Power Steering Whine After Return Line Replacement

As the title says, I had some pretty nasty corrosion on my power steering return line and replaced it. Now with new fluid, (i used the Lucas oil with stop leak) there is still some hesitation in the wheel and whining. Any ideas on what next?

4.0 V6

 

Not familiar at all with the 4.0 so my advice is -generic-

Did you bleed your system?

When you remove the cap, what is the fluid doing when the vehicle is running?

 

Sorry bit of a novice here so I may not use the correct terminology. The fluid looks like it’s moving through the system but it’s kind of bubbling up every now and again?

I let the engine run for about 10-15 min and now the fluid reservoir is pretty low. It was full before I started and there are no leaks that I can see?

 

You need to bleed it first off, and check for any leaks anywhere.

When it bubbles that means it's cavitating.

 

Gotta flush that stop leak out. flush and bleed the system. Should be a thread on it somewhere or video you can search for use whatever Toyota recommends nothing more nothing less.

 

Got it. Maybe I didn’t get all the air out the first time.

definitely a lot less bubbling now.

 

Good point, glazed over that.

Stop leak should never be used.

To the OP, did you jack up the front of your vehicle while you bleed it?

 

Dang it. I’m guessing it’s not recommended to use anything with stop leak?

 

I did not. I don’t have any jack stands at the moment.

 

Never, in your oil or radiator too. worst stuff you could ever use in a vehicle.

 

got it. Thanks for the tip. I just went with what the gentleman at O’Reilly recommended.

 

Not required but you can normally bleed your system quicker and more effectively by jacking up the front.

Allows you to turn the steering wheel from lock to lock even easier too as you force fluid to run and push the air out.

 

Yeh it's garbage. You definitely want to follow the toyota procedure. Someone knows on here or has the link. But you gotta buy a lot of fluid now. enough to flush the stop leak out and enough to refill and bleed.

 

yea I think I saw the video where the guy was using a turkey baster to get it all flushed

 

'
Yeh, gotta drain, refill and bleed, drain again, and refill and bleed.

 

Well. You could jack it up. Drain it. Fill it. Turn the wheel (unloaded) with the engine off maybe 10 times while keeping it topped up. After that, idle it, so the pump spins. Keep fluid topped off. That's supposed to prevent ingress of air.

Theoretically if there's a puncture on a suction hose that can result in it constantly sucking air in. Though I've never seen that be an issue on 2g Tacos, only certain other vehicles based on how the system is setup.

 

Other option for flushing the power steering, this is how I do my vehicles.
Buy 4 quarts of new fluid and some 3/8(I think) ID hose, jack up front end, remove the reservoir return line from the hard line, ziptie said hose up so the reservoir doesn't drain out, attach new 3/8 (or so)hose and route it into a oil catch pan/bottle. Engine off, turn the steering wheel from lock to lock pumping out the fluid, top off the reservoir till the fluid coming out is new, probably about 1 to 1-1/2 quarts, reconnect the hoses to normal and fill the reservoir, start the engine and top off till the level stays good while turning the wheel back and forth.

This is actually a very good video showing what I'm talking about, yes its a chevy but its the same exact idea.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3gXTGBUZkh8

 

that video is very helpful and gives me a fairly good understanding of how to get all of the “stop leak” garbage out. I got a couple quarts of the Dexron 3 ATF a little earlier so hoping I haven’t caused too much of a problem with the stuff I stupidly put in the first time.

 

After replacing my return line, I followed the Chris Fix video and had no issues afterwards.

 

Update: I’m glad y’all told me to replace that stop leak crap. When I bled it out today it was much thicker and already a dark color. Luckily I didn’t drive it too much with that, just a couple trips around the block.

replaced it with the correct fluid and it feels much better. Bit of a messy process, mainly because I’m an idiot. Anyways, thanks for the help everyone!