices and they are telling me that there are 2 kinds. One is a performance booster and one is standard. How do I tell which one I have?

Also, how difficult is this to change out? I have done most of my automotive repairs but never this.

 

What are the symptoms that lead you to believe the brake booster is bad? I wouldn't recommend replacing it on a hunch without first ruling out something else like the master cylinder, bad caliper, etc.

And who are you calling for prices, a Dodge dealership or an auto parts store like AutoZone? If you're calling a Dodge dealership you should only need to provide the last 8 characters of the VIN and they should be able to tell you what you need to know. And if it's an AutoZone or its competitors you shouldn't need a part they label as "performance".

 

Thank you for your response. I figured it was a power booster because my brake pedal is very stiff and it take quite the effort to stop. There is also a large hissing sound but it is not the check valve. I replaced that. The vacuum hose is also good.

I was calling Autozone and a couple other shops just to get an estimate.

I also did a pedal check. If I pump the brakes and hold the pedal down and then start the car, the pedal only goes down about half an inch.

 

Given those symptoms I would also suspect the brake booster. I looked at the Haynes manual for my Honda and the replacement procedure involves removing the master cylinder and disconnecting the brake pedal before unbolting the booster. If you are considering doing this yourself I strongly recommend getting a Haynes or Chilton manual.

 

Make sure the reason the booster failed is not because fluid leaked out the back of the master cylinder and damaged the seal.


The booster itself is not hard, but the master cylinder will involve some bleeding and such.