<E28> 528e Stiff Brakes

[Ed Mellinger <meed@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Digest -

My '86 528e (with ABS) has the symptoms of a bad brake bomb (hydro
accumulator): stiff pedal, delay before braking effort is felt.  To my
mind it feels as if all the brake fluid is squeezing through a pinhole
orifice... the brakes are there, it just feels like there's a lot of
resistance in the hydraulic system.

The problem is, my car doesn't HAVE a brake bomb... it has a vacuum
booster :-(.   I've replaced pads and flex hoses (with OEM parts)
without effect; ABS passes self test and cycles normally when I stomp
the pedal on a wet road.  I'm planning to swap cars with a friend and
see if his feels the same... but I can't believe BMW would equip a car
with brakes this bad; they are the world's most "un-tappable" brakes.

My suspicions now center on the vacuum booster, but before I shotgun
*it*, I'm wondering if any other 528e listers have had similar
impressions of their brake system, and if they found anything to do to
improve it.

Any comments appreciated, as usual...

Ed Mellinger
Monterey CA
'86 528eA

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