Power Steering fluid leaks

G

Griffin1340

New member
OK, I'm about fed up with the drips-n-puddles in the driveway..[but the rust free underbody is nice!:D ]..how do I go about tracking down a PS fluid leak?
I replaced the power Steering hose from pump to rack...but still lose fluid by about a pint a week. I've checked the fittings as best I can with the close fit of the V6..but still can't quite track it down. What to do?

By the way...'91 4Runner V6
 
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Get in there and degrease all the PS parts, Simple Green whatever. Let it dry and don't drive it. Throw some jackstands under the front. With the motor running (IN NEUTRAL WITH THE REAR WHEELS CHOCKED) have someone steer the wheel left to right as you inspect for leaks. This may entail you getting under the truck but by steering the wheel this will put more of a load on the system and should show the leak quicker.
 
If your lines and connections check out then check the power steering pump.

If your ps steering hoses and connections check out, then I would suggest checking out the back of the power steering pump itself. My 1992 3.0L 4runner had a moderate power steering leak that had me topping off every 4 days or so. It was driving my nuts until a friend of mine who use to work for toyota told me that the o-ring on the back of the pump fails. He recommend that I just replace the o-ring and I would be good to go. There's a cap held by two bolts which houses a o-ring about 2.5-3 inches in diameter. More than likely the o-ring has seen better days. There are two options. One, purchase a complete power steering seal kit from the Toyota parts department dealer(costs about $40). Pros, comes with all the necessary seals to rebuild your power steering pump. Cons, you have to buy the whole kit in order to get the o-ring you need., and you will need some special tools to replace all the seals.
Or two, buy a remanufactured power steering pump(anywhere from $125-200). Pros, you get a new remanufactured ps pump. Cons, you might get a crappy reman pump.
I went with option one because it was the cheapest and plus I wouldn't want a reman pump to replace the original one anyway. But other than that, replacing the o-ring should repair it. If you have any questions, just let me know. Later!
 
For power steering seal replacement:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7413160&postcount=12
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB11&Number=961736
http://napaonline.com/MasterPages/N...rtNumber=7007&Description=P/S+Worm+Shaft+Seal

NAPA power steering shaft seal # NOS7007
Specs:
I.D.:0.7090"
O.D.:1.2690"
Width:0.2760

You don't need the whole rebuild kit. A cheap ($5) and readily available NOS7007 seal from NAPA will reseal the input for both the early and later style IFS boxes. It is the same seal used for the PS pump. On the early boxes you can replace the seal w/o even removing the box from the truck.

Sidney
 
If heaven forbid, you dont find a leak, like i didnt, it could be the vacum sensor. Mine had gon bad on my 94 3.0 4x4 and i didnt know where my power steering fluid was going. I replaced hoses, and the pump and then gave up. My local mech found the problem in 45 mins. It was relativly cheap, 68$ plus labor but ever since havnt had a problem.
 
so what would i look for on the internet to find that o-ring because i can see where it comes from and thats the same spot that you are talking about. can iuse any o-ring?
 
Pull the o ring out and take it to your local Napa auto parts store, or a GOOD parts store in your area. Show it to them and they will match it up to one with their o ring assortment. This will be the only way you can find the proper o ring for the pump. Need to see not only the correct diameter but the thickness of the o ring too.

And for everyone's sake, report back with either the specs, or better yet, an actual part number of some sort, for the rest of the community!
 
Because nobody has said it yet, use ATF. That's what the system is designed for. Power steering fluid is probably the number one cause of leaks in Toyota power steering systems.
 
And that's no B.S. right there! KidVerm is absolutely correct on this! Use ATF for fluid and never ever, under any circumstance, use power steering fluid or synthetic power steering fluid in there!

Been there, done that, ended up flushing the whole effin' system out TWICE to get it to work properly again! And, aside from leaks and other sealing issues, I used Valvoline synth power steering fluid in the box once and almost broke my finger trying to get the wheel to turn! It was like I filled the box with rubber super-boundy balls! Turn left, it would literally SNAP back with vengeance!!!
 
2000 Gen 3 4runner I apparently have a slow Power steering leak - not enough to drip on the ground. I was quoted $1300 to fix. I was thinking of maybe mixing a small amount of leak stopper in the fluid? Maybe not a good idea any thoughts? Anyway I could maybe just top it up with fluid; any brand recommended?
 
Dougal said:
2000 Gen 3 4runner I apparently have a slow Power steering leak - not enough to drip on the ground. I was quoted $1300 to fix. I was thinking of maybe mixing a small amount of leak stopper in the fluid? Maybe not a good idea any thoughts? Anyway I could maybe just top it up with fluid; any brand recommended?
Click to expand...

What's in there now? I bet it's power steering fluid. If it is, flush it with the cheapest ATF you can find, then fill it with the cheapest ATF you can find. Five bucks says that takes care of your leak.

If not, and you don't feel like finding and fixing it yourself, just keep topping it off when necessary. $1300 is the kind of price they charge people who don't know any better. ;)
 
Take it for what it's worth but I had a slow leak that would leave a some small drips where I park my T4R on the side of my house. I checked the connections and couldn't relate the leak to any of those so I used Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. After driving around a bit the leaking appears to have stopped (no more drips).

I will say that I don;t drive my T4R that often. ....perhaps once every 1-2 weeks to either haul something or just keep the battery charged. If this were my daily, I might think different about adding a stop leak product. Then again, I'm actually surprised how well this stuff worked. If the pump ever starts leaking again, I will likely just replace it so any time I get out of it now is just a bonus to me. ....it's been about 6 months now IIRC.
 
Chaps thanks for the feedback. It's the same fluid that was in there when I bought it 50K miles ago (It's now about 110K miles). It hasn't gone down far enough where I have even needed to top it off. I'll try the flush with ATF first then and go from there.
 
I have not personally seen a Toyota come with ATF in the PS system. I worked there from 2002-2010 (mechanic). When repairs were preformed we would use Toyota power steering fluid. Typically I would see ATF in cars that were leaking badly and the customer just put something in to get them to the dealer. ATF will work but I will normally stay with the fluid the car is shipped with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Toyota brand power steering fluid is ATF just so you know. Ive started running ATF in my other vehicles power steering systems once I read about why some companies spec that. Higher heat tolerences, better water resistance, better lubricity and it doesnt change its fluid dynamic properties with temp changes nearly as much. ATF is designed to withstand harsher operating conditions and is better for seals and o rings. I also use ATF as assembly lube for almost everything.
 
Changed the power steering fluid using the turkey baster method with ATF (Dextron III alternative). I don't have any tools where I currently am. I haven't seen anywhere that stated how much fluid you need but in the end I changed out maybe about a quart using this method. This was getting tedious so I left it at that (about 10X refills/drain). I thought I was going to go through a lot more fluid.
 
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junkyardbiker said:
Toyota brand power steering fluid is ATF just so you know. Ive started running ATF in my other vehicles power steering systems once I read about why some companies spec that. Higher heat tolerences, better water resistance, better lubricity and it doesnt change its fluid dynamic properties with temp changes nearly as much. ATF is designed to withstand harsher operating conditions and is better for seals and o rings. I also use ATF as assembly lube for almost everything.
Click to expand...


ATF is typically red and smells like ATF
Toyota stuff was clear and smelled like Power steering fluid. I definitely would not have put that in my transmission.

Your right though ATF works fine. We just didn't use it at the dealer.
 
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