Green Sc 400

[riordamp]

Back during the summer i replaced the my control arms with control arms from a supra. After the job was done the steering was much stiffer. I was a bit disappointed because I had been told that the steering would be stiffer but I did not think it would have been by that much. At any rate about 5 days ago I started hearing a very loud noice that got worse as I turned the steering wheel. Based on reading this forum I knew this was not something to mess with so I immediately went to my mechanic. He said that my steering pump fluid was low but that he could not see any fluid on the altenator. He scheduled me for an apppointment this week to look in more detail but in the mean time he filled the fluid back up. The noise went away and miracle of miracles the steering is not stiff anymore and the car is once again fun to drive. I checked the fluid yesterday and it appears that it has not gone down. Is it possible that the fluid levels could have gone down while they were doing the control arms or would this be unrelated. And finally if they are related how much damage have I done to the pump by running it low on fluid?

[LexusTech117]

Control arms and the power steering rack are in the same area but you don't have to touch any part of the hydraulic power steering system to do the arms. I'd guess you have a leak in the power steering system that was already there before the control arm replacement.

Keep an eye on the power steering fluid, the damage done to the pump depends on how long you ran it with low fluid level and how low the fluid level got. If the bearings inside the pump were still lubricated but there was just not enough fluid to pressurize the system then you're probably fine.

-Dave