Change Power Steering Fluid

Does anyone know how to change the power steering fluid in the 1st gen tacoma? Could someone link a how-to?

Also, how many quarts of fluid will I need for the change?

 

yea my steering rack has a leak so i have to add fluid almost weekly and when i go mudding i usually change it afterwards.

I dont know what the official way is, but i just stick the return hose (the one from the rack to the reservoir) in a bottle and turn the car on, then turn the wheel back and forth a few times. this usually empties the system. then i turn it off and add more fluid. i didnt find any capacity specs in my manuals, so just fill the reservoir, then turn on the ehgine and turn the wheel both ways and add more as needed.

anyone feel free to correct anything you think i got wrong

 

oh and yea i think it uses less than 1 quart, but again, i am not completely sure

 

My husband and I did it with our 96.....We actually drained, flushed, and filled it. This is how we did it:

Jack up the front end of the truck.
Disconnect low pressure line (lines with hose clamps on them). Drain old fluid.
Reconnect the low pressure line.
We bought some cheap bo-bo brand ATF, filled up the resevoir with that. Start the truck and slowly cycle the steering lock to lock a few times. This gets the fluid circulating through the system and also bleeds the air out. Make sure the resevoir DOES NOT go dry.

Drain the cheap fluid out (same as above). Put in the good fluid (we used Mobile 1 ATF) and repeat the same procedure of steering slowly lock-to-lock. Keep an eye on the resevoir. Turning the steering wheel is actually bleeding the system. You have to keep an eye on the resevoir to make sure it DOES NOT go dry. Air bubbles will burp out (bleed out) at the resevoir.

When the bubbles stop coming up - top off the resevoir as needed.

Check the fluid level a day later.

 

nice how-to Janster

 

You need to be careful when you do this because if your pump
(which operates at relatively high pressure)
pumps dry, you can severely damage your system.
I have a 2002 and synthetic Mobil 1 ATF fluid is the optimum choice for my truck in my opinion.

Bing0

 

I just did a drain and refill of my transmission with Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF and have 2 extra quarts so I was going to use some in my power steering. Thanks for the tips guys. I will be doing this sometime this week.

Did you disconnect the low pressure line at the top near the reservoir or at the bottom on the rack?

 

Bottom.....so you can drop it into a bucket and catch the fluids.

 

Sub'd

 

I have a gear oil syringe that I used to suck out of the reservoir. Worked well and easy to refill with the same amount of fluid if you have measurements on the syringe.

 

Also interested in what low pressure line you disconnected.

 

It's been many years -since 2012 that I posted that ... so I'm a little rustyand honestly don't remember.

High pressure lines are the rubber lines with the permanently crimped metal ends on them.

Low pressure lines are just rubber hoses with a hose clamp on the end.

 

I appreciate it. I seem to be going through threads on this that are at least 3 years old. Must not be a common thing to do very often for Tacoma owners eventhough the haynes manual says to do it every 2 years. Wish there was a pictoral write up. Maybe I should make one...

 

yes you should

 

Its easiest to pull the return line at the reservoir, then route the hose toward the ground to empty the system into a container.

Follow jansters info, but instead of turning the engine on to empty the system just leave the steering unlocked and grab the tire its self and manually steer it. Thatll push the old fluid out without running the risk of possibly running the pump dry for a second or two. Im sure the pump wouldnt be hurt but this way you dont give it the chance to...