scottd

I am having a problem with my power steering (lack of power steering is the problem actually).

Here's the situation:

I installed a rebuilt power steering pump. Everything was working fine before I put it in, but the old pump was leaking badly and sometimes noisy. After installing the new pump, I had no power assist and the steering box was spewing fluid from the return line fitting. The fitting was stripped, so I got another one.

I installed the return line fitting and bled the air out of the system and tried to turn the wheels with the truck idling. Everything seemed to work properly with the front wheels off the ground, but with the wheels on the ground I had no power assist and power steering fluid shot out of the steering box (appeared to be leaking past the shaft seal under very high pressure- it shot fluid onto my wife's car parked next to it).

So I fixed the seal on the front of the old power steering pump and put the old pump back in. I no longer had leakage anywhere, but I still had no power assist. The truck seems to steer okay, just no power assist. I know the pump is functional, and I checked all of the lines for blockage (all were clear). There are no kinks in any of the soft or hard lines. When I take the cap off the reservoir it looks like the fluid isn't circulating. It sounds like the pump is pumping, but is struggling because the fluid is not circulating.

What the heck happened here? I am thinking that there is a stuck valve or something broken inside the steering gear box (the steering box is a rebuilt stock push/pull unit that I put in last year when I was daily driving the truck). Maybe the new pump was overpressurizing the system and somehow damaged the steering box? I cut the power steering belt off so I can drive the truck for now.

Anybody familiar with the inner workings of the stock push/pull steering box? I have the FSM and it looks like a bit of a PITA to disassemble. Any insight on what might be wrong? Any advice on what to do at this point?

I am thinking about trying to find a decent, cheap used push/pull power steering gear box to put in (easier said than done maybe) to see if that solves the problem.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

scottd

No replies, huh?

Well, I think I am going to post in the 'items wanted' section and see if I can find a used steering box. If not, I guess I will take apart the steering box and see if I can find out what is wrong with it.

I'll report back if/when I get this figured out . Maybe it will help someone else in the future.

suncomb1

Take your FSM to your local Toyota dealer and see their service manager. Ask him what he thinks; most Toyota service managers are willing to help you. Before buying a used steering box, ask the Toyota dealer parts manager what a factory rebuilt steering box would cost. I find that when you do not purchase factory parts you end up spending more to solve the problem because a lot of the after market rebuilt units are not good quality.

scottd

Thanks for responding - I appreciate the advice. I have all but given up on Toyota when it comes to my '79 (everytime I go there to get something, they tell me its "no longer available"), but I need to pick up a couple of things for my 4-Runner, so I think I will see what they have to say about it.

ksti

I'm just guessing, but its seems to me there is some kind of blockage at the steering box. See it worked fine before you replaced PSP. I just don't think its a common thing for steering box to go bad after a PSP replacement. Maybe something dislodged and is blocking line at the steering box. Just my observation, I hope you get this resolved Good Luck.

scottd

Thanks. I agree - there is some kind of blockage at the steering box. I think its internal. Unfortunately, I think I am going to have to disassemble the steering box to find out what happened.

scottd

Well, I finally got this figured out. It turns out that the rebuilt steering pump was bad. What really threw me off was that my old pump (which had been working previously) started having the exact same problem as the rebuilt pump when I re-installed it. For what it's worth, I think both of the pumps were having some kind of an issue with the flow control valve, but I couldn't figure out how to fix it. I just got another rebuilt pump and installed it.