stp oil additive in ps fluid?

[Digital2k2]

my 89 3.0 v6 toyota pickup is making a screeching sound from the ps pump for the first few miles till it warms up. It's definitely not the belt. (I'm thinking bearings for the pulley?)
my friend that rebuilds engines suggested trying something like the thick stp stuff in it.. just a glob of it to quiet it down.

what do you all think of this? could it harm anything to give that a shot?

 

[Greaser]

What I would do is get as much of the old fluid out of the pump as possible,I siphon out as much as possible,then add new CLEAN power steering fluid as prescribed for your vehicle.I do this on a regular basis.You can add a sealer/conditioner with the new fluid if you wish.

 

[JHZR2]

yes, replace the fluid. Does it take dexron or some other fluid?

Our previa did this for a few winters... not sure why. It just went away by itself, and everything is original at 186k.

JMH

 

[MONKEYMAN]

What color is your fluid? Mine was like Hershey's syrup in a Saturn. I used a Turkey Baster to remove old stuff at the end of the day and replace with new. I would try fluid replacement first, or Auto-RX or Lube Control to clean things up and fluid replacement.

 

[Digital2k2]

it was a couple ounces low so I added some fluid from carquest that said it was for most domestic and foreign cars, just not hondas.

it's not very dirty looking, but I'll try replacing the fluid anyway. Anyone know for sure if the type I got is correct?
If that doesn't work, is there anything thick that would be safe to add?

 

[unDummy]

I use dexron ATF in Toyotas that I service.
Whats the PS reservoir cap say??

 

[Digital2k2]

doesn't say on the cap and I don't have the manual for the truck... what's in there seems to be the same color as the ps fluid I added though..

someone posted this on a toyota web site: "It seems the seals and o-rings in the pump don't like PS fluid as much as Dexron III ATF. My manual (93 truck) says to use ATF."

so if I suck what I can out with a turkey baster, would it hurt to mix atf with ps fluid?

 

[MolaKule]

STP is NOT a good additive. Use ARX if you want to clean it but try a fluid replacement first using Turkey Baster Methodolgy (TBM).

 

[JohnBrowning]

Lube Control works well to clean them out as does MMO. Now if it is just dirty or the fluid worn out these things will help! If the bearings are bad you need to either rebuild your unit of get a rebuilt unit. Their is also the junk yard for a decent used one!

If it is leaking then either repair the seals or hose with new one or try Auto-Rx! If this is a Toyota truck the quickest way to empty the remote res. is to simply pull the low pressure return line off the res. and let it drain out!

Does your P/S pump bult run directly to p/s or does it have a tensioner/idler puley tp go through? I ask becasue the sealed bearing used in the tensioner and or idler is replaceable. You can go to any decent parts store and they can match it up in the timken book! All they need is a caliper and the book!

P.S. It has been experince that 10-12 years or 150,000-200,000 is about the limit for Toyota P/S pumps!!! I have seldom seen them last any longer even under ideal conditions!! The only exception is the guys that put a lot of miles on realy quickly like courriers and over the road sales man!It is almost always the bearing in the pump that goes out!!

 

[unDummy]

It doesn't hurt to mix ATF with PS fluid.
Siphon/refill with a good ATF(I prefer synthetics).

 

[mechtech]

Right or wrong, we 'fixed' a number of noisy Ford PS units with a shot of STP.
Not all customers could afford the right fix, and this often worked for a long time.

 

[cousincletus]

Never tried it myself, but heard that Lucas P/S additive works very well. The junkyard should be a good solution if that doesn't work. www.car-part.com. You should be able to find the part there.

 

[Digital2k2]

thanks for all the info, I was about to replace it when I noticed in tiny black lettering "use dexron atf" lol can't belive I missed that.
The fluid in there still doesn't look red enough to be atf, but I'm going to get some for it anyway.

 

[Digital2k2]

well I got it all out of the ps resivour, but it only had 1/4qt in there. I read that the whole system takes 2 quarts.

what I got out was definitely not atf, smelled different and brown instead of red. so I have mostly ps fluid and now 1/4th quart of fresh atf in there...

 

[johnnyo4]

quote:

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Originally posted by Digital2k2:
well I got it all out of the ps resivour, but it only had 1/4qt in there. I read that the whole system takes 2 quarts.

what I got out was definitely not atf, smelled different and brown instead of red. so I have mostly ps fluid and now 1/4th quart of fresh atf in there...

---

To get most of it out with the turkey baster method you have to do it several times. I bought 2 qts of PS fluid. Suck out as much as you can with the tukey baster and fill with new. drive for a while and repeat the process until the 2 quarts are used up. It will be nice and clean by then.

 

[theguru]

I disconnected the lines at the reservoir (like changing atf for the trans). This was pretty easy except can be a little messy.

 

[babydoggy]

Don't use stp. Too much pressure increase will cause leaks and hard turning.

 

[MolaKule]

quote:

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Right or wrong, we 'fixed' a number of noisy Ford PS units with a shot of STP.
Not all customers could afford the right fix, and this often worked for a long time.

---

I would prefer to use a couple ounces of SX-UP to delay the inevitable replacement of the pump.

STP is simply an oil thickener with a small amount of ZDDP.