AoiHeiwa

Hey all,

Recently my '90 LS 400's alternator went dead. I pulled the alternator and found what appeared to be power steering fluid in the terminal of the alternator. Sure enough, I examined the power steering fluid reservoir's level, and it was almost bone dry. The hoses all seem fine. Underneath the car there is definitely a slight to moderate oil leak, the source of which I have yet to identify.

My question is this: Are there areas that typically leak on the LS 400 power steering system, at least above the alternator? I cleaned the underside of the engine up in order to see where the leak originated from, but no luck thus far... Could the oil leak also have contributed to killing the alternator?

NTRUDA

The PS fluid on your altenartor is typical when the pump starts to fail...I had the same issue this past summer and I replaced the whole steering system (rack & pinion, ps pump, hoses, etc) along with my altenator; my starter was going bad so I replaced that as well...most owners just plug the acv on the pump so that it won't leak on the altenator when they either replace or rebuild the ps pump...other areas of leaking I am not aware of since I've had the car (91 LS400) but this is the only area that I am very familiar with...one thing that I recommend doing is to add a PS Pump Filter when you do make the repairs--it will really help out your system alot and just for my peace of mind, I use AMSOIL SYNTHETIC TRANSMISSION FLUID in the PS PUMP-that's just something that I did differently from the stock setup on the car...hope that answers your question...

gmacrae

Could just be the idle up valve on your PS pump leaking, check that out first (follow the 2 vacuum lines down from the intake pipe and manifold). If it is just the valve leaking you can remove it without any worries. Just make sure you flush the system with new dextron 3 trans fluid. Good chance you'll be up for a new PS pump though, flushing/replacing the PS fluid is usually overlooked, which will make the pump wear prematurely.

AoiHeiwa

Thanks for the advice gentlemen, I'll have to investigate the situation in the next day or two. Hopefully I'll be able to take care of this without needing a new PS pump!