MG Car Repair: master cylinder and booster, smooth pavement, master cyl

Question
How do I know if my master cyl. and power booster is bad? I have a 77 MGB, I believe it's the roadster 110cu.in.

Answer
Hi James,

The first signs that a booster is going bad is that you have good brake pedal but it requires extra pressure to slow the car down. It acts like you have to put both feet on the pedal to slow down. A quick test is to go slow and hit the brake on smooth pavement hard to see if you can squall the tires.

As for a master cylinder going bad you start loosing brake fluid and the pedal goes way down and is soft.

Howard