ruined powerstering pump or wrong oil
08-27-2020, 03:24 PM
#1
ruined powerstering pump or wrong oil
a while back i thought i had read somewhere that the dexron they sold nowadays was not compatible with the seals in the power steering system and was told to use castrol transmax atf as it says it is compatible with dexron 3. so i had been running that for a while. I am not sure when the truck started to squeal on startup but i decided to get a new pump to stop the squeal. i might have messed up the new pump but i am not sure. i wanted to give it a flush so i had the return line out of the pump and into a container, a hose from the reservoir pointed upwards so i could put more fluid in the reservoir. i had performed a flush before but didn't look up a how to article for the second time and all of the oil might have went out the pump... not sure if i ran the pump dry i think i might have. but now i am back in the same position, it squeals on startup. do you think running dex/merc would fix the squeal on startup or do you think i just ruined my new power steering pump?
08-28-2020, 11:52 AM
#4
Registered User
Yeah, the squeal at start up is generally a slightly loose belt.
A lot of the time, if you recently put a new belt on, and tensioned it correctly, it will stretch a bit over a couple weeks time. Enough to get the squeal at start.
Thankfully, it's easy enough to fix, on the PS pump belt. All right out in the open and up top.
Don't forget that it could be another belt entirely squealing during start, too. If you've put all new belts on recently, any of them might have stretched enough to squeal. Many times it's the water pump/alternator belt. It has the highest load right after start, getting the fan going up to speed, water flowing through the system, and the alternator recharging the battery after the start, which is a pretty decent load all by it's self..
Another thing with the PS belt: You have the center bolt on the idler pulley loose to adjust the belt tension, and then you tighten it back up once the tension is correctly set with the adjustment bolt. When you tighten up the center bolt on the idler, it changes the belt tension. You have to set the tension, tighten the center bolt, then check it again. If it's tightened up, or loosened up, either way, you need to loosen the center bolt, readjust the tension with the adjuster bolt, then tighten it up again. It can take a few tries to get the belt adjusted just right.
Don't forget, once you get it right with the center bolt tightened down, to back the adjuster bolt off. It make the whole system reliant on the central idler bolt to hold the belt tension, not the adjuster bolt, which can change position with the engine vibration.
Of course, it could be the PS idler pulley's bearing, too. They go bad on occasion. When they do, they often squeal right after start up, but once they run for a few minutes they warm up and stop. Check to see if it squeals longer when it's cold, like first thing in the morning. If so, it might well be the idler bearing.
You might want to take the belt off of it, and spin it by hand. If you feel any grinding, or other odd feeling, it's bad. Both the bearing it's self, and the entire pulley with bearing pressed in already, are both pretty readily available. I've found that Timkin is about the best bearing out there. That's just me, though.
Good luck to ya!
Pat☺
A lot of the time, if you recently put a new belt on, and tensioned it correctly, it will stretch a bit over a couple weeks time. Enough to get the squeal at start.
Thankfully, it's easy enough to fix, on the PS pump belt. All right out in the open and up top.
Don't forget that it could be another belt entirely squealing during start, too. If you've put all new belts on recently, any of them might have stretched enough to squeal. Many times it's the water pump/alternator belt. It has the highest load right after start, getting the fan going up to speed, water flowing through the system, and the alternator recharging the battery after the start, which is a pretty decent load all by it's self..
Another thing with the PS belt: You have the center bolt on the idler pulley loose to adjust the belt tension, and then you tighten it back up once the tension is correctly set with the adjustment bolt. When you tighten up the center bolt on the idler, it changes the belt tension. You have to set the tension, tighten the center bolt, then check it again. If it's tightened up, or loosened up, either way, you need to loosen the center bolt, readjust the tension with the adjuster bolt, then tighten it up again. It can take a few tries to get the belt adjusted just right.
Don't forget, once you get it right with the center bolt tightened down, to back the adjuster bolt off. It make the whole system reliant on the central idler bolt to hold the belt tension, not the adjuster bolt, which can change position with the engine vibration.
Of course, it could be the PS idler pulley's bearing, too. They go bad on occasion. When they do, they often squeal right after start up, but once they run for a few minutes they warm up and stop. Check to see if it squeals longer when it's cold, like first thing in the morning. If so, it might well be the idler bearing.
You might want to take the belt off of it, and spin it by hand. If you feel any grinding, or other odd feeling, it's bad. Both the bearing it's self, and the entire pulley with bearing pressed in already, are both pretty readily available. I've found that Timkin is about the best bearing out there. That's just me, though.
Good luck to ya!
Pat☺
08-29-2020, 07:53 PM
#5
Registered User
If you had fluid in the reservoir before you ran the pump dry you're probably ok. It would take more than a couple minutes to do any damage. I agree with these guys, it sounds like a belt tension issue.
Dexron 3 will work just fine, or nearly any PS fluid you choose these days. There's no secret formula that only Toyota has to make their hydraulic system work (although it doesn't hurt to use recommended). I bought my truck 16 years ago and it already had a bad pump. I ran some cheap gas station brand fluid in it because it already leaked, and it lasted all 16 years up to doing my engine swap.
Dexron 3 will work just fine, or nearly any PS fluid you choose these days. There's no secret formula that only Toyota has to make their hydraulic system work (although it doesn't hurt to use recommended). I bought my truck 16 years ago and it already had a bad pump. I ran some cheap gas station brand fluid in it because it already leaked, and it lasted all 16 years up to doing my engine swap.
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