kook

for the past 2 weeks Ive been leaking like crazy, I stain every road and driveway I pull into. Had to refill because it would run dry and sound like it had a s/c.

Finally looked under the car and saw this



looks like a completely ripped hose right under the pulley with fluid everywhere, I am not experienced with this stuff but im sure thats it.

Which hose is that, where can I get one and is this a possible DIY fix?

any help is appreciated

llcoolpass

yes, put a pan under there while its leaking out, dont let the psp run without fluid in it

clean that whole area with purple power or something strong so you dont get alllllll dirty [youre still going t oget dirty]

and replace the hoses, the filter, anything else that looks shady, and the pump with a quality pump [ would side to using a lexus or toyota part rather than cheapo autozone type thing ]

you have another possibility, if you're able to relegate it to just a leak hose, its probably because your cars fluid wasn't changed frequently. ps fluid shold be fractionally replaced/dilluted such that its all replaced every 2 years, or just straight up fully replaced every 2 years. as you can imagine most cars do not get this, so, the fluid goes bad and oila, leaks and ps pump failures. good fluid keeps any leaks and wear to a minimum and prolongs the lifespan.

cheapest, best, logical answer:

so, figure out the cause of the leak. will need to clean to do that. is your pump working ok? is there fluid INSIDE of the steering rack bellows [ the flexible black boots near the inner tie rods]?
hint: many times its at the high pressure hose [aka line] to pump junction. you still need to clean and determine leak. adding dye and going that route is not stupid idea.

let us know

PS im 'sortof' in the same boat, veryy tiny leak like you are experiencing, but the leak started to subside a little bit as i replaced fluid fractionally. [still have much fluid to change fractionally, haven't gotten around to it, actually when i have time, im going to do all the fluid at once [pain in the butt]]. i suspect mine is originating at the high pressure connection, but i forget now.

NCGirl

My hubby and I changed out the power steering pump on my 91 ES250, and it was the most AWFUL job we've ever done! There is such a tiny space to work in, it took us 3 days to put it back together, because we kept getting frustrated and just walking away. And I ended up being the one elbow deep in grease because my hands were small enough to fit up in there, lol. It's possible, for sure, but omg it's a pain!

llcoolpass

did you pull the wheel off

anyway, anything's easier than this[always look on the bright side]:

kook

Okay after further inspection, I found it to be the pump dripping fluid.



the part of the pump in the middle is where its coming from, did anyone here have this problem and did you have to replace the whole pump or something smaller?

thanks

llcoolpass

so it's leaking from the seal at/around the shaft?
that hose looks like it's been changed before by someone. are you sure of the source of the leak -- have you cleaned it really good to see?

SK1

If you know what you're doing. You can rebuild the PS Pump Pretty Simply, or change the seal at the shaft. With the "FSM" as reference.

If you don't want to repair look into a Reman unit (even though it's a "dip and strip" rebuild), IMO.

Avoid Dex III Fluid like the plauge. I use Dex 2 old stock on my GS300 that's left over from my grandpa's cressida (I got 3 gallons of the stuff). On my Supra with a Rebuilt rack by myself i used DexIV from toyota as assembly lube and DexIV for the first month then switched over to Mobil One Syn (the only mobil one product i use.) with a Megafine filter.

Also PowerPurple is abrasive as hell, and not rubber safe to any degree; brake cleaner is good for spot cleaning but also isn't rubber safe (it is viton safe though...lol)

I used to use gunk cans, but i've switched over to using Kerosene in a bottle as it's just as effective because Gunk is 95% kerosene. (just do this with the motor cold obviously.)

llcoolpass

sk1, this es 300 comes with a power steering fluid filter. the hydraulic pump does both the cooling fan and the steering rack so toyota/lexus made sure it was clean fluid.

the fluid choice isnt' a big deal. the important thing is fresh [non oxidized fluid] fluid . the fluid goes bad faster than auto trans fluid if you use full lock eve just a few times a month. i can't emphasize good fluid enough for the steering system [which on some es 300 like this one includes the cooling fan, further making it important [for cost reasons if anything] to keep the fluid fresh].
to get all that oily crap off you ll have to use some cleaner.

SK1

^Neat! I didn't know this! About the inline filter!