Rock Hard Brake Pedal

Hey Everyone,

Thanks in advance is likely in order here. I will try and keep this short and sweet, but bear with me here.

I daily drive a 2013 TRD OR with an auto trans. A few weeks back I lost power steering when I was out and about only to find out that the rack and pinion had rusted through the housing (honestly my truck has not liked it's life in north east Ohio).

I have since replaced the lines, rack, u-joint in the steering column, and installed an inline filter. I also replaced the alternator which was super crunchy (found this while I had the belt off checking pulleys and purging the old fluid out of the pump).

When I finally buttoned everything up and took the truck to get an alignment, I noticed the pedal was very very stiff. It was a 5 minute drive that had my attention on the steering system so I didn't pay it much mind. As I've driven the truck more, I noticed that this is definitely a new phenomenon. I don't know if its worth mentioning, but the battery did die, as I had left the keys in the ignition on ACC to turn the steering wheel while replacing the rack. It did need a charge before starting. I just wanted to mention because electronics do weird things when under volted.

Has anyone had similar issues with these electronic boosters? It very much feels like a failed vacuum booster and feels like stepping on a basketball.

 

Is your ABS and/or red Brake warning light on?
Any ABS codes?
Have you checked the ABS No1 and ABS No2 fuses?

 

I have no light illuminated on the dash, so I did not check the fuses. I will check and report back.

 

Any hoses come loose, or break open the brake lines by accident

 

Booster fail?

 

My buddy had a 4r with this same issue. A brake booster replacement is what he needed. Since this started after doing other repairs, check the vacuum line running to the booster and inspect the rest of the brake system to see exactly where the issue is at. Sounds like a booster though.

If the lines were cracked or low on fluid the pedal would fall to the floor and if the master cylinder was having an issue the pedal likely wouldn't feel confident and require you to hold it in place manually or have very little bite \ power.

 

OP has the Hydraulic Booster/Master Cylinder Unit not the Vacuum Booster and standard Master Cylinder, hopefully it's not that but it may be.

 

So ABS fuses 1 and 2 have continuity across pins. I will double check the ABS sensors on the wheels to be sure that nothing is awry there tomorrow. To me it sounds and feels like a booster. It is unfortunately very expensive. I was hoping to find some troubleshooting advice.

It seemed super convenient that it happened while the truck was in the air.

 

It sounds like it may have failed but I would still scan it and see if there's any ABS/VSC codes present first.

 

Recommendation on a scanner? I come from audi/vw world which doesn't help me on the scan tools front.

 

I can't really speak on any other than the ones I have which are the SnapOn Verus Edge, Autel MS906BT, and the ThinkDiag bluetooth dongle.
The ThinkDiag is very capable for the cost (~$90-130 for the tool and ~$75-120/year for enhanced functions) if you have a smartphone, it's kinda buggy on some makes but I have had no issues with it on Toyota stuff as of yet.

 

Still sounds like common failed booster behavior.

 

I managed to confirm that the pump on the booster is energizing. There is an audible whirring when pedal is depressed. I was hoping that it wasn't tbh lol. Not sure where that puts me but for the sake of documentation, I figured I'd share.

 

Yes I agree. It not being a vacuum system I'm accustomed to, I am reaching out as I scratch my head.

 

This is all the information I can find about the hydraulic booster in service info.