[SteveKapono]

So I just bought my first Toyota, it's a 1997 T100 with like a billion miles on it, but the motor is still super strong.
I was cleaning it up last night when I decided to wash the engine bay. As soon as I washed it the power steering pump started making a winding noise, and it was harder to steer when I pulled away.
I checked the hoses to make sure I didn't accidentally knock a hose off, they were all connected.
How does this make sense?

Also I had another question about it, when I'm driving and let's say I'm going 40mph. If I go to slow down for a light and I push in the clutch and then brake (I guess I should probably be gear breaking) as I come to a stop my engine will turn off. Is this a known problem?
How can I solve these things?

Thank you very much.

 

[BamZipPow]

Welcome to the forums!

Just a few questions...
2WD or 4WD?
How many actual miles?

How good are yer belts? It's possible that you have worn belts and the water on the pulley may be causing some slippage. Have you checked yer power steering reservoir? Is it between the hot and cold markings? If not, you will need to top it off with ATF (Dexron III) instead of power steering fluid.

As far as yer engine dying when coming to a stop, it's possible that yer throttle body may be gunked up or the vacuum dash pot may not be hooked up. How is the engine idling (cold and hot)? Any starting issues when the coolant is at operating temp? Snap some piccies of the engine bay and post them.

 

[SteveKapono]

She is the 4cyl 2.7 2wd and has a little over 367k miles on her.

The belts look new, and the fluid seems to be at proper level. Also, when the engine is on, the power steering pulley is definitely spinning.

The truck always starts, and struggles for only a second and then gets to idle speed immediately. Once at idle speed the engine purrs.

I'll go take some pics to post next.

 

[SteveKapono]

Here is a picture of the engine bay.

 

[BamZipPow]

Doo you see the vacuum switch on the power steering pump with the two vacuum hoses going to it? That's what controls the variable power in the power steering. When it has high vacuum, the vacuum switch allows more power to the rack. Make sure that neither of those hoses are cracked/hard or that the ports in the throttle body or air plenum are clogged. I doubt the switch is defective but it is possible. When in doubt, you could replace the vacuum hoses to that switch fairly cheaply and see if yer power steering comes back.

 

[BamZipPow]

I noticed that those vacuum lines are missing the clamps. Here's what mine looks like on my 1996 T-100 with the 3rzfe 4 cylinder engine:

 

[SteveKapono]

I inspected them, I guess they are a little dry, I'll start by adding clips though. And see what happens. I did notice that the power steering comes back in higher rpms. Like if I sit in the driveway and rev the engine, the wheel becomes easier to turn.

Also the problem with the engine dieing has become significantly worse, and has some odd symptoms. I'll just be driving and the engine will suddenly start running rough, and i will hear a clicking noise coming from in back of the glove box, it sounds like a switch or relay, then the lights on the dash flicker. If i rev it goes away.
It will do this every few minutes, and dies at idle. The check engine light also came on for a bit.

I hope I haven't purchased a money pit of a truck. Haha

 

[BamZipPow]

I wonder if you have any other vacuum leaks happening. With the engine running, use an unlit propane torch to find out where they might be at.

BTW, is yer check engine light on? If so what codes are you gitting?

I'm also wondering if yer throttle body and/or IAC valve may be gunked up as well. Pull the throttle body off and post up some piccies. It would be a good time to clean everything (air plenum, throttle body, and IAC valve) up when you do that.

Do you know when this truck got a tune up last? How good is that cap and rotor? Spark plug condition? How old are the spark plug wires? Might be a good time to do those just to eliminate them out of the equation.

 

[SteveKapono]

Ok, so here's an update.
I checked those vacuum hoses going to the power steering pump and they were leaking, so i replaced them. However the power steering had only gotten louder and worse, but the fluid level is fine. I'm pretty sure at this point it's a bad pump.

On the other problem about the engine dying after dropping in rpms, i took apart the distributor cap, it was in bad shape, lots of corrosion I couldn't clean completely so I replaced it, it was a cheap part and now the idle is way smoother. However it still dies when the rpms come down (like when in stopping at a light). I cleaned the air control valve it didn't make a difference.
I hear this clicking (like a relay switch) near the glove box when the engine is running rough, it's like a pen clicking really fast repeatedly for a few seconds.

 

[BamZipPow]

The relay in question could be the Circuit Opening Relay which has been known incorrectly as the Fuel Pump relay. It is one of two relays that sends power to the fuel pump. There is a Fuel Pump relay aka EFI relay located in the engine bay fuse box. The COR could be bad or the wiring to it may be bad/damaged.

The COR is a safety relay that cuts power to the fuel pump in the event the engine stops running. This is to prevent fuel feom being pumped while the engine isn't running. The crankshaft sensor is the one sensor that feeds data to the ECU that sends power to keep the circuit closed. If that data is not sensed, the ECU cuts power to that relay. It is possible that yer crankshaft sensor is bad or the wiring may be damaged. I'm not sure if the ECU uses the crankshaft sensor fer anything else.

 

[BamZipPow]

Click the "Thanks" button fer the posts that have helped you...if you don't mind.

 

[BamZipPow]

Is yer Check Engine light on?

 

[SteveKapono]

Click the "Thanks" button fer the posts that have helped you...if you don't mind.

There's a thanks button?
They all have been super helpful, I'm just trying to keep up with the suggestions.
You've been awesome and I feel like I'm learning as I'm working on or checking each thing.

 

[SteveKapono]

Is yer Check Engine light on?

No, but it did come on for a few minutes while driving last week.
However hasn't come back on since I cleaned the MAF sensor and the Air control valve.