I recently cot my totally stock '03 tacoma serviced with a little less than 42k miles on it and they said the power steering pump was leaking and needed to be replaced. This will be the third one!! I read some topics about an '01 having the same issue a few years back. Clearly has anyone else had a this problem with the new trucks. I am very disappointed the this seems to be a recurring issue with my truck.
My '00 SR5 Xtra cab V6 4WD is in the shop right now with a power steering pump leak. At 25,000 miles the pump was replaced under warranty for this problem, then again at 44,000 miles (thank goodness for the extended warranty I bought!). Now at 63,000 it's happened again. I'll tell you now I'm not keeping it long enough to see if it reoccurs at 80K! I'm supposed to hear from the dealership tomorrow on thier action plan.
I've been searching online to see if this is a common problem and what the permanent fix is, but so far I haven't found anything.
"ASEmaster" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...
This is a common problem on Tacoma's. Especially the ones with very large tires and or driven off road. I believe the power steering pump gets very hot. Plus the high pressure in the system causes the seal to leak. A lot of people use synthetic transmission fluid in the power steering pumps. Some have added small coolers to help keep the fluid cool. A rebuild kit is less than $30. Here is a site you can find more information
BBTaco
Odd though, my truck's never been off road and the tires are the stock size. In fact, the whole truck is completely stock. In general, I've maintained the vehicle very well. Why then would it wear out 3 power steering pumps in 63,000 miles? I heard from the dealership today, they're going to replace the pump once more with a new one under my extended warranty. No explaination was offered as to why it failed.
"ASEmaster" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@no-mx.forums.yourdomain.com.au...
Maybe the first one to fail was just a lemon, and they've been replacing them with bad rebuilds?
Try adding a power steering cooler. It's like a small transmission cooler connected to the return line of the power steering system. For some reason, many Toyota trucks have a tendancy to overheat the pump, weakening the pump shaft seal resulting in premature leaks. This has always worked for me.
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