’96 Dodge RoadTrek 190 Braking System?

[Kks334]

hey all..

My 1996 RT has a really stiff brake pedal. It stops fine (well like a freight train..I mean it takes a minute but she’ll eventually stop) but the pedal doesn’t depress very much at all. Is this normal for this old of a RT? Do I need to “do anything?”

Thanks in advance.

[MythicLionMan]

Originally Posted by Kks334

hey all..

My 1996 RT has a really stiff brake pedal. It stops fine (well like a freight train..I mean it takes a minute but she’ll eventually stop) but the pedal doesn’t depress very much at all. Is this normal for this old of a RT? Do I need to “do anything?”

Thanks in advance.

I have a 96 Dodge RT, and my brakes feel pretty reasonable when they're working properly. We rarely do a 'power stop' because it sends the dishes flying, but when we've had to we were able to slow down in a hurry.

It sounds like your power brakes aren't working. The power brakes use engine vacuum to amplify the pressure you put on the brake pedal. A quick way to test the power booster is to compare the pedal feel when the engine is off and when it is on.

Start your engine and let it run for a few seconds. Then press slowly and firmly on the brake pedal a few times while noting the feel. Then shut off the engine and press the brake pedal a few more times.

The vacuum booster will still 'contain' some vacuum for a few cycles of the pedal (it looses a bit of vacuum each time you press the pedal). If your booster is working properly it should become harder and harder to press the pedal as you bleed off the vacuum. If it isn't working the pedal feel won't change (because you weren't getting any boost when the engine was on).

(You can do this test in another vehicle with power brakes to get a feel for the difference in the pedal feel when its working).

If you're lucky the cause of the issue is just a vacuum line and not a faulty brake booster. Vacuum leaks can be a pain to diagnose, but it's worth doing a quick visual inspection of your booster to see if it looks good and make sure that the vacuum line isn't just disconnected.

Usually if the line is completely disconnected or has a very large leak you'll have other issues like the engine running poorly, the cruise control not working, or the HVAC vents operating poorly. I can't remember which things are on the same vacuum circuit, but we had a cruise control issue that also resulted in the engine running poorly. It took forever to find, and when we did it was a free ten minute fix (just popped the hose back on the vacuum canister).