hard brakes

My 91 XJ's brake pedal feels hard, like you are pushing on the ground. I changed the rear brakes,everything, and all the front was changed. I also blead everything.
I read some where to check the brake booster, now this is where I am feeling stupid...where is it at?? I know where it is normally, bolted to the master cylinder. On my XJ I dont see it there. It has abs And I traced lines , but I just don't know where it is.. So any help on both problems would be great.

The power brake booster is right behind the master cylinder. It is a large grey cylindrical device that can be recognized by the black rubber hose about 1/2 inch diameter sticking out which brings vacuum from the manifold. But now that you know where it is, how to check it? You may need to go to a shop that knows brakes.

On the other hand, if you go to a shop that knows both brakes AND XJ brakes, they may just tell you that's what you're stuck with - sucky brakes. I have an 88 and after going thru the whole system (including a new power brake booster) my brakes still get hot relatively easily, and when they do that no matter how hard I stand on the pedal my jeep just stops when it feels like it.:scared:

One thing to check: see if your front brake calipers are releasing. If their pistons are hanging up or if they are not sliding freely on their anchors, then they could be dragging and causing your front pads to overheat which could lead to a hard brake pedal.

I'll preface this with-- I haven't looked into ABS on these things in about two years, but if I remember correctly-- you've got the Bendix ABS system, the booster is an electric pump inboard of the master cylinder that feeds pressure to an accumulator. Failure of either/ both of these items will cause a hard pedal that replicates a bad booster in non-abs systems. Check for recalls on your vehicle before you spend anything, as I seem to remember a lifetime repair/ replacement of these items from Chryco.

Shorty said:

I'll preface this with-- I haven't looked into ABS on these things in about two years, but if I remember correctly-- you've got the Bendix ABS system, the booster is an electric pump inboard of the master cylinder that feeds pressure to an accumulator. Failure of either/ both of these items will cause a hard pedal that replicates a bad booster in non-abs systems. Check for recalls on your vehicle before you spend anything, as I seem to remember a lifetime repair/ replacement of these items from Chryco.

Click to expand...

This is what I must have...I will look in to the recalls