Break booster

Troubleshooting a stiff brake pedal on my 2011. The boost pump is running every time I press the brakes. I’ve never worked this style
of brake system.
Anyone have any advice? Parts seem to be very expensive and hard to source.

 

It's always good to include the year, mileage and model of what you are asking about, as well as specific symptoms and any actions taken so far.

I'm going to guess, based on your post, that you have an OR model. But guessing isn't good.

 

It’s 2011. It’s not tagged so I’m not 100% sure what model it is. It’s 4x4 with rear locking diff so it is an OR model. I haven’t done anything with the brakes yet because I have no idea what I’m looking at. From the research I’ve done I think it’s a hydro boost set up, ran off the power steering pump instead of vacuum. A pump runs everytime I press the brake pedal. I’m assuming I am loosing pressure somewhere because my power steering is lacking just a little bit. Not hard to steer just return isn’t great.

 

It’s 2011. It’s not tagged so I’m not 100% sure what model it is. It’s 4x4 with rear locking diff so it is an OR model. I haven’t done anything with the brakes yet because I have no idea what I’m looking at. From the research I’ve done I think it’s a hydro boost set up, ran off the power steering pump instead of vacuum. A pump runs everytime I press the brake pedal. I’m assuming I am loosing pressure somewhere because my power steering is lacking just a little bit. Not hard to steer just return isn’t great.

 

It's not hydroboost. The TRD OR models have an electric/hydraulic boost system. There is an electric pump at the brake booster, and an accumulator that provide brake assist.

You should get 3-4 pedal pushes before you hear the motor run.

Buying a used one, or a new one for $1,200 os the solution. The fiche says it needs "programming" but as long as you get the right model for your vehicles options you just need to install it and use a scan tool to properly bleed the system. Don't attempt to bleed without the scan tool, you won't be successful.

Check out car-part.com to find a used one, or one of the various online dealers to find the exact model for your truck.

 

Is there anyway to determine what part is bad? The pump runs, I’m assuming I’m loosing pressure somewhere because it runs everytime I press the brakes. Also where do I get a scan tool to bleed the brakes?

 

One of the downsides of the TRD OR booster is that there are no components to replace. If there is a problem you need to replace the entire unit. Unless you are losing massive amounts of brake fluid somewhere your problem is likely at the booster assembly itself. However it should throw a code indicating a booster problem. I'd make sure you dont have some sort of linkage problem first before loading the parts cannon.

The scanner can be tricky. I bought one of the techstream Mini VCI cables off Amazon for $30 and downloaded a virtual box image i found on another site (not going to link that). Combine all that with a windows laptop and you can run toyota techstream which is what the dealer would use to perform the bleed procedure. Any bi directional scanner would be able to do it too, but those are much more expensive then your cheapo code scanner. Most shops would be able to perform the bleed procedure if they have a decent scanner. getting them to understand what you need on the other hand is always a challenge.

 

So I topped off my fluid a few months ago to make sure I wasn’t leaking and I’m still full as off Monday. I was also curious why my ABS wasn’t throwing a code.
Also I’ve own the truck for 4-5 years now and the brakes have been the same the whole time. I thought that was normal.