how to disable power steering pump? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

nadir · 07-04-2005, 01:35 PM

right now, the family doesn't want to invest $$ into the celica, and after spending some 300-400 bucks for changin the timing belt / water pump and other various things, the power steering pump decided to crap out on us.

Now, can I just pull the fuse for the power steering (assuming there is a fuse) ?? I know the belt would still be connected, but i'm wondering if there's goin to be any issues with that.

I just want to get rid of that horrible whining noise it makes ... trust me, it's really really loud... and i notice foaming in the resevoir - duno what that means. The power steering feels like its goin to give out any minute. I'd much rather disable it for now and then replace it later down the road.

At the end of the summer we may consider parting it out or just donating it. .. such a good car, but with about 195k on the odo, dunno how much longer it'll survive.

Thanks alot guys.

89 celica GT

flex-appeal · 07-04-2005, 01:41 PM

dont think you can just do that - you have any idea how heavy the steering will be without the power assist?

nadir · 07-04-2005, 04:17 PM

hmm ... from what i read, there's no fuse and the only way is to cut the belt. I might just do that.

However, can someone give me an idea how difficult it is to change the power steering pump? Is there anything else i need to remove to get access to it?

I have tools and good experience with cars ... just never done the power steering before or drive belts (but i'll need to learn one of these days right?).

thanks

edit: what's the best way to flush it out? I know there are 2 kinds of power steering fluid ... maybe it has the wrong one because the mechanic said he filled it up with it. .. and i know the problem got progressively worse.

I am used to changing the fluid in my maxima, but i just use a turkey bastor to suck out the fluid in the resvoir and replace it with Mobil1 synthetic. Unfortuantley, the crappy design of the celica resvoir doesn't allow the turkey bastor in ... and i don't wanna siphon that shit out. Maybe i'll use an old aquarium pump to do the trick.

nadir · 07-04-2005, 07:01 PM

alright, i pumped the fluid and flushed it out twice by using a turkey bastor / pipe in teh resevoir.

The fluid that came out was dark yellow color ... dextron is supposed to be red, right?

well i pumped it out and filled it with dextron twice.

Same problem remains. I notice that when i turn the wheel all the way to the left or right a couple times, it starts to overfill. when i look in the resevoir, there's air gettin in there for sure cuz it's bubbling like crazy.

Howver, i never noticed any leak otherwise.

what's goin on? what to check? the hoses seem to be secured.

farqy · 07-05-2005, 01:32 PM

the power steering system is similar to a hydraulic system, and that bubbling you are seeing is called cavitation. air bubbles are bad because they implode and destroy the chrome plating on your power steering arms.

you possibly have seal problems, or the oil is the wrong type causing foaming and bubbling. best to dump whatever oil is in there, and find a good hydraulic oil type. I disabled the power steering on my 1988 GT-S by cutting the belt, and the steering is not too heavy, except when you are trying to parallel park.

Everything is vacuum controlled, so there won't be any fuses for the power steering system, but make sure if you dump the power steering system, find the two hoses that go to the pump and pinch them off completely, or else you will have a vacuum leak that will make your car run poorly, and may potentially suck in a bunch of dirt and ruin your reliable toyota engine

PhantomS · 07-09-2005, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flex-appeal

dont think you can just do that - you have any idea how heavy the steering will be without the power assist?

Hmmmm...I had a non-power steering '75 celica for 10 years....steered just fine, other than trying to turn the wheel when stopped. Truthfully, I hate power steering, but seems as though every car made nowadays has it, anymore...power steering and automatic trannies...bah !!!

rboyer · 07-10-2005, 03:20 PM

if you want to totally drain your power steering system you need to get a partner to help you out... you have to pull the return hose from the bottom of the resivoir and find something to plug up the housing so that nothing drips out of it.. then stick the return hose into some kind of container to catch fluid (or do it at a discreetly located car wash!) then you need to have a friend sit in the car and flick the starter on and off real quick while you pour in the new fluid to compensate for what is being taken out through the return line (it's best if you disconnect the fuel pump before doing this and let the car run dry with whatever fuel is pressurized in the line.. you do not want the engine to turn over while doing all of this, so if you want to do it without cutting fuel then make sure that right after the starter is turned that the key it taken all the way back to the off position) basically when you just pump out what is in the resivoir you're not getting anything in the pump or rack out of there, so if it is the wrong fluid, then refilling it with the right stuff and still having some of that junk in there is not helping you at all. i have also found out that this stuff called lucas power steering stop leak is pretty good at solving certain rack problems.. it's not real good at fixing really big leaks, but i have used it on alot of cars with internal leaks in the racks, and it had either helped a little, or in some cases alot, so it might be worth your while to try a bottle and see if it smoothens out your steering problems.

nadir · 07-10-2005, 05:08 PM

thanks for all the suggestion guys,

i ended up cutting the belt. The noises went away, but no power steering. My brothers say it's a workout to drive the car, but we only need it for another month or two, then we're goin to part it out or just sell it under a grand... that's too bad too considering all the new mechanical parts on it and the exterior looks good (2 yr old paint now).

SplittinLanesTM · 03-04-2009, 01:26 PM

The foaming is caused from an air pocket and/or air leak. If the line is already bled, (Turning the steering wheel lock to lock 8-25 Times depending on the car). That means you are intaking air into the line or your rack and pinion. If you are taking in air it will cause your check valve to close in the Rack.

The check valve is a little ball that sits in a seal inside the rack. That valve prevents fluid from flowing from the high pressure line and the return line (line going back to resevoir) at the same time when you hit a bump. Anyway......

If that seal wears down or that check valve gets stuck it causes the Power steering pump to start whining because it can't circulate fluid, so pressure just keeps building and building in the H/P line until either the check valve breaks loose or worse case scenario the H/P Line bursts or your pump blows.

To make a long story short. Your check valve is going bad. Causing you too loose power steering temporarily at times or all together. You need a new Rack and Pinion or you need to find someone that knows how to change your check valve seal.------

Rick89GTS · 03-04-2009, 08:39 PM

This post is 4 years old but FWIW, it's not that hard to replace the PS pump. Plenty of write-ups on how to do it yourself.

concealer404 · 03-05-2009, 06:26 AM

^Rick... you would happen to know of a write up to completely REMOVE the PS on these cars, would you? I want the pump gone and recirculate the rack.

Rick89GTS · 03-05-2009, 12:56 PM

^I don't know of a PS pump removal and recirculation modification but you may want to search ps pump on sites like www.alltrac.net and www.celicatech.com. I know I've seen similar topics discussed there before. A good number of guys have talked about doing what you suggested, don't know if they were successful or not though...

concealer404 · 03-06-2009, 06:31 AM

^They always talk about it, but never do it. :P

My home base is Celicatech, i'm ciento44 over there. I seem to have developed a rather large PS leak, and i'm not going to fix it. So i guess i'll look into it this weekend and try to just remove it.

Rick89GTS · 03-06-2009, 08:53 PM

Hehe, you're in stealth-mode.
OK, then you know celicatech has archived two PS pump removal how-to articles.

concealer404 · 03-07-2009, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick89GTS

Hehe, you're in stealth-mode.
OK, then you know celicatech has archived a two PS pump removal how-to articles.

Nah, it's more like they finally blocked Celicatech at work and i never have even 20 minutes free at home anymore between fixing the GF's Escort GT, my brutally uncomfy hatch, and Shadowlife's vert. Gotta get it all done before the dragon! :P

I forgot about those articles... i'll print them off later before i go try to hit it. It's hemorraghing fluid in two different spots and it's really making a mess of that side of my engine bay. The PS has a hard time compensating for the huge amount of tire i run anyways, so it can't be THAT much worse.