Hi all I am in no way a car mechanic but if explained to me pretty clearly I can figure things out, but my power steering just failed this morning and Im thinking it was because of the rain but I'm not sure. Has this happened to anyone and does this mean I have to get a new power steering pump? or is it a minor adjustment.....
thx
Jeff

 

check the fluid levels first of all.. if it's empty, try refilling it and see if it goes back down. if it does, you have a leak somwhere and may need a new pump.

 

my power steering went out a couple of months ago, and it would leak constantly. So yeah I would try filling it and checking it. Is it making a horrible noise when you turn? I've heard they commonly go out after awhile. You can rebuild them or buy a new one. A rebuild kit from Toyota is pretty cheap but takes some effort to install. I bought a new one so I wouldn't have to go through all the trouble and it wasn't that hard of an install on my '92 4runner. It took about 2 hours with some extra cleaning involved, and I'm by no mean a mechanic.

 

well it does make a squeaking noise when I turn the wheel but I just took it in to a buddies shop and all my cables fell apart because they were old. Im still wondering what the squeaking is though, fluid levels are fine

 

is your power steering belt on too tight possibly? Mine wasn't squeaking. It made a loud rattling noise when I turned.

 

If you meant belts where you said cables, it may be that the belts were loose. That is usually why they squeal, especially when they're wet from rain.