Power Steering Fluid Flush

[Supersonic]

Going to copy/paste this from my other forum post, I think it will explain how easy it was to do. It will be 2 post and I recommend reading thru both.

just off the top of my head seems when I did this on a Rav4, the method I used was

Jack font up slightly so you can turn the steering wheel easily,
then find the return line at the fill reservoir,
put rags under you will lose some fluid,
somehow plug the bottom of the reservoir quickly as you have
the return line routed to a catch container,
use an extension hose if possible, though I'm thinking on the V6 4Runner you might have room to put a catch container under the hood,
vacuum what you can out of reservoir,
replace with new, the first time or two you can over fill because you will now
go and turn the steering wheel back and forth as you
frequently check and fill reservoir.
at some point when you have drained and filled enough, probably run the motor a moment to clear out old fluid in the power-steering pump.

Basically, your filling in new fluid as you drain off the old.

Probably going to do this Saturday, being I likely don't have enough fluid today, and I am going with the manufacturers recommended fluid which is probably Trans fluid if this 4Runner is like the Matrix.

 

[Supersonic]

Okay done, but to review and add things I may have missed or not know,

first I blocked the rear wheels and jacked up the front far enough to relieve some weight for turning the wheel,

the top hose at the reservoir is the return line, the only thing necessary to disconnect, trick here is to either siphon the reservoir dry first, or catch the fluid as it is disconnected.

One side , the rubber hose, comes from the power steering pump, it is a return line that you will fill into a waste container; or if you have a 3/8 coupling and hose you could add an extension onto the return line and allow enough length to put in ones desired waste container at end. I used a cut off plastic jug to place under the return line, you should find a long narrow pan and fit it in there much easier too, I just used what was handy and scrunched it up to fit.

The other-side is the part of the reservoir the hose attaches to, and will need to be 'plugged', though I really didn't plug it, just attached a 3/8 inch tube and just routed it up high enough over the reservoir no fluid would drain over top.

I also opted to release a hold down for the wiring harness located near the radiator to make a little more room, but now thinking you might be able even move the reservoir some depending on how it is mounted, still enough room to work any way you choose;

>>Recap, front jacked up slightly-not off the ground, return line into waste container. return side of reservoir 'plugged'.

Filled reservoir to the top turned steering wheel all the way left, filled reservoir to the top, turned steering wheel all the way right, filled reservoir,

then I opted to drain my waste container into a bigger bucket so I wouldn't have to finagle it out as it approached a full status.

Did the turns and fill another 2 times,

then ran the motor for an instant to replenish the pump, and fluid shot out so fast it was foaming.

filled the reservoir again doing the turns left and right.

then I didn't refill the reservoir, turning as far only to lower the level below where I could take my tube off without spilling fluid and reattach the return line.

Now fill the reservoir to proper level, turn the wheel back and forth a couple times to burp the system of any air, check and fill to proper level again.

That should do it, check level again after some use. Your results may vary, always check for leaks.

I used mostly Walmart's Super Tech High Mileage Trans Fluid with some Valvoline Max Life. My thinking here is I wanted some properties of the Max Life, but the low viscosity at full strength may not be the most desired state for power steering system.

 

[Supersonic]

Just doing the oil change now, 2 things I do is let the oil drain for a long time and after the engine is no longer hot, but before re-installing the plug run some new fluid thru to help clean out old fluid in bottom of the pan. I may used about 0.1 or 0.2 of a quart for this.

And 3/8 inner diameter tubing is good for the filter drain. Get a good length of it next time you can. It works great doing the power steering flush and for gravity filling the transmission too. I would say 'a must have' for doing maintenance on this vehicle.