fliaznguy

Lo there. I've been having an issue with my power steering system...Just like everyone else. Thankfully, my alternator hasn't died...yet. In any event, my symptoms are just like everyone else's.

The noise it makes sounds like a T-Rex from Jurassic Park is breaking free of it's cage
No Power Steering (Mostly...)
Fluid coming out of the reservoir with cap on
Fluid shooting out of reservior with cap off
Fluid is foamy

Here's the interesting bit. I knew there to be a problem and before I did any research on the matter, I bought a couple of bottles of Lucas stop leak for the power steering system. I didn't even join up on the forums to realize that this was an extremely common problem. In any event, it was actually fine for a while.

I loaned the car out to a buddy of mine (I have 9 vehicles) for a few weeks. He mentioned that there was a strange sound coming from the car that sounded like a belt slipping. I advised him to purchase the belts and we'd replace them. However, a couple of weeks later, he was done with needing the car and returned it back with no power steering at all. The car wasn't making the noise anymore. I at this point assumed the pump was just dead. I settled into feeling like I was going to need to buy a pump, hose, and rack.

Last night, I had the car at my shop for some body work. I accidentally found that there was a hose that had broken off of it's connector on the intake piping. Following it, it looked like it went down to the power steering system. I reconnected the line in a way that is by no means going to be there forever. However, when I finished the body work I was doing, the T-Rex was back...Also, I had power steering again.

The fluid is still foaming up it's normal mess and I'm sure it's still leaking out of the reservoir cap but...It looks like I might not need to replace the pump...yet. So, obvious by the foam, there is air getting into the system. I recall seeing an example where this was due to a fitting or an o-ring or something. I can't seem to find it now however. This all being the case however, does anyone have a thought to my rather short novel?

TTslug

iTrader: (1)

foamy fluid and noise normally means air in the lines, a couple things come to mind there

first would be to check all the lines for pin holes, leaking somewhere etc etc, is nothing, sounds like a bad pump. replace pump. bleed the system by filling it up turning wheel from lock to lock and adding fluid as needed until sound goes away.

fliaznguy

Yep. I bled the system to where it stopped foaming but then the issue is back again months later. No fluid on the ground under the car or visible signs of leaking. As such, with no troubleshooting the plan is to replace the pump and then see what happens. I imagine I'll just replace the whole system. Pricey as it is I'm just tired of the headache.

TTslug

iTrader: (1)

sounds like air is getting in, the question is ... where lol this is why i hate power steering problems. i would check for pin hole leaks in a line, before tearing it down, it could be the common spot where the rubber line goes into a the metal casing end. alot of lines tend to get small pin hole leaks there, have somoene turn the wheel while u wiggy the lines and stare it like a idoit for a long time until u go cross eyes, then give up and replace everything lol that seems to be how it goes lol

roccadet

Can power steering leak into the intake because of this problem too? I have white smoke blowing out of my exhaust

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

2 things.

did you bleed the system with the front wheels off the ground? If not thats your problem, do it again with the wheels up in the air and you should be able to get all the air out.

Follow that vac line from your intake, it goes to a black vac switch with 2 hoses on it for the power steering. the other hose there should go to the intake manifold. What you want to do is make sure this plastic piece is still in good shape and not broken. If it looks good from the outside, slide off the 2 hoses very carefully (its easy to break the plastic nipple pieces), and see if they are wet with PS fluid or not. If they are it is broken internally and needs to be fixed, as it will let PS fluid into the intake, usually through the line that goes over to the passenger side.

If those hoses are dry when you pull them, thats probably not the issue and the bleeding with the wheels in the air should take care of it. In my experiance with my PS pump, no matter how bad I treated it even running it for a while with hardly and fluid and missing a couple bolts so fluid was shooting out the seems of it (i thought they were just mounting bolts not holding it together.. lol), I was never able to kill the pump, although it is hard to believe i didn't. It sounded like a t-rex but after replacing the bolts and bleeding it it was perfect.
The first time I went to bleed I did it with the wheels on the ground and 30 minutes of turning the wheel got me nowhere, and naturally i thought the pump was bad. after lifting them up it was a matter of minutes till it was working again. good luck.

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

AliS3,
Does this apply to the 400 as well? Are the power steering systems between 300 and 400 identical?

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

Yes, the power steering system is very similar, just things will be in different places.
you still have the plastic switch with the 2 nipples, one vac line runs to intake pipe, other to intake manifold.
the reservoir on the sc400 is remotely connected with 2 hoses (Similar to a supra TT setup) instead of sitting on top of the PS pump (like a sc300).
bleeding is the same fill up the reservoir, get the wheels up in the air and start turning lock to lock, and don't let the fluid run low or you will have to repeat. also watch out for shooting power steering fluid anytime you have the cap open, I usually keep a rag handy cause its a messy job sometimes and that stuff will eat your paint.