dvfosho6

When braking in my car I have to slam on the brakes to just get a little braking power. I just bought it and thought it was just a vacuum hose. So I replaced that and problem persists.

I have read the servo can get full of water and ruined but mine is right under the windshield and the ones I read about were under the battery box. I don't see how this could get that much water in it.

Any ideas on what may cause this?

Steamboat

Perhaps you have air in the brake lines. I would bleed the brakes and see if that helps.

Musty

Is the brake pedal too soft or too firm? If it's too soft, you may need to bleed the air from the brake lines. If it's too firm, there's likely a vacuum leak or a failure in the brake booster. Is your check engine light on? Depending on what the code is, there may be a vacuum leak that's contributing to a stiff pedal.

dvfosho6

There's nothing until I press all the way to the floor then it's hard. I started replacing the servo yesterday but need the special tool to get it off the pedal. I replaced a few vacuum hoses, have a few to replace yet. Hoping I can get all that done tonight. I'll update if I do.

Musty

Ok, so it could be one or two things. If you haven't had any brake work done recently, I would discount air in the lines. You might be looking at an actual leak where brake fluid is coming out of the system somewhere. Another common failure is that the brake master cylinder is leaking internally--the piston that the brake pedal pushes is just moving through the fluid instead of compressing it. That just means replacing the cylinder.

Take a look at this diagram for an idea about the master cylinder COMPONENTS ON DASH PANEL. COWL.. Fits: Audi | Mid Atlantic Audi

I want to stress that whether there's a brake fluid leak or an internal leak of the master cylinder, your car isn't safe to drive. I'd recommend towing it to a shop.

Good luck, and let me know how it goes.

Musty

Hm, that link I posted didn't seem to work. Try this one: COMPONENTS ON DASH PANEL. COWL.. Fits: Audi | Audi Virginia Beach

dvfosho6

Thanks for the help, I grabbed a servo and master cylinder from the scrap yard. I'm hoping that will fix it. I just bought the car this way, I drove it 4 miles home which was sketchy but I made it safely.

Either way I'm replacing all vacuum lines anyways and bleeding the brakes.

dvfosho6

Update, I swapped out servos and master cylinder I got from a junk yard. Just my luck, this one leaks from the master cylinder! Awesome, brakes a squishy, I didn't test drive it but it seemed worse than before and now my brake lights won't turn off. The sensor thing got all weird upon removal.

Thinking about just dumping this car, I bought it for $700, put about $200 in so far. Really nice car, worth about $3,500 running right but it might be the death of me.

dvfosho6

Update:

Finally brought my car in after hours of frustration. The o ring on my master cylinder was chewed up just a little bit. They replaced it and brakes work great now. Who would of thought it would of been something so simple.