Power Steering questions

[GregElliott]

Well, my 1991 Camry 3s-fe sv21 autotrans STARTED! Hell yeah!
It's been sitting for a couple years and tonight my dad and I got her running.
It was magnificent.. it fired right up after several cranks... and it would kept running BUT I had to shut 'er down...
I looked over at the power steering reservoir and holy hell it was vomitting everywhere! It wasn't projectile, just a steady ooze.

It was foamy fluid... the level of the fluid is now at the very top of the tank.

So what causes this? My guess would be air in the system.

What is the best way to bleed the system? On the reservoir, which hose is the pressure hose and which is the return?

What is the fluid capacity?

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Yup, the froth is air being churned up by the pump. IIRC, the larger of the two hoses is the sending line (it's located farther from the strut tower).

Check www.camrystuff.com for the bleeding procedure.

I'm not surprised to hear that this is the only problem you had starting it after two years. These engines always seem to turn over easily after such long hibernation.

[GregElliott]

What is IIRC? and can you still get Dexron II?

[Jimnist]

Uploading scanned pic from service manual right now, bear with me.......

The hose you want to disconnect should be the thinner one/ one that further away on the reservoir when looking from the front of the engine bay. This is the return, but also has the pressure, otherwise, fluid wouldn't come out of it. If you disconnected the other, the fluid will just ooze from the reservoir as it carries fluid to the pump. If that makes sense... :S

Can i ask a favor? Since your working on the power steering, would you mind taking pics of where most of the power steering hoses are routed? I'm currently fitting p/s to my car, but have no idea where they route or where they are supposed to be secured to the body. My manual doesn't have any pics of where the hoses go. IIRC= if i remember/recall correctly

[GregElliott]

i have the service manual, so no need to bother... I'm just trying to get opinions

I will try to take pics.. but the hoses are in tight spaces.. it's really hard to see.

The system confuses me for some reason.

[Jimnist]

Oh, use Dextron 3. It has replaced Dex 2 and exceeds the specs of Dex 2.

[Jimnist]

Most bleeding procedures are the same. Some even say to turn full lock to other full lock while car isn't running. I prefer to do this first as well as starting the car and re-doing the full turn locks.

Umm...do you have vacuum hoses attached to your pump? If so, where abouts do they connect to? Bit of a hi-jack here, but it were to not connect any vacuum hoses to the pump, will the turning effort increase when i'm doing near stationary turns? Like when parking? If i don't connect up a hose, will i need to block/seal up the holes?

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Um, I may be wrong here, but don't the l4 setups use ATF fluid for the p/s like my V6 does? I'm pretty sure they do...but correct me if I'm wrong.

Sorry...giant brain fart. Insomnia tends to cause mental lapses of the highest order...

[GregElliott]

Say man, thanks for that picture, that is one i haven't seen before... which manual is that?

Actually it is ATF Dexron II.... go figure?

[TBayToyotaBoy]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

Most bleeding procedures are the same. Some even say to turn full lock to other full lock while car isn't running. I prefer to do this first as well as starting the car and re-doing the full turn locks.

Umm...do you have vacuum hoses attached to your pump? If so, where abouts do they connect to? Bit of a hi-jack here, but it were to not connect any vacuum hoses to the pump, will the turning effort increase when i'm doing near stationary turns? Like when parking? If i don't connect up a hose, will i need to block/seal up the holes?

The vacuum hoses activate the idle-up function when idling, so that the pump doesn't bog-down the engine or incur additional stress on itself. I suggest hooking them up...

[Jimnist]

Yes, ATF dex 2 (if you can still find it), so basically ATF dex 3. Isn't amazing how many apps ATF has? I'm even supposed to use it in my manual gearbox.

I have a Gregorys service manual (Australian). Dont' know, but highly doubt they import them to the states. so yeah.....too many differences probably. Also, i never heard of automatic seatbelts until i saw a thread here about them in our car XD

[Jimnist]

Originally Posted by TBayToyotaBoy

The vacuum hoses activate the idle-up function when idling, so that the pump doesn't bog-down the engine or incur additional stress on itself. I suggest hooking them up...

Where does it hook up? I looked at the vacuum diagram on the hood, but can't see any lines going to the pump. I can't find it in my service manual either.

[Doctor J]

The largest 'soft' hose supplies fluid from reservoir to the pump;
The 5/8 inch diameter high pressure hose delivers fluid to the rack;
The steel pipe and 5/8 inch dia ‘soft’ hose returns fluid from the rack back to the reservoir
THE RETURN HOSE IS NOT THE LARGEST ONE , JAP. MANUAL IS WRONG HERE!!
Fluid ATF DexronIII, its compatible with major brand power steering fluids
To bleed the system :
Obtain the rubber cup 3/8 inches dia.
Siphon fluid from the reservoir
Remove smaller hose from reservoir
Cap the port
Extend the hose using another hose [can be pvc] and dip it into the plastic cap.
Fill the reservoir.
Disable ignition [or use remote starter]
Make sure your steering wheel is in center position
Crank the engine until reservoir will get ¾ empty
Add fresh fluid, repeat procedure 2 more times.
Reconnect the hose.
Start the engine
Turn the wheels from side to side
add more fluid.