Power Steering Pump Location?

Sorry in advance for the newb question, but mechanic told me I have a small leak/seep on the top of the power steering pump of my 2016 Tacoma. He said the PSP will need to be replaced at some point but wasn't too concerned. Have read a lot of threads on here and seems like timing cover leak can show up on the PSP.

So here's my stupid question - can someone show me where the PSP is? I want to put eyes on the leak/seep and candidly I just don't know where to look.

Thanks!

 

Easiest thing is going to be to look for a belt diagram since those pumps are driven by the crank by way of that belt system.

http://www.toyotareference.com/guts/tacoma16_engine.pdf

Check out page 51. This is for the V6.

 

Its the timing cover, not the power steering pump.

This is a 4.0 but the 3.5 is nearly the same, the leak is behind the pump and located here in red.

The 3.5 tends to leak a lot and is best visibile from underneath with the skid removed.

How many miles do you have?

 

Thanks, this is very helpful. I found a bunch of other pictures of leaks and located the general area that people were seeing oil. I didn’t see any visible oil or fluid in my engine - granted I was looking from the top. I could send pictures but honestly there’s nothing to really see unless I’m missing something obvious.

But it makes sense that it’s the timing cover since my PS fluid wasn’t low. The mechanic didn’t seem concerned (even though he thought it was the PS Pump). He mentioned a few times that it was a seep and not a leak. And he said he saw the seep on top of the PS Pump. Some of the pictures I’ve seen have leaked oil well down past the PS Pump, so maybe my leak is just super slow and not making it far down?

I’m at almost 110K on a 2016 TRD Sport. All of the threads I’ve read seem to be low mileage, so I have no idea how long this has been going on.

The timing cover repair looks to be close to $4,000. I pretty regularly check my fluids and am not losing any between oil changes. I haven’t noticed any liquid dripping or leaking underneath my truck (with the exception of the occasional clear liquid which I’m sure is just from the AC system).

Kind of at a loss for what to do. I want this truck to last as long as possible, especially since I’m close to paying it off. But I definitely can’t swing $4,000 to get the engine pulled unless it’s a life or death situation for the truck if that makes sense. Honestly I never would have known about it unless I took it to a mechanic and had him do a multi-hour inspection of everything.

It seems like some people who are out of warranty are just rolling with it and staying on top of their fluid levels?

 

I have pulled the engine and resealed the engine in the bay.. Both are pretty big jobs.

If it were my truck I'd leave it until you notice it on your parking pad.

 

Thank you. That makes me feel better. I guess if you put 110K miles on an engine, this kind of stuff happens. At least I don’t have to shell out $800 for a PS Pump. I’ll definitely be extra vigilant about checking the oil between changes. Unfortunately, I park in a dark asphalt apartment parking lot in different spots, so it’s a little hard to keep track of any leaks.

These leaks seem to be pretty common. Sure would be nice to see a recall but I know that ain’t happening. Haven’t seen any threads about anyone experiencing significant oil loss or having any big problems. Fingers crossed I don’t either. Just have to remind myself that I had no idea this was even happening yesterday and never noticed any changes in fluid levels. I bet it’s been going on for quite a while. Seems like these problems showed up pretty early in most trucks.

 

if you can pull the skid and look up at the front of the engine, passenger side, and get a finger or a white paper towel on the wetness, oil will be tan, brown or hopefully not black, and I believe the Ps fluid should be reddish. Most of the people with PS leaks have noticed their PS level going down, even with a small leak.

 

I’m definitely going to do that. I strongly suspect it’s the timing cover though based off the mechanic’s description. Not sure which one I’d rather it be. At least I wouldn’t have to immediately replace the PSP if it’s the timing cover, though the timing cover is much more expensive.

It seems like many people are ending up fine driving it with the minor timing cover seep. I’m wondering if there is any benefit to adding Blue Devil or another stop leak to the oil if it is the timing cover. Certainly don’t want to make it worse if it is just a slow seep.

Maybe this is misguided but I’m somewhat assured that the mechanic only noticed liquid at the top of the PSP, so hopefully the timing cover leak is just minor. ​

 

I am having the exact same problem. Truck has 60k miles on it. Anyone know if the repair would be covered under warranty?