New Ps Pump, Now No Power Steering

01GTB · November 17, 2004

In this thread yesterday I mentioned an awful groaning sound coming from the steering on Sunday. Before I saw the reply I had already ordered the pump <_< So tonight I put the new AC Delco reman on the car, flush the old fluid out and fill with new Dexron. With the front lifted, I turned the wheel several times to try to purge the air. Good news, all is quiet.

I set the front of the car down to take it for a test drive. No power assist at all! :( Any idea what to look at next? I can't believe I tried to save my mom some money and now it's kicking my butt :angry: I don't know to much about these cars, as it is not mine, so any help will be greatly appreciated.

01GTB · November 17, 2004

Bump. Anyone?

JDOwen2 · November 18, 2004

First thing that comes to mind is the serpentine belt routing. Or possibly that the belt tensioner is shot.

01GTB · November 21, 2004

First thing that comes to mind is the serpentine belt routing. Or possibly that the belt tensioner is shot.

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You better believe the first thing I did after I read this was to double check the routing :D Heck you never know :whistles: That was fine, but I do have an update on the car.

If you read the thread mentioned above, this is my mother's SC400. She had called a couple local shops and no one wanted to touch the car and recommended she take it to Lexus. I took it upon myself to fix it (or try to) . I did not really have time to, but I knew she did not have the money to part with. I don't think I have ever taken on a job that I did not honestly think I could do. That's why this one baffled me so much.

I basically gave up as I knew she needed the car back asap. At this point she decided the best thing was to get it to the dealer. She did not want me to drive it that far and used AAA to tow it 35 miles to the dealership. I was not at all happy about it, but it was her decision. I was more or less mad at myself for not getting it fixed when I was sure I could. Kind of like being 35-0 and getting knocked out in your 36th fight <_< I did notice the resevoir-to-pump hose was seeping after I had reinstalled it the last time. I left it and wrote a note for the tech summing up what had been done and made a note of the now leaking hose.

It arrived to the dealer's service department Friday at noon. They called my mother shortly afterwards telling her that everything looked good and the power steering was working just fine, just needed a little fluid. That's a far cry from no power assist at all :blink: They had told her there was a $100 fee for just diagnosing it, but since there was nothing wrong she could just come get the car, no charge. Whatever happened on the ride there is beyond me :wacko: I still wondered about the leaking hose, but the service writer said they were unable to find any leaks.

I took her over Saturday afternoon to pick it up, still nothing was said about any leak. I went straight for the parts counter and bought a replacement hose. Sure nough, I pop the hood when they drive it up and there is a good sized puddle that has leaked from that very spot. My mom wanted to complain. I had to reason with her that there was no charge, don't look a gift horse in the mouth ;) I filled it with fluid and we were on our way.

I took it back over to my shop Saturday evening and it appears the leak was more a misaligned factory clamp than the hose. I put a new clamp on and everything is working great right now. I have no idea why it acted like it did and I am not expecting it to never show up again...but it works right now :)