Power Steering Flush - "How To"

Regarding the job though, if you're using poly replacements make sure you use appropriate poly-safe lubricant anywhere the bushing touches metal unless you really love squeaking and squealing.

 

If the rack bushings are still rubber, they stand a good chance of being pretty darn squishy. Squishy enough to not clamp the rack down securely enough.

The rag joint on my truck (220k miles) is still fine, so that component appears to be pretty durable.

I find it difficult to make an accurate assessment of how much wear the outer tie rod ends have when they’re still attached to the knuckle/spindle. If you can pop the TRE out of the seat, then you can wiggle and rotate it around with your hands. It then should be pretty obvious if they have any slop.

The inner rods (that thread into the rack) are also another slop source. It’s pretty difficult to assess their condition without digging a bit deeper. For that i would-
-unseat the outer TRE from the steering knuckle,
-remove the large Oetiker clamp from the rack bellows,
-remove the small spring clamp from the other end of the bellows,
-slide the bellows completely out of the way,
-and finally rotate the inner rod around in both circles and in n out. 100% chance the Oetiker clamp got destroyed when you removed it, so either buy a new Oetiker or use a very high quality zip tie to clamp the large end of the bellows back on.

 

Nice red

 

This is a great write up! Love the pics! Thanks!

 

Nice tips! I did a very similar thing on my 02' a couple years ago.

 

I saw someone said they posted a thread about cleaning the reservoir, but I could not find it in their posting history.

So how do you clean it and the filter? If it has debris, it seems to be at the bottom where I'm not sure how you have access. Does the reservoir come apart so you can get to it?

I haven't taken the reservoir off, but after a casual look yesterday, I can't see where you can get to the bottom of the reservoir

 

There's no great way to clean the res to non-yellow state without using kill-you-with-cancer chemicals or bizarre, obtuse processes. Better bet is honestly to replace. I have yet to find a good priced replacement though. The OEM assembly for our '06 (or at least my AC V8/4WD Limited) is 443600C030. ~$200 is a heap of money knowing aftermarket reservoir is about 1/10th of that $$. Even the Dorman part (603-678 IIRC) is like $120, 4x the generic. WITAF? I wish I knew who was making the blow-molded plastic portion for them. And I should check www.Amayama.com to see if I can get it cheaper from Japan. EDIT: Actually if I order thru Toyota parts it's right around $150 right now but still stupid pricing. Mark my words, this part will be discontinued soon.

 

timmy the tool man does brake cleaner. Sends like 2 cans through it. Came out not too bad. I did the same. Again, came out not too bad

 

Yeah I used non-chlorinated brake cleaner in mine…….came out decent.

 

I have a '02 so I think the design is different, but I used brake clean. Basically spray it in with enough pressure and it can get some debris loose. Its been a while since I did this, but I think I might have been able to spray the brake clean from the bottom as well to get some of the debris at the bottom.

 

Here's you cheap aftermarket part:

$33 Power Steering Reservoir For 2000-2007 Toyota Sequoia Tundra 4.7L 443050C030 443600C030 4436034010 603-678 3R-117

https://www.amazon.com/Reservoir-2000-2007-443050C030-443600C030-4436034010/dp/B0BGKVFPST

 

I plan to do this job this weekend. Not too worried about cleaning or replacing reservoir for now. Glad this tutorial is here. After this, brake fluid flush, then I'm caught up on maintenance for a while.

 

You should be able to do both in about 2hours. By your self.

If not; you got some serious self-reflecting to do........

 

I almost always have serious self-reflection to do, so that wouldn't be anything new.

This weekend will be the first in a while with beautiful late spring weather forecasted. I'm also installing Sumo Springs, another job that should only take an hour, two at the most. But it all adds up with prep, work and cleanup, and I don't want spend a whole day on the truck instead of out in the mountains!

So brake fluid will probably happen another weekend.

 

Sumo springs shouldn't take more than 30min.

 

Yes but when it comes to this kind of stuff I don't "should" myself too much. The job is very straightforward, yes.

 

Nah. Not interested. And really all I need is the plastic reservoir, but I want one that looks factory. I wish Toyota would sell just that, alone, without the bracket, for half as much. If the reservoir alone was in the $60-80 range, I'd buy it.

Maybe I'll just bite the bullet during the next dale, and buy the assembly at $120, then sell my OEM, cleaned out, for $40 or something.

 

Just did this today. Glad I did it, but turned out the fluid wasn't bad. Must be the reservoir is just stained or something so it looked a lot worse than it was.

Brake flush next.

 

I bought a new reservoir on Rock Auto. My old one was stained and cracking. The reservoir looked just like my OEM reservoir but the bracket was shit so I just used the plastic reservoir in my original bracket. Looks and works fine.

 

Thanks. What brand?

 

Might have been the Cardone one.

 

I bought some ATP 205, and remembering this post, did quite a bit of searching...including my owners manual (also shown in a photo in this thread) and the internet. No mention of capacity. After my flush, my power steering reservoir is full, but I'm planning to suction enough out to add the right amount of ATP. But I have no idea how much is the right amount...

Anyone have a ballpark figure for power steering fluid capacity?

 

Just did this flush for the second time on my 06 sequoia (240k). Had a bit of groan/whine noise and some minor boot leakage. Figure I'll need to replace eventually but could maybe buy some more time. I'll want to do a full front end job at same time.

Used 2 qts of atf and added half quart of Lucas oil "power steering stop leak". Took the reservoir off completely for a thorough clean (it didn't really need it).

Results seem to be positive. Noise has improved, feels a little tighter (hard to quantify), time will tell on the leak.

 

Others on here have mentioned adding 1 TBSP of fabric softener in the power steering reservoir and it'll kill the moan, but won't kill the rack.

 

I saw that, but figured I'd try the Lucas instead... Haha. Just did 1000 mile road trip to Oregon coast. Coastal driving gave it a good workout, seems like it's improved

 

Just did this. Replaced the reservoir and the hose to the pump too. So many original hoses on this truck. Now I can see the fluid level. Old stuff was way dark.

 

Pics man, show us some pictures befor @bmf4069 comes in here, like, "Yo dawg, we like pics, like, a LOT"

 

I used a doorman reservoir. I bought a factory hose though. I think it was $70. Expensive little thing.