Bad leak in rack and pinion

Alright today while turning into a restaurant i felt my steering go from soft to hard in an instant and when i got to look under my driver side wheel well there was power steering fluid everywhere. It was bad enough i got a buddy to take me home so i could get a trailer to get it home. I have totally lost all power in my steering and need any help from anyone that might have ideas to where the leak could be and how to fix. I have until friday before i have to drive it and fix it but need some insight from anyone willing.

 

That quick leak would be high pressure hose as first suspect

 

Refill the reservoir, move the wheel, look for leaks. Keep your fingers away from the lines, a spray leak can inject fluid into you.

 

Well on Saturday, Madtaco and myself decided to visit Palomar observatory and bring our nice cameras. Long story cut short; I ran my drivers side tire through a nasty rut and power steering fluid started leaking out of the end of the rack . I was nearly to the top of the mountain which kind of sucked, but luckily I got it back home without power steering. After a trip to Autozone and some research on the web, it appears I will be installing a new rack and pinion to the tune of $400. Apparently there's not much that can be done to service these new trucks if something grenades in the steering rack. I hope it's not too difficult doing the swap

 

I hate to say it man but you will probably be replacing the pump as well. I didn't even drive mine with the broken rack just puled it up on the trailer and that was enough to kill the pump as well.

 

Years and mileage of your trucks? Any abuse you would like to claim? Like fun, hard core off roading?

 

Just finished the install about an hour ago. Man what a flippin job. On the plus side I did manage to get it done in less than a day by myself. Also the power steering pump appears to be fine. I'm surprised since I had to drive it about an hour without fluid. Either I got lucky or those pumps are durable. I'm going to align it tomorrow and see how she drives.

 

70k miles and counting. Plenty of offroading in the desert with only one break to date

 

Im gonna go with you lucky haha because I barely drove mine and it was out. Toyota said it only takes just a minute and they are gone. But good thing for you it didnt hope it all works out well.

 

2008 Tacoma with about 115K miles and last month the drive shaft was replaced, because the u-joints were not available as a seperate part. They did a recall to keep the gas pedal from sticking on the floor mat. Installed new front brakes, new blower motor for A/C, new tires for a drive out price of $3700.

Two weeks later, I took it back for a spongy brake pedal (soft since last service). I was told they did not open the lines to the brake system and that the mechanic who did the work could not find anyfault with the way the brakes felt, but he found a bad front wheel bearing (two weeks after the last service and a leaking rack and pinion.

This time the price is $2500. The truck is only driven on city streets and never off road or in heavy service, just a commuter, 10 miles every day and highway trips for business.

Bad drive shaft and bad rack and pinion in only 115K miles?

I thought Toyotas were supposed to be good trucks.

I'm afraid I will not be a member of the Toyota truck club much longer, if this truck is indicative of their quality (or lack there of).

I have put over 250K on the last three of my Ford F-150s, and didn't have these kind of costs, even with double the miles.

 

Must be a lemon. Sometimes I wonder why my Toyota hasn't grenaded with all the abuse I've put it through. Sorry to hear about your bad experiences. Better luck to you in the future.

 

OK, so after originally taking my Tacoma in for a noise in the u-joint, the Toyota dealer replaced the entire drive shaft. They told me it was I should replace the front brakes before they went bad and they adjusted the rear brakes. I also let them replace all 4 tires and align the front end.

I had a lot of front end singing and thought it might be the tires.
I had a very soft brake pedal and took it back to see if they had gotten air in the system.

They told me they did not open the system to replace the front brakes or to adjust the rear.

They said the noise was not the tires, but the front wheel bearing.
They said there was nothing unusual about the way the brakes felt, and If I felt a difference it was probably due to the front wheel bearing going out.

I left the truck and I asked them to have the lead mechanic check the brakes. He did and said that he did not think there was anything wrong with the brakes.

They called me and told me that they had discovered that my Rack and Pinion was leaking. I have absolutely no fluids on my driveway, but they said that apparently it had just started leaking. Hmmm.

I told them to fix everything and they called to say my truck was ready for me to pick up.

I got a ride to the dealership and was told that my truck was out for a test drive. I waited 30 minutes and saw it come back in. I waited another 20 minutes and saw it leave again.

I went to see my service writer and he said that the lead mechanic was double checking the repairs.

A short time later, the service writer got a call from the lead mechanic, who told him that my Brake Master Cylinder had to be replaced.

Another $600.

Total so far $6800. And it started with a noise in my u-joint.

Yes, tires and brakes are wear items and should not be counted in the total, but, the string of other defective items is enormous, and the coincidence factor is off the chart.

Drive shaft, Blower motor, Wheel bearing, Rack & Pinion and Master Cylinder all within two months of each other? Really?

 

You should have verified the problems before letting dealership replace shit on a whim.

You should have also come on here and found you CAN replace just a u-joint and not the entire shaft.

 

Just fixed my blower motor

About 25 minutes of my time and a little grease. Quiet as can be!