[elhigh]

I've had the power assist go out on my brakes once. I thought I was going to die.

Firstly, the brakes were designed for power assist, so without it the pedal seemed to be only making suggestions to the brakes. I'm certain I could have decent brakes without the power assist, but the pedal travel would probably have to be about a foot and a half to make it happen.

Secondly, the vehicle is a diesel 2-ton with an automatic transmission. There was no way to achieve ANY kind of vacuum by shifting, or restarting, or anything. The vacuum pump belt had broken, so that meant no power assist. Blimey.

Thirdly, it's bad workplace karma when you work for a Christian ministry and the vacuum pump belt goes, and suddenly you're exercising your vocabulary in a non-Christian manner. Oops.

If having more power assist for braking is important to you, why not grab a couple vacuum reservoirs at the junkyard and just plumb them in? You'll have a few more stops left in the system that way.