power steering problem

[bigjap]

last week on my way home,i lost my power steering assistance,managed to get it home ,good muscle building,had to work out the straightest way home.one of the pipes had blown off the rubber joint,got it back on ,the pumps making a noise,so think the pressure may of blew the hose off,where its not working properly,so new pump  required,Lexus quoted me £851! gulp.does anyone on here know where to get a replacement,cars prob only worth £1500 on a good day,so spending a £1000 plus on it,does.t make sense really,any help or advice would be appreciated.not sure if i want to take chance on second hand as its quite a bit of a job to do twice.

[steve2006]

First question is have you refilled the reservoir to the correct level with the correct fluid and bled the air out of the system?

Second one is which hose blew off, was it the return pipe to the reservoir? There is a filter screen in the reservoir that will cause excess pressure build up if clogged.

There is also another filter on the rack which can have the same effect.

 

 

[bigjap]

the hose that went was a small one that comes up from rack and goes to a block of other connections, sort of under the  air filter,there still seems a small leak coming around top of pump ,it was filled ok and bled ,it was making a squealy noise,quitened down a bit after bleeding,are these screens like a filter or something

[steve2006]

Sorry for the delay in replying I missed your new post.

The screen is a mesh in the bottom of the reservoir, if you remove the filler cap and shine a light in there you should be able to see it and determine its state.

A rebuild kit is available for the pump and contains all the required seals and gaskets with the exception of the main bearing although this part rarely fails. Part number is 04446-30172 priced around £30.00.

The only pump on offer is the one below 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Power-Steering-Pump-Fits-98-00-Lexus-LS400-4-0L-V8-DOHC-/262201211749?hash=item3d0c68fb65:g:bm4AAOSwaB5XrOBk

Another source is Amayama which will take some time, does not include postage and will attract import charges is an OEM replacement at £382.00 part number 44320-50030.

If you don't fancy doing the rebuild yourself perhaps you could buy the kit and get a local garage remove,repair and refit the pump.

Before doing anything more have another go at bleeding the system, it can take some time to get all the air out, place some old glossy magazines under the tyres when doing it, takes less effort and saves scrubbing your tyres.

[bigjap]

thank you very much ,steve for the help and information,i will try bleeding the system again.i seem to have the steering working ok, but  pump does'nt sound right,but im going to have another go at it

[Heather Twigg]

just an update really ,i took off power steering reservoir,cleaned the mesh filter,refilled got correct fluid ,got all the air out,all working fine,but still have small leak from pump,going to enquire about getting seals replaced,failing that i will get one from the states ,pretty reasonable even with import duty ,steve that was an absolute top tip putting glossy mags under the tyres does make it easy,just make sure you don't want to read them again sorry im using wifes computer,her name got on post

[bigjap]

just an update really re leaking power steering pump,bought the new replacement from the states £112 plus postage approx £60,import duties/vat £59,got it within a week ,so pretty good all round,all fitted now working fine,very pleased to get it back to normal for a reasonable price

[Malc1]

congratulations, another Ls400 ( Mk3 ? ) lives to see another day ( or 20 years ) 

btw, have you replaced the cooler pipe that runs in front of the radiator ? that too might need changing sometime soon, they rot out at about 20 years or so.

Malc1