I was driving my Ford E350 van (miles=120,00) yesterday when the brakes gave out. I had it towed to the shop. The shop found nothing wrong after a test drive; they suggest replacing the master cylinder, but they cannot guarantee this will fix the problem. I am worried because it might be something else that is wrong!

The Ford van had been driven for 25 minutes, the brakes working without any problem. Driving slowly ( about 10mph) down a narrow suburban lane, I braked as I approached the stop sign. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor with no response, three times. Simultaneously, there was a loud grinding noise. I was able to turn and stop at the curb and did not drive any longer. The emergency brake was not employed during the driving time.

Please advise me. I do not want to find out the hard way that there is some other cause for the break failure!

THANKS!

John