Power Steering Diagnosis

Soon after purchasing my '98 V6 xtracab (90k miles), a funny noise began when steering. It became harder to steer over time and my steering is 100% manual now. After a few Googles, I decided the symptoms indicate a bad power-steering pump, and I'm working on the fuds to replace it.
Yesterday I went to this dirty lot and drifted around and after a sharp turn my power-steering came back (it was glorious)! It went away a few miles back home but I'm curious how this happened, if the pump has problems, and if anyone's had this experience.

 

The cheapest thing you can do is to clean the built in screen at the bottom of the P/S reservoir.

 

Yup- clean the screen/filter, and check it's general operation. The pump is belt driven- does the belt need to be replaced or tensioned correctly- is one of the bearings bad? Then look at the pump reservoir filter/screen to make sure it's not blocked... Change out the fluid and bleed the system. Toyota power steering systems use ATF rather than traditional PS fluid, so you want to avoid the mistake of mixing them. You can do something as simple as, put the front end on jackstand, and use an old turkey baster (or ideally, a fluid transfer pump, cheap on Amazon or an auto parts store) to remove the fluid in the reservoir, top off with new fluid, and then turn the wheels back and forth to cycle the fluid through, repeat that until you see mostly fresh fluid in the reservoir.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k61KXRK8bM

 

Man there’s a Timmy video for everything! I’ve learned so much from this guy

 

That noise is super common. I have a lot of experience in this department lol.

Nice job sourcing a good deal on an OEM pump it sounds like. Before you put it in I’d recommend making sure you know what’s going on. It’s an active diagnosis, you’ll hear the noise at the pump- but that doesn’t mean the pump is responsible for the problem.

First steps to diagnose:

1. Bleed the system with Timmy the Toolman above
2. a. Actively look for leaks while pumps running. (Don’t let fluid in reservoir go to low)
b. Take off the power steering belt until you can make repairs if you’re going to keep driving it with manual steering

You want to do a proper diagnosis because leaks lead to introduced air causing havoc on the metal parts. It’ll damage whatever pump you put in if left untreated, and it’ll make its way thru the system tearing up metal components.
Taking off the belt will depressurize the system and basically keep things from getting any worse. There’s a lot of psi involved and a little leak can turn into a big one faster than you’d think.

Let us know what you observe if you find proof of leaks or not, we can help you more.

 

If the pump has been bad you might have sent metal shavings into the power steering system. This can cause a repeat failure of the pump. Do your best to flush the rack very thoroughly. The metal shavings like to get stuck in the receiver, rack, and cooler. I have had to replace whole power steering systems due to this.

 

Try brake cleaning the reservoir screen 1st!
Buy 4 cans of brake cleaner
And reservoir O-ring
then flush as Timmy vid shows
Not too difficult

 

I'll buy the parts after work today, will do flush today or tomorrow. I will continue to update!

 

Add an inline filter since the PS system has no real filter at all. The screen in the reservoir is just to keep the boulders out

 

@babylon5 which filter do you have/recommend?

 

How does one go about getting the boulders in there? Adding a filter is likely excessive. The OP should just focus on getting his system working before making "improvements".

 

Boulders refers to any particles larger than 100 microns. The same filtering level as the pan filter in Automatic transmissions. Didnt say this was the fix. But is a worthwhile addition after system is working again.

And adding a filter where this is none is in no way "excessive"

 

I use a magnefine in both the ATF cooler loop and the PS return line. 3/8 inch version.

$26 Magnefine 3/8" Magnetic Inline Transmission/Power Steering Filter

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0787KWZPS

Excellent article by two automotive engineers that did testing on the affect of contamination on the life span of both Automatic transmissions and Power steering. They also recommend the magnefine.


In nearly 30 years of study, engineers John Eleftherakis and Ibrahim Khalil defined the failure modes of automatics due to contaminants and determined the typical types and allowable amounts of contaminants.

https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/129-1002-automatic-transmission-and-power-steering-filters/

 

+1 on the filter. May help any contaminants from re-entering the pump.

 

Since I was messing with the PS pump, I figured I’d replace all the belts so I took them all off. I’m now stuck as the tension bolt for the idler bearing is broken?! I got the belt off by removing the bearing and popping it off, but now I can’t get it back on. PS pump progress has halted

 

There really isn't enough clearance for me to get a drill in there, and I've been unsuccessful in using pliers to loosen the bolt.
It looks like the previous owner/mechanic snapped the head off of the bolt, and just left the body in there. (after some forum searches, this matches my problem closest).
I'll take suggestions of both how to replace the bolt and get the belt on without all that (some A/C compressor shenanigans).
Side question: My A/C compressor is broken anyways, can I install the other belts (Alternator & PS) for now and drive until it's fixed?

 

I know they are generally used to remove bolts where the head has rounded off but could you use a small enough one to grab onto the shaft??

CASOMAN 13 Pieces Impact Bolt & Nut Remover Set, Nut Extractor and Bolt Extractor Twist Socket Set,Bolt Remover Tool Set

https://www.amazon.ca/CASOMAN-Piece...ords=Bolt+Extractor+Set&qid=1706712680&sr=8-6

 

According to this, the A/C belt looks to be the only one not connected to the water pump. From some videos and tutorials I've read, the water pump is connected to the timing belt (apologies if my knowledge is incomplete). I have 5VZ-FE for reference.

 

I stand (partially) corrected. Totally fine to run without AC belt then. But also, power steering doesn’t interfere with the water pump