3 Symptoms of a Bad Brake Booster Check Valve
Vehicle braking systems are often equipped with an add-on called a vacuum brake booster. The purpose of a brake booster is to generate more pressure in the braking system.
For example, when you press the brake pedal to slow down your vehicle, the brake booster provides a constant flow of brake fluid to the master cylinder. This increases brake pressure and improves sensitivity when you press the brake pedal.
This means you don’t have to press the brake pedal harder to quickly slow down your vehicle. Most cars, trucks and SUVs on the road today use brake boosters.
What does a brake booster check valve do?
One of the components of a brake booster is a check valve. If air builds up in the brake booster, the check valve will suck the air out. This prevents air from getting into the master cylinder. If air gets into the cylinder, it can cause air bubbles in the brake lines. This will significantly reduce braking performance.
The check valve is the connection between the brake booster and the vacuum hose. It ensures that these brake components function properly and that the brakes work properly when you press the brake pedal.
5 Symptoms of a Brake Fluid Leak
The check valve in your brake booster should last a long time. But at some point the check valve will wear out completely. You’ll know this is happening because it will stop working.
Of course, you don’t check the check valves often enough when you inspect your brakes, so you don’t have time to prepare for a bad check valve. You’ll only notice the symptoms when it actually breaks.
1) Sticky Brake Pedal
When you press the brake pedal, it’s not hard to press down on it with your foot. In fact, all you need to do is apply a little pressure with your foot and gently press down. This happens when the check valve is working properly.
However, if the check valve wears out and stops working, you may find that the brake pedal becomes difficult to press. The pedal will suddenly feel tighter and require much more foot pressure than normal to press down on it.
This happens because of increased pressure in the master brake cylinder. This is what happens when there is no check valve to regulate the pressure.
2) Spongy Brake Pedal
When air bubbles are present in the brake lines due to a faulty check valve, your brake pedal may become a little spongy. You may even be able to press the brake pedal all the way to the floor. This happens when air bubbles actually get into the brakes and reduce the pressure there.
When the brake pressure is reduced, the brake pedal becomes soft and spongy. In this state, it may be easy to press the brake pedal, but you cannot expect the vehicle to decelerate rapidly. In this situation, it will take even longer for the speed to decrease.
3) Poor Braking Performance
When the brake fluid cannot reach the master cylinder steadily due to a check valve failure, the braking performance will be reduced. Apart from the stiffness of the brake pedal, it will take even longer for the vehicle to decelerate after pressing the pedal.
If this continues for a long time, there is a high possibility that the brakes will not work at all. If this happens, you’ll likely hit something while trying to stop the car, so it’s obvious that something needs to be done. But don’t let it get to that point – simply replacing the check valve will restore your brakes to working order.
