Over the last couple of days, every time I use the brake pedal I hear a hissing sound. When the engine is at idle, applying the brakes occasionally causes it to stumble and risk stalling out. When I'm driving extremely slow and at idle, the power brakes will die, leaving me unassisted.
I don't think this is a very big safety risk simply because I rarely use my brakes anyways and I'm confident in my ability to stop the car manually, but it is something I obviously want to take care of. The check engine light came on today (as I was applying the brakes), so I definately need to take care of this soon...especially before emissions testing.
I'm almost certain my brake booster is dying, but I'm not 100% sure. I'm assuming my engine is stumbling because the booster is trying to pull to much vacuum, which drains excess power from the idling engine. I can find a new booster online for ~$140, but I figure a mechanic is going to want $400-500+.
For those more mechanically inclined, is this something I could tackle on my own? I have a pretty solid understanding of car components/function, but I have essentially zero experience tinkering under the hood. The brake booster seems pretty accessible, but I figure I'll have to drain the brakes...which I'm nervous to do.
On a scale of 1-10, what would you say the difficulty is? Should I attempt the fix or would it be better to let a professional handle the problem? Biking to school is looking more enticing every day...
- LostCause