87 power steering sluggish!! - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

hfca · 01-13-2009, 01:32 PM

2.0, belt is fine, hoses look good, plenty of fluid and 100K - could it be I need to flush old fluid? Feels like it has almost no power steering especially at slower apeeds. No belt squeal, all tight. Could it be the rack? Thanks

fredk · 01-13-2009, 03:49 PM

dump it all out and fill it with ATF

Jimnist · 01-13-2009, 09:49 PM

You could try flushing it. See if that helps. But if it doesn't, it sounds like the pump is worn.

JMSports · 01-13-2009, 10:24 PM

Mine is only sluggish for the first 2 mins the car is running after its been sitting in the cold for a long time. Summer time i have no problem, and when i let the car warm up for a few minutes, the problem doesnt occur.

Doctor J · 01-23-2009, 03:55 PM

This is usually caused by the wear of the rack piston seal. I used ATF + TransX

hfca · 01-25-2009, 07:24 PM

well I got a diff. pump, pumped out all I could and refilled with Dexron 3, seems to work fine right now

. Think Im going to do everey week or so, to make sure I get all old fluid out, there was a bit of crud at bottom of resevoir too. Thanks!

nuron · 01-25-2009, 08:10 PM

How hard was it to replace the pump? Also, is it possible to take out the whole assembly and have manual steering while I replace the seals and such (rack piston seal like Doctor J said)?

Jimnist · 01-26-2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuron

How hard was it to replace the pump?

Depends on your mechanical experience, i don't think it's hard. But you will need another person helping because those hoses are a major PITA(keep snagging on things when you lower it or push it up into position).

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuron

Also, is it possible to take out the whole assembly and have manual steering while I replace the seals and such (rack piston seal like Doctor J said)?

Do you mean do a 'manual steering conversion'?

It's not worth the effort unless you no longer want your PAS system. It's not a simple rack change. Changing steering system type will require you to do a conversion. To go from power to manual, you need a manual rack + mounting bracket, manual universal joint(pinion gear is smaller on manual) and a manual steering column/shaft (longer than power steering shaft).

You may as well just pick up a new rack or get a 2nd hand rack from the wreckers. I got my power steering conversion kit from a wrecker and it was fine, but it still is a gamble.

To the OP, are you going to keep flushing it for a week? It's not like an auto tranny, one flush is okay. There a good guide on the 3rd gen forum, it's in a sticky about home servicing.

hfca · 01-26-2009, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuron

How hard was it to replace the pump? Also, is it possible to take out the whole assembly and have manual steering while I replace the seals and such (rack piston seal like Doctor J said)?

ohg no, I meant I used a differential oil pump, the bottle type to suck out old fluid and refill, drove great this a.m., sorry for confusion.