On Vacation, Power Steering Problem

M

MarkP

New member
Hi. New member here. I am not a mechanic, but can do and have done minor service on my own vehicles... Brakes, Plugs, Belts... stuff like that. I live in PA and am on vacation in ME and I rely heavily on my 2004 4Runner Sport (130K miles) to get me and my wife and canoe and bikes to places in ME we want to go. We have a week left and I am devastated because my power steering isn't working well and I am afraid that it may be unsafe to continue driving it. I plan to take it in Monday to a mechanic. I have some questions, if you don't mind.

It steers fine, or nearly fine, at speeds greater than 30 mph, but very hard at speeds less than that. Which makes me think it is the pump. The belt looks fine and the fluid level is fine. The only thing that seems wrong on inspection is that I obviously need a new boot or perhaps a new CV on the drivers side... But the hard steering is most noticeable when I turn the wheel when it's not moving, which makes me think it's not the CV. It does not click when I turn it... and there is no noise that I can hear, either belt related or grinding in the pump while driving.

My questions: Do pumps fail all at once? or slowly. Is there something I am not considering? But mostly, Should I take it to a dealer (the closest city is Waterville) or is this a problem, assuming pump failure, that can be handled by a competent private local shop. I am, of course, concerned about the cost of OEM Toyota parts... Or should I not worry about that?

I need to get back to PA safely, of course, but I don't want the whole week ruined by having to sit here and cool my jets...

Thanx in advance and sorry for the "poor me's" LOL

Anyone near Waterville on the forum that could point me to a good shop?
 
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Oh yea... I am the original owner, until now, now significant problems with it, except front bearings... No repairs have been made on the steering system at all. The power steering fluid is dark. There were no metal grindings on the reservoir dip stick. Since tomorrow is Sunday, I have time to do rudimentary troubleshooting. Thanx again!
 
MarkP said:
Hi. New member here. I am not a mechanic, but can do and have done minor service on my own vehicles... Brakes, Plugs, Belts... stuff like that. I live in PA and am on vacation in ME and I rely heavily on my 2004 4Runner Sport (130K miles) to get me and my wife and canoe and bikes to places in ME we want to go. We have a week left and I am devastated because my power steering isn't working well and I am afraid that it may be unsafe to continue driving it. I plan to take it in Monday to a mechanic. I have some questions, if you don't mind.

It steers fine, or nearly fine, at speeds greater than 30 mph, but very hard at speeds less than that. Which makes me think it is the pump. The belt looks fine and the fluid level is fine. The only thing that seems wrong on inspection is that I obviously need a new boot or perhaps a new CV on the drivers side... But the hard steering is most noticeable when I turn the wheel when it's not moving, which makes me think it's not the CV. It does not click when I turn it... and there is no noise that I can hear, either belt related or grinding in the pump while driving.

My questions: Do pumps fail all at once? or slowly. Is there something I am not considering? But mostly, Should I take it to a dealer (the closest city is Waterville) or is this a problem, assuming pump failure, that can be handled by a competent private local shop. I am, of course, concerned about the cost of OEM Toyota parts... Or should I not worry about that?

I need to get back to PA safely, of course, but I don't want the whole week ruined by having to sit here and cool my jets...

Thanx in advance and sorry for the "poor me's" LOL

Anyone near Waterville on the forum that could point me to a good shop?
Click to expand...

I dunno where you're staying but [MENTION=93514]LobstaMobsta[/MENTION] has a shop on MDI and is definitely competent
 
MarkP said:
It steers fine, or nearly fine, at speeds greater than 30 mph, but very hard at speeds less than that. Which makes me think it is the pump. The belt looks fine and the fluid level is fine.
Click to expand...

Any chance the center diff is locked, or if V6, it was left in 4wd?
 
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It is a V6 and, no it wasn't left in 4wd... Just straight up 2wd... Wasn't gonna need it till later this week. I considered changing the fluid out, and if things don't go we'll in the AM that is what I will do.... If it were the pump, and I decided to live with it, would I risk damaging the rack and pinion?
 
I would think that if the pump failed it could contaminate the rack and pinion with metal particles but I am no expert on this.
 
Where are you in maine? i wouldn't worry about it too much, generally pumps will start making noise before they up and quit. My pump failed but it was leaking by the shaft. But it still worked fine. You may have something simple as a stiff tie rod. If it is not actually impeding your driving then I would just wait until you go home.. Yes central maine Toyota in Waterville or downcast Toyota in brewer. Or I am in bar harbor
 
I'm going through the same problem right now. Just drove from new mexico to texas with the hard steering at slow speeds. My fluids and belt are fine too.
 
I have a bad feeling its the power steering rack. BUT, before I jump to conclusions, look from where the steering wheel in the cabin connects down to the steering rack. Follow all of the connections, look for rust, etc. it is a big possibility it could be the part (don't remember the name, sorry) that connects the steering wheel to the power steering rack. It can be seen in the engine bay. I will post a link to a video I found very helpful from a awesome guy that posts auto repair videos on YouTube when I get to my laptop.
 
Sounds more like the u-joint in the main steering columns is rusting-frozen up. Look in for the drivers side front wheel well, pull the goofy rubber flap back to see it. It's obvious once you remove the flap, the plastic pins pop out, use a screw driver to pry them.

If that look all rusted and nasty, try alot of penetrating oil, brush it a bit and see if it loses up.

Eric the car guy replaced a whole rack, turned out to be this joint, sounds similar symptoms. Gotta be cheaper that a rack....
 
Thanx guys... [MENTION=93514]LobstaMobsta[/MENTION]... At Central Maine in Waterville now... Service manager has been very accommodating and will put it up on the lift as soon as he can, even though it is a busy Monday morning... We did a couple of things in the parking lot and he doesn't think it is the pump. He tells me these things can be difficult to figure out sometimes, LOL... If he can tell me that there seems to be nothing catastrophic that he can see and that it looks safe to drive... We are off to Lower Richardson Lake for some canoe camping!!
[MENTION=19164]Greydog[/MENTION] ... He looked at the column and mentioned something about the u joint and said it looks OK.

It is not that it is hard to steer, I can handle that, I just don't want to be out in the wilderness and have the thing go to ground, LOL.
 
OK ... Service manager says it is the lower steering arm... The needle bearing is stiff.. Says it is safe to drive, he is gonna spray some penetrating oil in there and since he doesn't have the part, I am on my way!

Apparently this will be a 3-4 hundred dollar job at Toyota.

BTW... I know dealerships get a bad rap, and sometimes it is deserved, not this place. This guy at Central Maine Toyota treated me great
 
MarkP said:
OK ... Service manager says it is the lower steering arm... The needle bearing is stiff.. Says it is safe to drive, he is gonna spray some penetrating oil in there and since he doesn't have the part, I am on my way!

Apparently this will be a 3-4 hundred dollar job at Toyota.

BTW... I know dealerships get a bad rap, and sometimes it is deserved, not this place. This guy at Central Maine Toyota treated me great
Click to expand...

What was the final result with this issue?

Reason I ask, is that my '03 just last week seems to have developed a simular problem with the power steering. At highway speeds I don't notice anything unusual, but, at low speed while making turns it feels like the steering is binding when the wheel is not centered. I also notice the binding when the wheel is trying to return to the center position after a turn. I checked the fluid level, and it is ok, and I don't hear any unusual noise from the pump. I noted that the dealer you went to mentioned a problem with the "lower steering arm" "needle bearing is stiff", which has me a bit confused because with a rack and pinion system I didn't think there was a 'lower steering arm'?

I am very interested in what the outcome was.

PS: After some further research on this issue, I thing Greydog is probably right. I have found many references to this lower shaft assy. u-joint rusting and binding, which causes the symption I seem to be having. According to others, the part # is 45203-35310, and is going for between 160.00 and 180.00 online. I also found just the u-joint on Amazon (under this part #) for 14.95, but I guess it depends on how difficult it would be to replace just the joint instead of the whole lower shaft assy. I am going to take a closer look at mine today, and see what I can do.

PPS; I checked the u-joint in the lower shaft assy., in the steering column yesterday, and it was the problem. I managed to get some spray lubricant/rust remover (GIBS) on the u-joint, and with the front end on jack stands I worked the steering back and forth until it no longer binds. I know it won't last long, so I ordered the replacement u-joint from Amazon for 14.95 (free shipping), and it should be here next week. I will pull the lower shaft assy., and replace the u-joint then.
 
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Update; The new u-joint for the lower steering shaft arrived, It looked to be the correct one. I removed the lower shaft yesterday, which took a while because of the rust issues. But, replacing the u-joint turned out to be a problem. Unlike the driveshaft u-joints, which usually use some type of retaining clip to hold the endcaps of the u-joint in place, this u-joint appears to be held in place by a pressure fit only. After cleaning off the assy., I decided to not replace the u-joint. It was working well, once lubricated, with no binding or play. And it looked like trying to replace the u-joint could do damage to the yokes, which I wouldn't be able to repair. So, I lubricated the u-joint again, cleaned all the connecting splines and upper slip connector and reinstalled the lower shaft. If it starts to act up again, I will have to get the entire lower shaft assy., and replace it.

So, I would suggest that trying to just replace the u-joint isn't going to be a reasonable solution. Just go for the lower shaft assy., and save the agravation.
 
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