I recently found out I had a leak in a brake line. I took it to a mechanic and they replaced the brake line for me. ($700). Then I got the car back and now my brakes are making a hissing noise when I apply them. The pressure is very good in the pedal. I don‘t have to press down much for the car to stop. The mechanic told me the brake booster is probably going to go down the line. What the hell does that mean? Is is dangerous to be driving it like this? It‘s a 2000 pontiac sunfire. The car stops fine but its hissing from the pedal area. I can‘t afford to get it fixed right now and am wondering if it is dangerous to drive like this or if I can go a couple of weeks. If you have an explanation for why it could be doing this, that would be great. Also, a ballpark for how much it would cost to replace.
Find a different shop whatever else you decide to do. The shop that replaced your brake line charged you way too much and it appears that they may have caused damage to your brake booster. It's not normal for it to make a hissing sound.
Replacing a brake line for $700 is way too much. The hissing is air leaking when you apply the brakes. The brake system uses the Power Brake Booster to boost the force you apply on the brake pedal to assist in applying enough force to stop the vehicle. With out the Booster, you will need to apply much more force in order to stop the vehicle. It can be done but your leg muscles will fatigue after several brake applications. There really is no DIRECT danger if the Booster goes out but you should get it looked at by someone else. However more than likely, the vacuum line on the Booster probably has an air leak and is causing the hissing noise.
