I posted this to the M-body group as well, but was hoping that maybe
someone in here my have an idea.

I have a 1986 Dodge Diplomat SE, with just shy of 190,000 (best
guess,
as it only has five digits on the odometer). I just got it back from
several hundred dollars of work on the front brakes. The problem is
that my brakes are still not up to standard. The pedal seems soft,
but
if released and re-pressed, it gets hard and barely operates the
brakes. I brought it back to the shop that did the work and they said
that the brakes are normal. They say that my problem is that my car
idles too roughly, and doesn't produce enough vacuum for the brakes'
power booster. They told me that I'd need to have the engine tuned-up
and the carburator rebuilt.
My question is: 1. Does this sound realistic? To me, it sounds like
they're trying to pass the buck about the brakes not working after I
paid them over eight hundred for their tender mercies.
And: 2. If this is the case, how much should I expect to shell out
for
this? If it isn't too tremendously difficult, I might be able to get
away with doing it myself. More likely though, I'll have to have
it "professionally" done.
Can anyone shed light on this? Thank you.
Matt