power steering pump screaming

my power steering pump was screaming. The fluid was low again. (i filled it up in nov because it was low) I put power steering fluid in it. as I put the cap back on I read that I was actually supposed to put atf fluid in it. the pump is still screaming and it is filled to the proper level. Do I need to drain the power steering fluid and put atf in it. Or did I ruin it by running it low. I also have the steering wheel at full turn way more then I should. can the pump be rebuilt (maybe toyota has a rebuild kit) or should I just get one from the junk yard. ( I assume one from a 3.4L 4runner will do?)

 

your probably too late. I did the same thing a while back
and I just rebuilt mine and it worked for about 5 days.

 

If i were you I would first drain the whole power steering system and refill it with the proper fluild(atf) and hopefully that will solve your problem.

 

any update? did you try to drain it and refill with atf?

 

i did drain and refill it. I looked and found that its leaking around the gearbox. I filled it with atf and its still the same. my uncle (a mechanic) said that sound is air in the system somewhere. going to find the leak and see if I can bleed the system. Gonna take off the belt and see if its too hard to steer. If I can get along without it then grteat. It'll probably be way to hard though.

 

yes they take atf but if im not mistaken you can put power steering fluid in it. the pump was bad before all of this. tacos dont have gear boxes they have racks. there are turn stops on the spindals that are steering stops so unless something broke you cant go past lock. go to a junk yard and get one and put it on.

 

my uncle also agreed that power steering fluid would also do just fine. I think I just ran it to low for too long before I realized it was low.