marvin5881

1998 LS 400
My old PS Pump had a flow control seat fly off of it and right after that happened I lost all power assist to my steering. I decided to replace the pump. I replaced it and attached all of the hoses and pipes back to it and filled it with Dextron III, I turned the wheels in the air for 10 minutes and I started up the car to see if the power steering was back. Unfortunately it was just as hard as before, I had a friend look at the reservoir while I turned the wheels left to right while they were in the air and he said that there was still bubbles coming out even though the fluid didn't look like it was getting displaced. After an hour later of turning it still appears to be bubbling but I don't even know if that's because there is bubbles in the hydraulic system or not. I just feel like after one hour of turning it should have worked by now. Any suggestions?

EDIT:
I also went driving around and I noticed that if I was going at least 5mph the steering became noticeably easier but still not as easy as it should be.

Sherl

The PS Pump activates only at a certain speed threshold.

Also did you check your PS Valve?

peterls

I believe there is a sticky or a mother thread on PS system which explains most of what you need. Some possibilities:
- The little screen inside the steering rack - needs to be cleaned, but not easy to do or even take off unless you find clear instructions
- PS solenoid (which is where that little screen is!) - they go bad sometimes
- PS module, just above your brake pedal, behind that plastic cover. Mine is bad, so it only works sometimes (when it's cold) but at low speeds, after it warms up, it gives me grief.

marvin5881

It turns out that instead of turning the wheels in the air, I just had to rev the engine in park and move the steering wheel around for about 10 seconds (while the wheels were on the ground). After that the steering started working perfectly at idle. I don't understand why that worked but I'm glad it did!

marvin5881

The re-manufactured pump died today... Coughing up $428 for brand new OEM.

Sherl

What brand was reman and how many miles before died?

marvin5881

Endurance Power Steering Pump 5366 from AutoZone. The pump lasted about 100 miles.

peterls

Ouch!
Lexls had a tutorial on rebuilding the P/S pump. Is that a viable option or is the DIY rebuild not as good as a new pump? (I am honestly asking as I don't know what consumables need to be replaced on the P/S pump)

Sherl

If you look into Rockauto there is a rebuild service as well as reman pumps. Acdelco is only one I would recommend if you're going for reman.

bradland

Wise move sir!
After enduring the PS pump trials and tribulations on BOTH of my two 400's the ONLY way to solve the issues was a brand new Toyota/Lexus pump. Pricey yes, but by the second go-around I knew it was either bite the bullet or continue paying forever with money and my time..

Autozone, especially their Duralast brand, is the worse of the worst.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

I rebuilt mine about 10 years ago when I replaced the idle-up air valve and the alternator.

Some of my posts have the part number for the kit, etc. Lexus kit with all the consumables. In theory, the sliding vanes could wear, and I think the manual shows some tolerance on that, but basically you replace everything that wears and end up with something as good as new.

Takes some special tools or creativity with vises, clamps, pullers, etc. but it can be done.

peterls

Thanks oldskewel, I had a feeling it was doable, if not exactly easy. Do you know if lexls tutorial is sufficient for a successful rebuild?