Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting occasional brake failure

hey folks,

on my beloved 94 mondeo i seem to have an occasional brake problem which has been on and off for about a year and a half now. lately it�´s been getting more frequently, though, and at speeds in the triple digits this ain�´t no fun anymore.

usually the brake pedal works fine, but sometimes it feels hard and hardly slows down the car. it kinda feels like the power of the power brakes is missing. is this a problem of the master cylinder or rather of the brake booster? brake pads in front are 75%, front rotors are new (1000 miles) and the rear brake shoes are around 50%, or a tad less.

the brake system seems not to leak and the power brake sees to work normal (under regular conditions). �´

any advice or experience?

thanks, clemens

I've driven in Austria and West Germany when I was in the Army. I really don't think I'd want to do too much driving, especially in the triple digits, if I couldn't depend on my brakes. For those who've never done it, it's really nothing like driving in the states. If you've never had someone flash their lights for you to move over, and you're already doing 200kph (120 mph) or so, that's what it's like.

Advice?? Go to your local dealer and get whatever it is fixed if you can't do it yourself!!

Your symptoms sound like classic brake boost failure.

Your brakes will still work at their full potential - but all of the force to activate them will come from your leg, with no help from the booster.

Given the intermittent nature of the problem, it's likely you have a vacuum leak somewhere in the system as opposed to a problem with the booster itself.

Get it fixed soon!

oh, i hate everything that�´s vacuum related cuz i can�´t see it. plus, it only occurs occasionally....

where could the problem come from most likely? any ideas? gotta go check it out tomorrow.

thanks for the input, though