WATER in my AHC?

[crow1969]

Hi everybody,

I’ve never heard of this issue and I can’t really find anything online about it. But I have a bit of a cursed LX that’s given me more trouble than any other car BY FAR at this point, so nothing would really surprise me at this point.

My LX had a major brake issue more than a month ago and had to sit until I could start working on it the other day because I have a million projects and another car to drive in the meantime. Well I have fixed the brake issue and actually upgraded to 35s at the same time. When I got the new wheel/tire setup on I was surprised to see it appeared the truck was in Low setting. I hadn’t put it there, something made it sink. That was strange. Then I turned on the vehicle and noticed the AHC pump was running really loud compared to how it usually sounds.

I replaced the AHC fluid and all globes in October of 2024 and bled everything well but I wondered if maybe some trapped air had gotten somewhere it shouldn’t while the truck was sitting. I opened the access door to the fluid reservoir and it was slightly below the line in between min and max. Realizing it was a little low, I decided to add some more fluid and do another bleed. I add some fluid, then drive around for a little bit. Then I start with the 5th accumulator. I put the bleeder tub on the drain bolt, break it open and am surprised to hear stuff coming out, but the tube appears empty. So I’m like holy crap there was a TON of air. I open the drain bolt a little more to see if it will speed it up and give me a little fluid too. Eventually some fluid starts to come out but it actually starts to leak out from around the threads. I wonder what the issue could be, so I close the bleeder, look down and my bleeder reservoir is COMPLETELY FULL of what looks like chocolate milk.

My heart sinks, I had just fixed the brakes, and I already dealt with the AHC just 7-8 months ago, it had barely been driven since and everything was working great when I parked it 1.5 months ago.

I have to try to fix this and then it might be time to get rid of this truck. I just don’t think I can stomach anymore of this crap. It has left me stranded twice and tried to kill me twice. I love it but it does not reciprocate.

Sorry for whining but I’m very upset. The plan was to have this vehicle forever but there’s no point if I just can’t trust it. This truly feels like a betrayal from a close friend.

How in the world do you guys think I got water in my 5th accumulator? I’m going to get more fluid today, what extra steps beyond a simple bleed do you think I should take to minimize fallout? The AHC pump was replaced in 2021 already and has probably 50-60K miles on it. I pray that I won’t be forced to incur the expense for yet another one.

Photos attached, the one with the bottle I’m holding my headlamp behind it to backlight a little.

 

[04UZJ100]

are you sure that’s water? What does the viscosity feel like in your hands? Looks like your fluid is full of small bubbles.

I’d put some aside and add water to it to see if there is visible separation.

It’s a pressurized system. Unless you left the top off the reservoir or it was not secure, I don’t see how water to enter.

 

[crow1969]

are you sure that’s water? What does the viscosity feel like in your hands? Looks like your fluid is full of small bubbles.

I’d put some aside and add water to it to see if there is visible separation.

It’s a pressurized system. Unless you left the top off the reservoir or it was not secure, I don’t see how water to enter.

I bled until I got to clean fluid last night and ended up dumping that in the same waste bucket with the milky fluid last night. When I dip my hand in it it doesn’t feel like like what I would expect from pure AHC fluid.

I took the last bit of unused AHC fluid and mixed it about 50/50 with some water. When I swirled it around the result was a chocolate milky looking substance similar to what I extracted last night only less dirty looking.

I can’t imagine how water could have got in either but clearly something isn’t right regardless. No reason for the truck to have settled down into L on its own, for the pump to be acting up and for extracted fluid to look that way. I’ve seen dirty AHC fluid many times and when really bad it can be almost black but I’ve never seen it brown, cloudy and milky. This is similar to what engine oil looks like when contaminated and ran with water.

Photo of the mixture I made attached

 

[SteveH]

One poor owner on this forum had a bozo shop add windshield washer fluid to his AHC reservoir. I took a Sharpie and wrote 'AHC Fluid Only' on my reservoir, but I don't let any shops near the truck anyway.

Perhaps someone added coolant or WW fluid to your AHC system?

I have to try to fix this and then it might be time to get rid of this truck. I just don’t think I can stomach anymore of this crap. It has left me stranded twice and tried to kill me twice. I love it but it does not reciprocate.

This cracks me up - I drove a '98 4Runner for 17 years with few simple repairs, replacing it with my '99 LX470, which promptly barfed it's power brake booster assembly ($1100) and fuel pump (several no-starts and hesitation), then had corroded fuel pump wiring (stranding me on I-25 in a blizzard, requiring a tow home). Alternator then failed, then a knock sensor (replaced both and the starter), then an ignition coil. Since all this, it has been rock solid, but the initial breakage curve was steep!

 

[crow1969]

One poor owner on this forum had a bozo shop add windshield washer fluid to his AHC reservoir. I took a Sharpie and wrote 'AHC Fluid Only' on my reservoir, but I don't let any shops near the truck anyway.

Perhaps someone added coolant or WW fluid to your AHC system?

I have to try to fix this and then it might be time to get rid of this truck. I just don’t think I can stomach anymore of this crap. It has left me stranded twice and tried to kill me twice. I love it but it does not reciprocate.

This cracks me up - I drove a '98 4Runner for 17 years with few simple repairs, replacing it with my '99 LX470, which promptly barfed it's power brake booster assembly ($1100) and fuel pump (several no-starts and hesitation), then had corroded fuel pump wiring (stranding me on I-25 in a blizzard, requiring a tow home). Alternator then failed, then a knock sensor (replaced both and the starter), then an ignition coil. Since all this, it has been rock solid, but the initial breakage curve was steep!

I try not to let anybody touch it if I have the time and skills to deal with the issues. I flushed the system last night and it’s doing better but the pump is still just making a usually loud noise I think. Just weird that fluid was contaminated somehow when I replaced it myself 8 months ago with the good stuff out of metal cans while doing the globes.

All I want is to break through to the other side and have the reliability these things are known for. I’ve more than earned it, so far I’ve had:

- transmission replacement, solenoid failure at 155k during covid when it was my only vehicle so I had no choice due to parts not being available
- height control pump once before, mysteriously air locked the first time I flushed the system even though I never let the reservoir run dry. I was scared to touch it at that point and for years after so I had the dealer do it even though that’s probably worse than me doing it. I just wanted them to be liable if something went wrong.
- steering rack - inner tie rod end threaded itself out and stripped the remaining threads as it fell out while I was driving
- starter failed with no warning and left me 250 miles from the nearest shop I wanted to trust to put a new one in
- rear caliper seized or something and obliterated the pad, then was dragging the inner part of the caliper against the rotor, super heated and ultimately dumped all the brake fluid once again while driving. So then I had like 20% of normal braking capacity coming down a mountain an hour from service.

That’s just the stuff I’ve dealt with, the transfer case has a slow leak, the timing chain needs attention, and I’ve had some issue with the AFS for a year I haven’t bothered to chase down.