September 7, 2026

2000 Tacoma power brake booster repair

Searching online to see what estimated costs are to do this job, I am shocked to see estimates on the order of $1400. Labor is 2.5 to 3.5 hours (for $350 to $450). I see parts estimated at $900, but I don't see how that can be unless the master cylinder gets replaced also, but even that is pretty crazy.

These two videos were a big help:

My vehicle has ABS, so the OEM part is 44610-04060. The parts guy (Cody) at the dealer verified this part number. This is for a vehicle with ABS brakes (why should that matter?) Net searches also turn up 44610-04050, which might also work.

Discontinued at the dealer

This is what I was told. I am not entirely surprise. I was wondering about the condition of units with 26 year old rubber deteriorating in warehouses.

My parts guy (Cody) gave me several pieces of information. First was that he says if you buy a third party part, expect to have to go through three of them before you get a good one. He suggested that a genuine part pulled from a junked vehicle would be a better bet, especially from some state that tends to have cool weather.

The above on Amazon amuses me. They say it will fit my vehicle and at that price, I might try it if the junkyard part that I ordered does not work out. Reviews are OK.

My part

I found a seller with a part from a 1997 Tacoma with 4 cyl engine. The price with shipping and tax is $72.64. It arried, and worked out just fine (see below).

Description said: 

"97 TOYOTA TACOMA 4x4 Brake booster oem used.
This was removed from a 1997 Toyota Tacoma 4cyl 2.7L 5 speed 4x4



Diagnosis


The pedal is hard and does not move down.  As one video shows, when you put your foot on the
pedal with the vehicle off, the pedal will be hard, but as soon as you start the vehicle,
you should feel the pedal drop.



We pulled the vac line and verified that the engine was pulling plenty of vacuum.
Then we pulled the check valve and verified it was working properly.
The I ordered a junkyard pull from Washingtom for $54 plus $20 shipping,
so $74.


The job


Videos always show the guy removing the bolts in a few seconds.
The reality is never like this.
The four master cylinder bolts are not too bad,
but the bolts inside under the dash are miserable.



You need a deep 12mm socket, because the studs on the booster are long.
On my vehicle, the bolt on the top left is behind some mysterious black
electrical thing mounted on a bracket.
It isn't too hard to get this out of the way.
Remove a single 10mm bolt on the front of it and it slides
towards you and then can dangle on its cable out of the way.



It seems reasonable to just pull the master cylinder forward, taking
care not to bend the brake lines.  However, this turned out to not
be the case and the master cylinder had to be removed.
Even after doing this, it was tough to get the thing out.
The hydraulic line from the clutch had to be carefully bent
to allow enogh clearance



I have been warned about the pedal adjustment.
Fortunately you don't need to remove the booster to change it.
This is all on the pedal side of the booster.
The first tip is to match the new unit to the old one.
If it is too tight, you may find that the brakes will end
up locked up and you will be stuck at the side of the road.
You want about 1/2 inch of free play in the pedal.



I just finished doing the install, and it works great!
But it took me most of a day to get done.




Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!





Tom's Tacoma pages / tom@mmto.org