Power steering question

Hey guys I'm new to the forum and I had a question about my tacoma, in regards to the power steering fluid levels. My truck is a 2.7L manual, it's a 2003 4x4, the power steering fluid reservoir is located to the right of the engine, and directly behind the radiator. When I started the truck this morning after only not driving it for maybe 10 hours there was a whine when I was steering and I figured it had to do with the power steering fluid levels, the belt looks fine though. So I looked at the dipstick of the reservoir and all it says is hot on one side and cold on the other, the reservoir itself doesn't have any marking or where the fluid should be either. The dipstick on the cap however did have amber fluid on it.

I'm just wondering how do I even tell that there is enough fluid in the system for it to run properly.

Thanks for your time and input!

 

10 hours before it starts whining...

 

It didn't whine last night when I started it up after work, but when I started it this morning it did whine.

 

the cap is a dipstick..checking cold has one level and checking it hot has a higher level...cause as the fluid heats up it expands

 

Well I just checked it and it seems as if its low because after wiping the dip stick off and placing it back in, it hasn't changed from before and after

 

Check it cold and fill, start let warm a bit or after a short drive and check to see that it is full on the hot side.
" You also need to check an see what kind of fluid it takes, the 3.4l's use ATF"

 

It must be low because the dip stick when checked at cold wasn't coated in the fluid

 

Cap should be marked with what of fluid it uses. Undoubtedly there is a leak somewhere, keep an eye on it and see if there is fluid in the engine bay somewhere.

 

Maybe I'm not looking at it right, the truck handles fine. And I haven't seen any leaks and I have checked around quite a bit

 

if it is low... and you dont see any leaks ,check for fluid inside the dust boots on the power steering rack

 

It's possible the auto body shop the truck was at in June drained the fluid or some was lost because it was in a accident in june

 

If its was whining today and not yesterday then it went somewhere.

 

Well the main difference I noticed is that steering is harder since I got It back and the whining goes away after driving a quarter of a mile