WhatYaGot

My brake pedal gets very stiff to the point I have to press kind of hard to start the car. This only happens if the car is parked for more than 1 hour. Started to happen about 2 weeks ago and hasn't gone away. I'm thinking brake booster or some kind of small vacuum leak? Any thoughts? The car just hit 150,000.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

Most likely it's the brake booster.

Jeff

Gville350

iTrader: (10)

^I'd agree! On hot summer afternoons did you find the pedal slowly creeping to the floor when stuck at a light/traffic? My old Civic did this and a new booster and master cylinder (pick-a-part combo) fixed it.

GL!

WhatYaGot

If it would go down to the floor it would be the master cylinder. I'm thinking maybe the booster check valve is going bad and loosing vacuum over time when parked. Anyone else agree?

drewster12

iTrader: (4)

I had the same issues and replaced by brake booster. Occasionally I still have the issue. I don't know, but it could be due to hot brake pads? I know when I brake a lot and then park, key off the car, come back, I have the stiff brake issue.

topspeed55

Most definitely a leak somewhere. Check the hose that goes from the booster to the intake manifold, search for visible cracks on the hose as well as the check valve. I'd probably replace the hose and valve first and if that doesn't solve it then unfortunately you may be looking at a leaking booster. Doubt it's the master cylinder problem as that usually causes the brake pedal to drop to the floor.

WhatYaGot

Any idea on how to replace the booster check valve? I heard it's easy to do and also looks like it's easy to access.