How to change Power Steering Fluid

[COYS]

I changed to DTE 24 and then the PS pump started leaking. I suggest staying the the MaxLife ATF. I may switch back to the ATF and see if the leak stops. If not, I will have to rebuild the pump although that is the long term solution.

TLDR: I don't think it matters so long as you get either in there and properly bled out per FSM

I changed to DTE 24 from ATF and my 80's cold operation whine noise went away. My OEM PS pump was, at the time, 30K miles young. It may well have been attributed to getting air out of the system, it may well have not.

No one has any scientific/engineering tests done with empirical 80 series evidence to back up their claim that one is better than the other. If anything, safest bet is to go with what T says (ATF). If Tools R Us were still with us, I'd ask whether he would still recommend Mobil DTE 24 for those who experience real winters (IIRC, he was an AZ guy).

 

[audi2nr]

I'm currently on the fence with changing to DTE 24. I also have had great results with the Valvoline maxlife ATF and like the idea of having spare fluid being common on a wheeling trip. The ATF and DTE 24 are supposed to be compatible though , so there's that, no need to carry extra DTE.

As I read more mud and decided, does anyone know if there is a preference on the Mobil DTE 24 "Ultra" and regular DTE 24?

View attachment 2938204

View attachment 2938205

If I'm not mistaken the ultra is the replacement the non ultra.. I have a gallon here i "preordered" from Amazon before the hike to 65$/gal. Got it for 40$ but it took several weeks before it was delivered.

 

[BillyGoatMTB]

I changed to DTE 24 and then the PS pump started leaking. I suggest staying the the MaxLife ATF. I may switch back to the ATF and see if the leak stops. If not, I will have to rebuild the pump although that is the long term solution.

Getting my steering box rebuilt and rebuilding my power steering pump is on my short list of things to do, thanks for the reply this cautions me to stick with ATF until I refresh the system.

 

[BILT4ME]

I'm currently on the fence with changing to DTE 24. I also have had great results with the Valvoline maxlife ATF and like the idea of having spare fluid being common on a wheeling trip. The ATF and DTE 24 are supposed to be compatible though , so there's that, no need to carry extra DTE.

As I read more mud and decided, does anyone know if there is a preference on the Mobil DTE 24 "Ultra" and regular DTE 24?

View attachment 2938204

View attachment 2938205

One has less calories....



One is less filling......





DTE 24 vs DTE24 Ultra

 

[SpenserAK]

Being lazy. Recently did a standard fluid exchange as PM, and replaced the hardened return line. Old fluid was not bad & no issues to report at the time. However, now I have a slow leak that I’ve had to top off daily or every other - pretty small amount, from barely touching tip of dipstick back to top end of cold line. Can’t find the leak yet (should be noted I have typical slow oil leaks in front that make it harder to spot), but wondering if this is something that happens? Replaced with maxlife. My guess is it’s at the pump, but need to clean it up better and take a closer look when I have time. NBD, just haven’t had this happen with another vehicle.

Pump sometimes groans a little on a cold start IF I don’t top it off, but goes away within a minute. No groan or other iffy operation when fluid is topped off, and there were no prior issues. No noise, no fluid loss, smooth operator.

Can rebuild pump if necessary, and I’m sure it’s original, just found it strange as I did this engine-off fluid exchange with the same stuff. Maybe old seals already weak, pushed something out of the way and fresh fluid is finding its way out? Can’t imagine it has anything to do with the new hose, and I’ve double checked connections. Is there a possibility the non-running lock-to-lock flush can do something to the system/pump that wouldn’t happen under normal operation?

 

[SpenserAK]

Yep, I’m gonna need to tend to that. This is the worst I’ve seen it - not a ton of fluid, but only 7 hours parked at work. Appears to be dripping from the back of the pump. I assume the fluid exchange did push something out, and fresh (thinner?) fluid found the weak spot.

 

[Malleus]

Likely the rear O-ring. Ovehauling the pump is a job, providing you have an air wrench to remove the gear nut. Take very good care of the gear; it doesn't seem to be hardened and any damage, no matter how slight, to the teeth seems to result in annoying whine. Also, if you haven't already done it, now is the time to replace the HP hose. The Rein part from RockAuto ($40) is the OEM part, for waaaay less that the OEM price. You also need the crush washers for the hose to pump connection; they're not in the overhaul kit.

 

[SpenserAK]

Thanks. Yeah, looks straight forward, will borrow an impact from a friend. Mine is a weak POS... probably time to get a good one.

This is the banjo double washer in Joey’s kit?

 

[Malleus]

Yes. Vast improvement over trying to secure two of those while trying to line up a hardline. You can get them for the brake calipers, too.

 

[SpenserAK]

FWIW, decided to give a splash of AT-205 a try. Still planning to fix properly, but wanted to see what would happen. Parked for about 16hrs, I was losing maybe 4oz prior. Leak was pretty clearly coming from the back cover, and not elsewhere, but I didn’t remove the pump.

Put an oz in as we headed out for island camping Saturday afternoon (posting now Monday night), left the truck running while loading the boat, then a 20min drive + waiting to launch. Maybe running an hour total. 24 hours later when we returned, zero drips and not a drop since. I’m not advocating avoiding a proper fix, nor suggesting it always works, but I’m impressed so far as a placeholder. I wouldn’t do this if I were taking it off the beaten path, though. Fingers crossed I don’t come back to say I regret it. I’ll still be checking the res daily.

Much nicer not being pressured for now. Thinking I will just feed her a new OEM pump & finish replacing hoses, which will be ea$ier on the wallet in a month.

And it was a nice camping trip.

 

[jpoole]

@SpenserAK that's good news and it's always nice to be able to do repair work on your own schedule.

I can share a similar story as early last Spring I noticed a little ATF seeping out of the PS pump, likely from the rear cover o-ring. This was during a pre-trip inspection and I didn't have time to replace/rebuild the pump before departure so I added Lucas PS stop leak:

Amazon product ASIN B000ARPVNO​

I had re-sealed this PS pump about 50k miles prior, lines are newish and it runs quietly so I wasn't too concerned about a catastrophic failure. Half a bottle of the Lucas (all that I could squeeze in) and it hasn't leaked in the 6 months and 8k miles since.

At some point I'll need to dig into that area under the hood and I'll replace/reseal the PS pump then but it was nice for that job to lose any sense of urgency.

 

[jbstrong01]

@SpenserAK that's good news and it's always nice to be able to do repair work on your own schedule.

I can share a similar story as early last Spring I noticed a little ATF seeping out of the PS pump, likely from the rear cover o-ring. This was during a pre-trip inspection and I didn't have time to replace/rebuild the pump before departure so I added Lucas PS stop leak:

Amazon product ASIN B000ARPVNO​

I had re-sealed this PS pump about 50k miles prior, lines are newish and it runs quietly so I wasn't too concerned about a catastrophic failure. Half a bottle of the Lucas (all that I could squeeze in) and it hasn't leaked in the 6 months and 8k miles since.

At some point I'll need to dig into that area under the hood and I'll replace/reseal the PS pump then but it was nice for that job to lose any sense of urgency.

I have small leakage on the top of the hose under the reservoir, any issues there? Additionally, has anyone removed the resi entirely after a flush to clean out the screen? Just bought a '97 and I am down to this flush and brake system flush as my last bit of fluid. I want to make sure it's right. I have seen the resi screen very clogged in my GX470 and just watched a 4runner resi cleaning by TimmyTheToolman and it looks like this might be a good thing on the 80.

Any thughts?

 

[SpenserAK]

@jbstrong01 I didn't clean mine, but old fluid wasn't bad & flow looked good, so I didn't worry about it. May in the future. If you flush before cleaning the res, you'll of course want to do it again after reinstalling, to remove any contaminants the first round of new fluid could have picked up from the screen (assuming it is in fact dirty). Don't know if there is an agreed-upon best way, but I would probably drain old fluid, clean the res, then refill & flush. I can't see the little bit of remaining old fluid you'd be flushing hurting the clean screen

If your hose is leaking at the connection, that should be pretty straightforward. Do you know if they are original? Mine didn't feel bad before I removed them, but upon removal I found they were easy to crack due to age.

 

[jbstrong01]

@jbstrong01 I didn't clean mine, but old fluid wasn't bad & flow looked good, so I didn't worry about it. May in the future. If you flush before cleaning the res, you'll of course want to do it again after reinstalling, to remove any contaminants the first round of new fluid could have picked up from the screen (assuming it is in fact dirty). Don't know if there is an agreed-upon best way, but I would probably drain old fluid, clean the res, then refill & flush. I can't see the little bit of remaining old fluid you'd be flushing hurting the clean screen

If your hose is leaking at the connection, that should be pretty straightforward. Do you know if they are original? Mine didn't feel bad before I removed them, but upon removal I found they were easy to crack due to age.

I'm going to flush/clean/flush, picked up 2 gallons to do it this weekend. Hose is not original but the PO didn't care and the shop he used was a bunch of hacks, screw clamps all over and over tightened. I have the new hose and clamps. Everything on this project gets replaced with Toyota parts. No substitute here.

 

[COYS]

While refreshing all power steering hoses with new, I'm going to be replacing Mobil DTE with Valvoline Max Life synthetic ATF simply because I'm tired of buying a huge gallon and storing it for a long time. It's also more than double the price now.

Just in case anyone else comes across this thread looking to do the same thing, here's the OEM parts list. Don't forget the one-piece copper gasket for the high pressure hose (44327-30030).

 

[jbstrong01]

While refreshing all power steering hoses with new, I'm going to be replacing Mobil DTE with Valvoline Max Life synthetic ATF simply because I'm tired of buying a huge gallon and storing it for a long time. It's also more than double the price now.

Just in case anyone else comes across this thread looking to do the same thing, here's the OEM parts list. Don't forget the one-piece copper gasket for the high pressure hose (44327-30030).

View attachment 3261151

Turns out my reservoir had a leak at the seam. Changed it out and viola! no more PSF drips anywhere! Good times!

 

[COYS]

Turns out my reservoir had a leak at the seam. Changed it out and viola! no more PSF drips anywhere! Good times!

Nice! No leaking issues with mine to date.