power steering pump

[thearch8]

I have a 1990 Land Cruiser which I have recently sunk $2K into for radiator, A/C, transmission repair, etc. Now I am noticing a whine worse with turning the steering wheel and foamng power steering fluid coming out from under the cap on the pump. Do I need a new pump or hopefully just a minor repair? Can I wait or should I do something now?
I am not a do it your self guy (yet) and my wife has other ways to spend our money.

 

[ronin-0707]

don't know too much about power steering issues, but hopefully someone will chime in.
foaming from under the cap doesn't sound good.

oh yeah, welcome to the board!

 

[Skim]

Sounds like air in the system.

Take the cap off-then turn the wheel slowly from steering stop to steering repeatedly.

Holding for about 3 seconds at each stop.

Top off the tank.

 

[Tools R Us]

Sounds like contaminated fluid, I would flush the system.

 

[thearch8]

Thanks for the replies. Tried the easiest thing first, turning wheel side to side in attempt to purge air. No room to top off fluid as foam/bubbles persisted as did nasty whine both on idle and worse with turning of wheel. Assumed that engine should be on rather than muscling it, was I wrong? Considering the purge - any idea what fluid to use, how much to buy. Should I replace the filter in the return hose? Seems like repair manual obvious good investment - can I expect all of this info in there?

 

[Scamper]

The foam is caused by not having enough fluid as noted above. You need to add fluid with the engine is running to purge the air. Yes, it's going to take a little time and you have to add it slowly. Try stopping the engine and letting the foam settle, add some fluid and re-cap the reservoir, then restart and run for a minute while turning the wheel. Repeat a few times until you start to see the foam subside, then you can start to add fluid with the engine running and the cap removed. Just go slow.

But if you've lost a significant amount of fluid--enough to cause foaming--you must have a leak somewhere...

 

[thearch8]

Talked to some guys who also know what they're doing. They feel either the pump is shot or there is air in the system from possibly a leak (although fluid level is fine). Fluid is filthy with sludge. Think I'll flush system first then replace pump if not fixed. Per NAPA no special steering fluid needed but in my repair manual Dexron II is required. What do you think? Also, how best to flush the system? Where is the bleeder plug and bleeder port on the steering gearbox?

 

[C6H12O6]

Search around. There is a great write-up about how to do a really good flush of the PS system. You pull the pump return hose and add a long clear hose to the end and run it down to a bucket. I had my wife sit in the truck and turn the wheel from side to side while I added clean fluid to the reservoir until nice, red, new fluid was running into the bucket. Very easy to do and totally took care of my groaning issues. If I remember, I bought a case of ATF with some seal conditioner chemical in it and used most of the case.

 

[foo57]

I had a slow long term (2years) leak in my power system pump which I put off repairing by adding fluid every once in a while. My power steering started to lock up at low speeds in a parking lot. I have had the pump, high pressure hose and gear box all replaced twice. The pump and hose were new Toyota parts and the first set both failed. I went through 2 rebuilt gear boxes before I found one that work. The moral of the story is, if your power steeing pump is leaking, I would replace it before it messes up your gear box also.

 

[CJF]

Per NAPA no special steering fluid needed but in my repair manual Dexron II is required.

Dexron II is not special, it's just been replaced by Dexron III or maybe even Dexron IV by now. Get whatever the current one is; they supercede the earlier ones.

Curtis

 

[Tools R Us]

... Fluid is filthy with sludge...

Contaminated hydraulic fluid can/will have cavitation, making foam, your first step is to flush with fluid of choice. I have had the best results with light (ISO32) hydraulic oil in Toyota systems, smoother operation and much less cavitation, groaning noises.

 

[thearch8]

Thanks to all who gave advice. Ended up taking off reservoir and flushing it as well as flushing system thru clean reservoir and via the detached return hose. Did not repair the pump because the original whine was gone and fluid was nice and clear without foam. I was psyched but now I notice a horrible very loud squeal when wheels are turned to locks. When not at lock, steering is smooth and works pretty well with only small quiet noise toward the locks. What do you think - time to replace the pump now? Tried to remove any air from system with back and forth turning of wheel with minimal improvement. Fluid level remains steady and no fluid under truck so I don't suspect a leak.

 

[robmir]

Thanks to all who gave advice. Ended up taking off reservoir and flushing it as well as flushing system thru clean reservoir and via the detached return hose. Did not repair the pump because the original whine was gone and fluid was nice and clear without foam. I was psyched but now I notice a horrible very loud squeal when wheels are turned to locks. When not at lock, steering is smooth and works pretty well with only small quiet noise toward the locks. What do you think - time to replace the pump now? Tried to remove any air from system with back and forth turning of wheel with minimal improvement. Fluid level remains steady and no fluid under truck so I don't suspect a leak.

Check the belts for tension or contact surface glaze.

 

[thearch8]

belt tension

Once again, sorry for the ignorance and thanks to all those who took time to reply. To troubleshoot the terrible high pitched squeal at the extremes of steering (only with parking or U turns), how do I check the tesion of the belt and if it's loose, how to tighten it up?