Hi all... New here to the forum.

Just purchased my first 7.3 diesel F-250 last Thursday. Its a 1997 w/135k miles. Of course, there are a few things that need attention.

The brake fluid level is fine. I checked the front pads & rotors...they are fine. The brake pedal feels fine, like it should. But, the brake light is on & it is really hard to stop. I read in the owners book about a pulley drive vacuum pump (brake booster). It gave NO detailed info. about this...said to take it to a mechanic. Or dealer. I'm no mechanic, but I can make some repairs myself.

Any advise is helpful.

Johnny B. (Selma, NC)

 

These trucks have a vacuum pump. It is located up top on the drivers side of the engine and is driven by the fan belt. Follow the hose from the pump and you will see it goes to a manifold located on the drivers side fender weld. The manifold distributes vacuum to various components including the brake booster. Also on the manifold is a vacuum switch which will turn on the the brake light if low on vacuum. First thing to do is visually check all hoses on that manifold for loose connections and overall quality. Follow the hoses the best you can and see if you can find a bad one. It's quite possible the pump itself is defective as they are known to go bad.

 

The vacuum pump should also drive your cabin environment controls. If the pump is dead you won't get a transition from defrost to floor to vent etc (have to check while engine is on of course).

I believe if the pump is dead you can get the brake light.

Of course as mentioned above you definitely want to check the hoses. A bad enough leak would also be symptomatic of a dead pump.

 

Thanks guys... I will check this out when I get home today.

Johnny B.

F O R D .... The heartbreak of today's Chevrolet!

 

Yep..I think its the vacuum pump. I pulled main hose off the pump....let the motor run idle...very little suction. My father-in-law checked it while I revved it up...still very little suction. And, the cabin controls are very slow in changing.

I see now there is already a thread about replacing this pump.

Thanks!

Johnny B.

 

Good job, it's easy to replace and welcome to . Post back and let us know how it turned out.

 

Hey guys...

Went to Auto Zone today...got a new pump for $99. Got home...had it changed out in about 40 minutes. Had to do a pulley change too. That took a little effort...but, I got it.

Started up, & wholaa...No brake light! GOT BRAKES!

Thanks for ya'lls input!

Johnny B.

F O R D ....The heartbreak of today's Chevrolet!

 

Thanks for asking and letting us know how it turned out. I always like to learn new things.

 

Thanks again for everyone's help.

(And I'm raising my post)


Johnny B.

 

That reman. vacuum pump has already quit! Its only been on the truck 1 1/2 week. The brake light just came on again about 2 miles from home tonight. I still got the receipt....I guess I'll try another one.

 

When i bought my truck in november, it had brakes but when you steped on the pedal it pull away from you and went to the floor. And you had to pull it back with your toes. Let me tell you, that was the longest ride of my life when picking it up. So i pulled the pump off asap and bought a brand new one from a local auto store 210$ threw it on after replacing the pulley. Still no change. Turned out to be the brake booster for 60$. As far as the pump goes, auto zones are junk.