I haven't changed the fluid, but I did put some sand in the pump so the gears would have more friction and turn better. That would be the same thing, right?

 

not sure about the sand...seems like a bad thing to do.

tell you what, a fluid change might not be a bad idea at this point.

drain the reservoir
remove the upper return hose
insert a long hose in the return line and clamp it.
cap the reservoir return line connector
fill the reservoir with the proper fluid
lift the front end with a jack
start the car for a few seconds
refill and repeat
turn the wheel end to end
keep doing this until the fluid is clean and clear or bright red if using ATF, Dexron

i still kinda think you might have a vacuum or connector loose.

 

I was kidding about the sand. You are right, just for anyone scanning this post, PUTTING SAND IN ANYTHING IN YOUR CAR WOULD BE A STUPID THING TO DO.

I finally got some time to crawl under the car this weekend. There doesn't appear to be any fluid leaks and the vacuum and fluid hoses are on tight. HOWEVER, when I went to get replacement hoses a couple of months ago, I just bought generic hose. The hose that fit the best was Windshield Wiper Hose. I think it is collapsing under the pressure of the vacuum. I will probably buy the OEM hose since it is pre-formed to the engine bay.

My question is, I replaced the solenoid about 4 months ago. How do I know if the solenoid was defective when I put it in? After all, I am getting a C151 code.

Would you just replace the hoses and then go from there?

 

So I am still getting the C1561 error. Last night I changed my Control valve and still have an active code. The control valve is the valve the two vacumm lines go into.

Looking over the Shop Manual pages BGW provided, I see now that the control valve is not the same as the Power Steering Solenoid (see below)

Since I am not eager to pay $500 for a new Solenoid, I was wondering if anyone has any advice? Has anyone replaced the solenoid before?

Based on the manual, I should be able to apply power to the harness and hear a click, does that sound right?

 

I followed the directions BGW posted and used a 9 volt battery to apply a charge to the solenoid in my car. It did not click like it was suppose to. So I knew I had to replace the solenoid. They are pretty pricey at about $550 from the dealer. I bought a used Power Steering Pump off ebay for $70 with the solenoid on it. I think it came off a GS400, but it was listed as a SC430. Either way, they are the same assembly.

The PPS Solenoid looks like this


When I Finally got around to replacing the solenoid, it was quite easy.

1. put something under the car to catch the Power Steering Fluid
2. Remove the (4) 10 mm bolts and take out the airbox and the front air duct attached the the air box.
3. Remove the serpentine belt
4. Remove the Power Steering Pulley
5. Remove this bolt right here, try to limit your Power Steering fluid loss. Watch out for the two crush washers, one top, one bottom.


(this is NOT an actual picture of my engine)

This gives you easy access to the Solenoid.

6. Use a 32 mm open end wrench to remove the solenoid. I bought the wrench at Home Depot for about $13.50
7. The part the bolt goes into is going to rotate when you turn the wrench. This is no big deal. In fact after you break the solenoid free, you can use this part to loosen the solenoid the rest of the way.
8. Wiggle the part off the solenoid and put in on your new solenoid.
9. Reverse proccess to put car back together. Don't forget the two crush washers and to fill your power steering Resevoir.
10. Zero Point Calibrate your steering using the paperclip trick to shut off your vsc light.

 

Nice write up and I am sure it will help someone down the road!
BTW, did it fix you issue?

 

Yes, the procedure was successful