how much effort should it take to stop???

[tim s]

i have been just ignoring it, but now it is starting to bother me.
2 months after i purchased the car the brake booster failed, & i replaced it with a new one. ever since then it the pedal felt harder & it requires more work on my behalf to stop. i had adjusted to it, but after driving a couple of new bmw's it just seems way to hard. i know not to expect the brakes to feel just like a new car, but my 1987 325 brakes feel much closer to a new car than my 540i/a.
i have zimmerman cross drilled front & back. i did have pbr metal masters front & back, but i switched the front to bosch ceramics to see if it would help, but i am still not happy with the setup.
any idea's???
thanks
tim s.

[BigKriss]

any braking should not require great effort to stop. at high speeds sure. maybe the brakes weren't bled properly.

[632 Regal]

did you ever bed them in? If not they will NOT grip like they should.

[Kalevera]

Sure it (EDIT: meaning the brake booster) was correctly installed? A vacuum leak or a bad pressure valve would render it useless.

best, whit

[BigKriss]

funny you should talk about bedding in brakes Jeff. I don't think I did it properly with my EBC reds :( I was getting a lot better cold brake performance with the stock jurid pads and a lot less brake travel also.

[tim s]

the cars idle's nicly for a 4.0 & when i unbolted the master cylinder to check the seal there it made a vaccuum sound as i pulled it off.
i did bed the pads in both times.
is it possible i just got a inferior junk booster?
the car starting running badly when the old booster failed.
tim s.
p.s. where is the pressure valve???

[Kalevera]

the cars idle's nicly for a 4.0 & when i unbolted the master cylinder to check the seal there it made a vaccuum sound as i pulled it off.
i did bed the pads in both times.
is it possible i just got a inferior junk booster?
the car starting running badly when the old booster failed.
tim s.
p.s. where is the pressure valve???

Truly, it could be that the unit was bad from the get go. The booster has two chambers, both of which are regulated by a control valve, located more or less in the dead center of the unit. Said valve has two ports that control the atmospheric pressure and vacuum in each chamber. If either chamber isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing, the difference in pressure across the two sides (which is what creates the force in the booster) won't be enough to positively affect braking force.

To make a long story short, I'd change the booster with a known working one.

best, whit

[uscharalph]

It took me some getting used to on how well these brakes work.

[tim s]

a new one from bma is $160.00+shipping.
it would really suck if i purchased a new one, installed it, & it would work the same(which at this point i doubt it).
so far everything i bought from fcp groton turn to crap.
the booster, tie-rods, & center link all junk within one year.
i should have returned the booster!
thanks for the help.
tim s.

[tim s]

tim s.

[tim s]

after he drove the car, he said he does not suspect any vacuum problem. he thinks that the booster was tuned internally to give a lower boost.
should my 540i/a brake pedal be harder, softer, or equal to my 1987 325?
tim s.