Power steering fluid

Just picked up my 19 Tacoma and noticed the power steering fluid level is low, no signs of a leak that I can tell but wanted to top it off. Is it safe to say it’s alright to just grab some from the auto part store and top it off or should I get the Toyota factory stuff since I assume that’s what’s in it ?

 

Just go to an auto parts store IMO. I can't imagine that the Toyota stuff is any better.

 

Is there any certain quality oil it requires?

 

ATF dexIII

 

Can this be mixed with the factory power steering oil ?

 

Yes, it's the same stuff with a little dye.

 

Thank you I will look for some ATF Def III

 

I can’t find ATF III only
ATF
Macon V
Dexron VI
Import multi vehicle
ATF +4

and should I get fully synthetic or non synthetic?

 

Doesnt matter, all of those work, Mercon V is closest to Dex3.

Check your steering rack boots, they might be starting to fill with oil.

 

This maybe a stupid question but how do I check that ?

 

These boots, they should be dry, this is an example of it full of oil.

 

Just crawled under my truck and mine look like that. What does that entail to fix it ?

 

It requires replacement, its quite expensive, and its not a typical DIY job you can do at home, its a bear to get out.

I'd say monitor it until it physically leaks droplets out of the rack, but prepare for it down the road.

Typically its about 5-6 hours of labor + alignment + 1000-2000$ rack.

 

As far as can tell, all tacoma racks on 2nd and 3rd gens leak. I would do a fluid flush (easy to do by yourself, even easier with buddy to turn the wheel as you replace fluid). There are YT videos on this that are easy to find. This will remove foreign matter and should prolong life of the seals. Then just top off the fluid as needed until it gets really bad.

Not a lot of options on alternative racks, that are worth the trouble unless you are running 35s or bigger. See more on the thread below.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/steering-rack-options.817216/#post-29330976

 

Back when I was a young whipper snapper, every rubber boot on just about every car I owned looked like that.

 

If you bought it from a dealer maybe you have some type of warranty? 90 days? Anything?

 

Thank you for your help it’s greatly appreciated. It’s a bummer to purchase a truck from a buddy that had the dealership do an inspection to find this out and that it is going to be a 2-3k fix but I guess it is what it is.

 

Thank you I will continue to educate myself on the situation and prepare financially and mentally to replace it.

 

Bought from a buddy that isn’t mechanic but took it to the dealership for there “inspection” but they didn’t realize that the tail lights weren’t working, license plate lights weren’t working, the power steering fluid was low and that this had happened so I assume they took his money and didn’t do the inspection.