Chrysler Repair: ABS brakes on 1990 Chrysler 5th Ave., vacuum gauge, power brake booster

Question
 The power assist or vacuum assist does not work,
so when brakes are applied they will stop car,
requires tremendous foot pressure & too much
distance to stop.  The car has in excess of 100,000 miles  but pads  are good.   What would your suggestion be for repairing system?

Answer
My first suggestion would be to check both ends of the large vacuum hose that connects the intake manifold to the power brake booster canister to see if you can locate a loose fitting of a crack in that hose. If that checks out and the system still is not "boosting", then you will need a vacuum gauge to do a pair of tests of the leakage of air into the vacuum system (one with brake pedal not applied, one with pedal applied lightly) to access whether the booster is defective. So it is either a leak in the vacuum line to the booster (or possibly a leak in another vacuum hose that is allowing for too low a vacuum to exist at the intake manifold) or the booster itself is no longer working. I'd carefully check the vacuum lines connected to the intake manifold.
Roland