Power Steering Leak

[thefranks5]

I've got a 1990 Camry, 247,000 miles and the power steering has developed a leak. I'm guessing I should plan on replacing hoses and pump.


Not sure if it is something a home mechanic should attempt, or if it's too complicated. (I've done motor mounts, radiators, brakes, but not power steering.)

It appears to be in a very squirrely position on the back side of the engine.

Hoping someone can offer insights and steps. Also rate the degree of difficulty ... 1-10 for average mechanic.



BTW: Timing belt is also just about due.

With three kids in college, and the age of the car, having it done is not an option.


Any and all tips and projected cost of interest.

Thanks in advance for your time and help.

[white90dx]

The power steering leak is probably just the main high pressure hose that goes from the top of the pump up to near where the wiper motor is. You can get replacements at the auto parts store or you can take the hose to a hydraulic shop and have them replace the hose section of it (make sure it is 3000psi+ rated, tell them it is for power steering). I'm not sure how difficult it is to get to the fitting at the top of the pump - I have only replaced the hose while the engine is out of the bay...

Refilling the system afterwards is easy, so no worries there.

-Charlie

[Doctor J]

The common places for the power steering pump to leak are the fron seal and the o-ring behind the backplate. However, if power steering pressure hose is original, it most llikely leaking as well. I wrote procedure how to change this hose without taking the pump out (and did it 3 times) but it seems easier disconnecting this hose at the firewall and removing it with the pump attached. To do this, the rear crossmember must be removed as well. You can find a writeup on the timing belt change in the DIY section.

[thefranks5]

White90 and Dr. J.

Thanks for your response. I'll go check out your procedure Dr. J. You helped me in the past when changing out some motor mounts on this puppy, and it was great.

I know I need to be able to do it myself to keep from busting the bank.

I also need to look at replacing the timing belt on the 90 Camry as well.

While you're here, can you tell me if that would be insane to try. Lining up the cylinders and camshaft and timing has me a bit spooked. I'm not sure how difficult lining up the cylinders and shaft is.

Thoughts? Is would doing both of these tasks at the same time make it easier????

Thanks again for your insights and time.

[thefranks5]

Doctor J:

Part 2 (or 3) depending on how you count it.

This is the post I found... It was embedded in another thread. Not sure where the original post is, I couldn't seem to find it.

The banjo bolt for high pressure hose is so tight
sometimes that the flow control fitting breaks loose inside
the pump body.If the high pressure hose needs to be
replaced due to the leak (means it will be discarded
anyways), then

drain the reservoir
remove right front wheel
disconnect hose at firewall
cut steel portion of hose .25 to .75 inches next to banjo
bolt on the pump
move away wires and hoses on the top
assemle 12inch extension + flex.joint + 6 point 22 mm
socket head
place socket on the banjo bolt, loosen and remove it with
flow control fitting.
clamp flow control fitting in the vise
separate parts.

Using new o-ring 20x1 mm,and 24 mm socket, install
fitting into the pump, torque to 50 lb x ft.
Install the new hose.

For my method, you do not get under the car. The wheel
is removed to facilitate pipe cutting, cleaning, assembly
etc. To break loose the banjo bolt you may need at least
60 degree swing, plus some leverage.

Without crossmember removal the fitting for the large low
pressure hose will not let it to clear the frame rail,
therefore crossmember must be removed.

I'm guessing I need to buy a Chilton's manual?

bob

[Doctor J]

For the people who do not want to get "extreme' and are having 6" vise on the bench , removal the pump with hoses attached from under the car may be better idea. In my cases I used a hacksaw blade to cut the hose near the steering pump and 12" extention with a flex joint. cutting the hose was the hardest part; some mechanics are using long chisel and then breaking the pipe section near the pump off (done many times on full size American cars).
Therefore I think that disconnecting the hoses on top plus2 vacuum hoses at the bottom will be better procedure.

[Doctor J]

as for the timing belt:
Start with the crank pulley bolt first
You will need to have crankshaft pulley holding tool
Do not use chain wrench on the pulley!
I got the timing right by making timing belt to sprockets marks, transferring these marks to the new belt and then aligning the new belt to the sprocket marks.
These marks are using only diring installtion, they will not align after engine is rotated.
the purpose of these marks to assure that no slack is present on the "pulling" side of the belt.

[thefranks5]

Are the two -- the power steering and the timing belt -- in the same area of the engine....So that trying to do them "both at the same time" would make it easier? Or are they really separate jobs?

Tomorrow starts the weekend and I'll have a chance to attack it then.

Thanks for your insights. Hope it will benefit those who follow.

[Doctor J]

You may remove power steering pump before doing the timing belt and install it after timing belt is done.

[thefranks5]

Dr. J.

Having dug into the project I have determined that it is in fact a leak on the high pressure power steering hose, NOT the power steering pump.

I'm also doing the timing belt in one fell swoop.

Probably a dumb question, but....should I be replacing both power steering hoses while I'm there, I'm guessing not, but thought I should ask your opinion.

Thanks. And now that I'm into it, the step for cutting off the hose at the banjo joint now makes perfect sense. That's my next step.

[holmesnmanny]

There are three regular hoses that leak when they get hard and brittle. The first two come off the ps reservoir. The other one runs along the firewall and is hard to get to. Don't forget to replace those.

I have bought a power steering pump for my car but in the meantime have kinda narrowed down my leak to the o-ring that is located on the inside of the pressure hose fitting that attaches on the firewall side of the pump since I can see fluid leaking down from there. When my new pump from rockauto came that I got for only 40 bucks I took off the new fittings and see the o-ring that goes in that spot and I'm fairly confident that that is all I really needed however in the meantime of the leak the fluid has gotten low enough to possibly damage the pump so I'm going to replace it anyhow.

I just haven't got around to going to harbor freight to get the offset wrench that is going to be needed to remove the 14 mm bolt that holds the pump to the bracket. You can't use a regular wrench to get to it as it's really tight on the shock tower side. I think it's going to be best to just remove the hose at the top and remove the pump with it without taking the hose off at the pump since it will probably just be messy. That's how the manual says to do it. The funny thing is they say it's a 16mm fitting which doesn't come in most flare wrench sets. Sears sells it as a single but it's expensive.

But I have figured out where my main leak is and I don't think my hoses are leaking.

[Doctor J]

The low pressure hoses on many cars are lasting the lifetimene of the car, so unless they are cut or damaged you may leave them as is

[thefranks5]

Dr J:

I'm doing both the power steering hose and the timing belt. Following your timing belt string that you posted earlier. It's very good.

Ran into a problem. Holding the crank pulley so I can take the main cen ter bolt off.

Tried an air impact wrench, but it's not budging.

If I put a breaker bar on it, it turns the pulley and cam pulley, so they are no nonger in place.

Suggestions for holding the pulley so I can bust this nut lose?

Thanks once again.

[white90dx]

If the air impact isn't doing it... (turn up that air pressure, use a good thick short hose, no extensions, etc)

Use the starter bump trick. Put a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt, wedge it against something solid, disable the ignition (unplug coil) and crank the motor for <1 second. It'll loosen it...

Its not the greatest thing to do, but works in a pinch.

-Charlie

[thefranks5]

I took the air impact back and got an electric chicago impact.... no movement.

Decided to give up on it for now and try the steering hose..... crap. Coulde they have put the 22mm bolt in a worse position??/111 I can't get anything to it to get any leverage on it.

Two days of work, and little progress....

For what its worth, I did find a belt wrench for the crank pully, but it can't hold the crank pully hard enough.

and am totally flumaxxed sp?

going t try useing the starter with breaker bar idea next.

thanks