Could my power steering be going out at 120k miles?

So I flushed it the first time with the Valvoline maxlife atf that was recommended, ran well for a couple weeks then became stiff again so I flushed it again, and maybe after a week it became very stiff again on stock everything other than electrical things(agm, head unit, etc). Fluid in the reservoir looks new still. I thought maybe it's air in the lines, but it seems to gradually get worse after flushes rather than start that way. Anybody have a similar problem?

 

could be your steering rack going bad..just a guess

 

What procedure are you using to flush the system? Is there any whining from the pump?

Also have you looked into the intermediate shaft u-joint? This is one of many threads on the topic. A quick spray of wd-40 / fluid film / PB blaster etc on that joint should give temporary relief if in fact thats the issue
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/2nd-gen-lower-steering-shaft-rebuild-diy.543377/

 

If you can rev it in park and the steering gets easier the pump is weak.

 

this

and this

 

Ah I'll give those a go and report back, thanks! I also suspect my steering rack also, since it does have a tendency to throw my steering wheel quite a bit when hitting bumps, and gets especially sketchy on the highway at 70+(also new to the truck world so I've never had these problems in the past). What're the odds that extended warranty would be denied since the fluid has been changed?

 

What they dont know dont hurt them.

 

True, I'll see if I can pick up some from the dealership since theirs is colorless iirc

 

Ugh haven't had the time to check the joint since I went through a flush(which holy hell I needed, truck takes an extra half quart of oil or so now, before it was around 4.5-4.6, assuming oil cooler part of the towing package was clogged) and had a secondary air injector stuck error code. Runs fine after clearing the code, but how long would that be safe? From what I've read it's just to keep the epa happy by mixing exhaust gasses with fresh air? So it should be fine for a month or so correct? Poor timing since I'm currently trying to get out of my current hell hole job as management changes started requiring cameras placed above our desks, timing us in the bathroom, etc. And revving it in the parking lot didn't change the harsh steering, so it's looking to be the steering rack. That's a good test to keep in mind, thanks!

 

Oh and another quick question to avoid another thread, is there a part number for the foam that goes inside the SAI? Mine was changed to the uni filter, but need the foam to return back to OEM for warranty. Looked at the diagrams, but doesn't seem like they have one listed. Or where I could possibly buy one from another member out of warranty/switched filters?