Hi all, old thread I know but I was wondering if removing the power steering all together would be a (cheap) feasible option? A friend of mine's power steering belt snapped and the power steering was no longer functional, and he drove his car around like that for a couple weeks. I'm guessing a van could be too much of a bastard to steer without power steering?
Here's a quote from another thread:
Originally Posted by timsrv
i,ve been going through this topic cuz i detect some ps fluid on my alt and i sometimes get a christmas tree dash for 10 seconds or so then it goes away. soon as the weather gets a bit warmer i,ll investigate this further. however i want to say that in my mind i did,nt want to bypass the ps pump and just drive it as manual steering because of what i,ve read about the bevel gear being a weak point! for what it,s worth go ahead and repair the leaky pump. why take the chance of having to turn and not be able to and crash n burn cuz ya did,nt want to fix the pump. jus sayin.
Joegri, I would atleast put a 2 pieces of cardboard under your PS pump to catch some of the fluid that is leaking. My alternator just died this week in my 89 van. When I bought this van from the owner 20,000 ago less then a year ago it had christmas lights at the startup. I mentioned to him the alternator is bad and he was like I just replaced it. Im sure he did because it looked pretty clean except for some oil spots. Poor guy probably didnt know the PS pump was leaking on it. So I put cardboard pieces and drove it 20K until it finally died last week. Probably because I did alot of driving recently to New York and wasnt changing out the wet pieces of cardboard frequent enough.
Now I ordered a PS pump, high pressure line and alternator will be installing this week.
thanx mahllek for the heads up on the cardboard trik. lucky for me i,m one of those guys that has been squirreling away parts for many years. lemme see i have 3 ps pumps on the shelf and 1 brand new alt in the shed. and 1 new starter in the box. also 3 starters that are in need of the rebuild kit that i,ve seen posted here on ebay. man i wish i had a garage! tough to get motivated when its 20 degrees or so!hope she hangs in there till a better day. as a note to any new van owners... if you come across some parts that you think you might need down the road GRAB,EM! cuz someday you just might need,em.
I used ABS plastic to make a shield for mine, a laundry detergent bottle could work well too!
Anyone got dimensions on those o-rings?
I work for a hydraulics shop and can probably get a high quality viton o-ring. And not stand in line at toyota for 30 min.
Also,
What is the purpose of the vacuum switching valve on the side of the PS pump???
Thanks!!!!
That valve raises the idle slightly to compensate for the additional pump drag on the engine when your cranking the wheel at idle. For example, while maneuvering into a parking space.
Hello!
As the title says my power steering pump in my 1986 Toyota van seems to be leaking into the alternator. I've replaced the alternator before and it wasn't too much of a hassle. I bought the van from a friend and he also has some issues with an o-ring on the power steering pump leaking. Just wanted to see if any of you folks had any insight on whether or not this is a common issue with these and if there is a good reliable fix.
Thanks,
T
I had a leaky PS Pump and all I did was replace the "o - ring" and I havent had a problem since
Administrator
Forum Newbie
Administrator
Yeah, this is a very common problem and one that after 5 years of ownership I've finally got squared away. Tim and everyone else here have been very helpful and there's tons on good stuff in past threads. Lot's of accumulated knowledge here.
Welcome to the forum.
You might want to read up on the alternator threads as well. I've been through a bunch of the cheap rebuilds before finally having an original rebuilt locally.
Re: Power Steering Pump leaking into the alternator 1986 Toyota Van
Just bought my 86 cargo van and am finding this info useful. My alternator is bad and I noticed a bottle of power stearing fluid tucked away in the back. I'm glad you folks shared this info before I went and replaced the alternator. Thanks!
Also, from personal experience, the Denso rebuilds (actually rebuilt by Denso) will last around 100k miles (assuming you keep the PS fluid off of it). The random rebuilt ones (by other remanufacturing places) are hit and miss. Back before I discovered the Denso rebuilds I was going through alternators about every 5 - 10k miles. Tim
Tim, I have found a few brands of Power Steering Pumps that have not been mentioned. As I said before, I am a new owner of a troubled 86 but I think you guys have saved the old Toyota Terror Van. Here is a photo of my leak. I was curious if anyone has used Maval PSP before and how well they stood up to a Denso.
Regarding Denso, I was referring to the alternator. I'm somewhat indifferent to the brand of PS pump you may purchase, although I believe you will probably get what you pay for. I purchased a cheap remanufactured PS pump once and although nice and pretty it leaked from day 1. When I took it apart the leaking o-rings crumbled as they were removed. I concluded the pump was merely cleaned and painted (not rebuilt). Since then I just reseal and use old pumps. That thread I linked to above shows the common leak spots and gives part numbers for o-rings, etc.
PS: The pressure hose on the side of the pump will usually seal up if it's made super tight (just don't round it off or break it). If that doesn't work, take it apart and replace the copper crush washer on the pump-to-hose adapter, then tighten the crap out of it. Tim
Yeah, I read through the threads and realized that my issues were the same as many others. I'm getting my van ready for a long haul to Alaska and really want to avoid any repairs possible on the way, thus just replacing the seals is kind of a scary thought being that I may be 400 miles from nowhere with issues. I was hoping someone had an idea of a sturdy PSP that is reliable and will endure what I intend on putting it through. I think I will replace the seals on the old one as you said and keep it as a spare. Most likely going to try out the Maval PSP and I will let you guys know how it works out.
In response to the issue of directing any future leaks away from the alternator, it seems that a small drip pan made of sheet metal would do. My 86 seems to have enough room to place a home made pan under the pump. Not sure about other years..
Regarding the long haul trip to Alaska... while I'm sure many will disagree or at least not recommend this, I put about 20k miles on my van with the power steering totally disconnected. It's a PITA while parking but will keep fluid off your alternator in a pinch. At the time we were depending on the van so much (~5k miles a month) that I only had time to do the basics to keep it on the road. No ill effects.
About the power steering pump. The only one I could find locally was from Autozone. I bought 0-rings for the externally visible connections from Toyota and used those in place of what came with it. So far so good. I saved the original to rebuild if there's any future trouble.
After I bought my van and started to address the many mechanical issues, my mechanic discovered an aluminum plate fixed above the alternator to shield it from the PS pump leak. He rebuilt the PS pump but decided that putting the shield back over it would just help bake the alternator. I think he called it a "heat multiplier". And we all know that the engine bay in these vans is already an Easy Bake Oven... So that being said, it's best to take Tim's advice and just fix the PS leak properly the 1st time instead of half-assing it and having to do it all over again, possibly several times.
Last edited by trestlehed; 09-07-2015 at 12:56 PM. Reason: .
"You came in that thing?... You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Hi all, While I've had time I've been tracking down all of the little things that I've been too busy to fix on my van and while looking for the source of a very little Coolant leak I think I found the source of my power steering leak. Rather than leaking out of the pump as seems to be the more common problem mine is leaking out of the house that leaves the PS pump and heads toward the stearing mechanism. It seems to be leaking at the crimp on the metal hose where it turns to rubber and descends next to the main lower radiator hose. The collant hose is totally dry but the PS hose is drenched with fluid. This doesn't seem to be a typical rubber hose that I could buy but look more like a single unit and I would appreciate any insights on this hose and how hard it is to replace.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
