It's been so long since there was a Chevrolet available without power brakes that it's safe to say the Chevy brake booster has become ubiquitous. There's a Chevy brake booster on pretty much every Bowtie vehicle on the road these days, and has been for thirty years. So why has the Chevy brake booster become standard equipment when it was once optional? For one thing, government safety regulations have affected the use of power brakes, for which the Chevy brake booster is essential. A Chevy brake booster allows anyone from Big Shirtless Ron all the way down to Grandma Ethel to stop your Caprice quickly and effortlessly. So how does the Chevy brake booster accomplish this engineering feat? It doesn't involve heat or electricity: Instead, the Chevy brake booster works off of engine vacuum. By employing a suction force, or vacuum, to one side of the Chevy brake booster, carefully metered atmospheric air applied to the other side greatly amplifies the pressure you put on the brake pedal. So, in a nutshell, a small amount of force pushing on the Chevy brake booster creates a large amount of force on the brake master cylinder, stopping your car or truck. Simple, eh? Problems with the Chevy brake booster almost always stem back to vacuum issues-mainly that the Chevy brake booster either isn't getting enough vacuum or can't hold vacuum. Either condition will cause the Chevy brake booster to not provide assist, leaving you pressing with all your might on the brake pedal trying to stop your Silverado before you plow through an intersection. Needless to say, a malfunctioning Chevy brake booster isn't the kind of repair you can put off. So check your vacuum hoses to make sure they're airtight, and if that doesn't solve the problem, a new Chevy brake booster is in order.