Bumpin' Yota

I have the 3vze from '90 with 4x4 and my PS pump leaks like a sieve - the gasket/orings are probably shot....

My issues are with the TSR manual - it's incredibly vauge about the bleeding proceedure for the PS pump and gear box.... Said something about attaching a viny tube to the bleed valve and then mentions nothing of the valve ever again or of bleeding....

I know that I keep putting PS fluid in the reservior with the return line disconnected and run the engine long enough for the PS fluid to come out, but then what?

So how do I bleed these suckers from there on out?

TSR manual is VERY vauge from that point on

n1das

My '89 SR5 truck has the 3VZE engine and the PS pump has been slowly leaking fluid over time. The truck was my parent's truck until recently (now mine), and the power steering fluid has NEVER been touched since new. It was just low enough on fluid for the pump to start sucking air. I added new fluid to bring it up to full. The original fluid was BROWN colored and definitely needed to be changed.

Instead of bleeding the system, I used my LiquiVac oil extraction pump to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir. I replaced it with new fluid, ran the truck for a while, and then did the whole process again. I did this at least 5-6 times. Although I used a lot of fluid this way, the fluid is clean now and normal red colored.

I didn't want to hassle with bleeding the system, so I chose to replace what fluid I could and keep doing that to continually dilute the concentration of old fluid. It's kind of a waste of fluid but it saved me from having to figure out how to bleed the system.

The new ATF (Dexron III) in the PS system has a seal conditioner in it to help the seals. No leaks so far with the new fluid. Mine was slowly leaking fluid, so maybe the seal conditioner will help. Sounds like yours is more of a gusher. Hopefully you won't have to bleed the WHOLE system if you have to replace the PS pump.

Good luck.

~ n1das

superjoe83

the system should bleed itself, just jack the front tires off the ground, fill the reservoir, start engine don't turn wheel, let idle for about 5 sec, turn off, top off fluid, if the fluid looks foamy, let sit for 5-10 min. then start engine and turn wheel one way, but do not hit the steering stop, that will tend to foam the fluid more, straighten wheel, top off fluid and do the same for the other direction, this method has worked for me and should work for you

Victor

FYI - I added an auto tranny stop leak product I got at Autozone and my leak is gone. I would try that first as a bandaid fix. Mine has been working great now for 3 months.