1995 Dodge Intrepid Loss of power assist

Tiny
DUVALKG
  • MEMBER
  • 1995 DODGE INTREPID
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 90,000 MILES
A few months ago, my mother had an incident with her car where it suddenly lost power steering and power brakes. She managed to stop the car, and when I got there, the car was fine. She continued to drive the car for 2-3 months without further incident, however, yesterday the same thing happened again. By the time "help" arrived, the car was fine. What could cause this intermittent problem?
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 AT 10:46 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,755 POSTS
First, they are two seperate units that can fail when the engine dies. Is that what happened? Is it both PS and brakes that are affected?
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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 AT 12:07 AM
Tiny
DUVALKG
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
I questioned her about this and she denies that the engine died. On this particular day, she says that she drove without incident to the store and as she accelerated from a stop in the store parking lot, she realized that she had no power brakes or power steering, and that the car was still running.
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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 AT 8:53 AM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
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That is odd. If that is the case, there has to be two seperate problems, or the engine idle was so low, the PS pump didn't assist. Same with the brakes. Have you checked to see if there are any leaks in the vacuum hose from the intake to the power brake booster? Also, have you ever checked to see if the booster will hold pressure by using a gauge?
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Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 AT 9:48 PM
Tiny
DUVALKG
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  • 3 POSTS
Have not checked those things but will do that tonight.
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Thursday, August 12th, 2010 AT 4:43 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 109,755 POSTS
Let me know what you find.

Joe
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Thursday, August 12th, 2010 AT 11:40 PM

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