Broken Brake Proportional Valve Rod (replacement options?)

2004 4x4 2.7l 210,000 mi Tacoma with a topper and some oldish OME suspension. Notice this the other day when I was giving everything a once over.

The BPV rod is broken where it actuates off of the diff. Suggestions on fixing this? Haven't been able to find that piece alone, just the ~$300+ whole unit. Not sure what is under the rubber boot. Is it weldable?

Been getting some pretty terrible gas mileage (12-14) and have gone through a bunch of other things to help improve it on recommendations from other threads (plugs, cleaning throttle body, checking clearance, fuel filter). Engine runs smooth as far as I can tell. Just got replacement vacuum lines as some are pretty cracked.

Could this broken rod be causing the brakes to drag?

Thanks for the help.

 

Obviously the boot held some water in there. It's just spring steel, should be weldable.

worried about mpg.. your profile pic has a huge ass camper in the bed. I'd look there before you worry about the rear brakes dragging.

 

Have just a basic topper now, that was from many moons ago and it got 19 on the highway surprisingly with that box on the back.

 

The LSPV can’t cause your brakes to drag if they’re adjusted correctly. It only reduces braking to the rear brakes (when the bed is unloaded).
It would be worth seeing if the brake drum spins freely to check for dragging, and then take the drum off to get eyes on the brake components, brake shoe conditions, etc.
Before I removed the LSPV entirely from my truck, I just cut the rod near the valve and zip tied it all the way up. That made almost no difference in the felt braking. I would recommend doing the same rather than spending a bunch of money on it.

 

I found that my LSPV failed…stopping with 100% front brake bias

these are my trial/tribuations when performing the LSPV delete

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/lspv-delete-correct-return-lines.820615/page-2