rgkharrison

This is going to be a common theme for threads by me for a lil bit...

Newly purchased 93 4Runner w/ 3.0, thoroughly thrashed, has sat for quite awhile, and I have limited info from the previous owners. This will be my corona virus quarantine project for the next couple weeks, assuming I can keep parts/tools coming in and I don't get frustrated enough to set the whole thing on fire.

On to the power steering... it's clearly been leaking for awhile, there was a ton of older fluid/oil/grime build up on the entire passenger underside and there is at least one hose connector that appears pretty blown out at the tip where it attaches to the reservoir. Pics here:




Initial thought was replace the hose and it's an easy fix... after spending some time cleaning off some of the underside and putting thought into it.. I'm now thinking worst case scenario instead. I'm going to guess one of the previous owners dropped in some power steering fluid instead of ATF fluid at some point, but it's just a random guess since I know that will cause problems. Wouldn't be shocked if he just kept refilling it and drove it as is.

The little bit of fluid that is in there now appears to be a reddish color and my plan is to just drain what I can, fill it up with ATF, have someone start turning the wheel and see where I can find leaks. Should I even bother draining what I can or just top it off? Is there any downside to this approach or is there a better way to start? I'd love for it to be a simple fix, although I suspect that even that hose will be more expensive than I originally anticipated.

Thanks for any input in advance.

scope103

The FSM has a procedure for replacing the fluid; if you have any doubts about it at all, just replace the fluid with ATF. http://web.archive.org/web/201207101...10onvehicl.pdf

The hose in your photos is the return line; it's low pressure, so can be replaced with fuel hose. If you really care about OEM, it's about $27 from a dealer. https://parts.lakelandtoyota.com/p/T...044718034.html

rgkharrison

Thanks scope. If it is low pressure then it seems unlikely that it would be the only point of failure unless that's common for some reason. I'll swap the oil then test it out the best I can and see what happens. If I'm lucky enough and it ends up being just that hose I'll be plenty happy.

scope103

RockAuto has rebuilt pumps for $60-$100. They also have seal kits; somewhere on this site someone posted about replacing the seals in their pump.

Try cleaning the engine with spray degreaser; get it really clean. Then start it up and have someone turn the wheel. You should be able to find the leak pretty quickly.