Power steering fluid spewing out of reservoir

[Mac]

Just replaced my power steering pump on my 2001 Sienna, turned on the vehicle to check for leaks, and a couple things happened.

1. There was a drip leak coming from the return hose.
2. There was ATF spewing out of the reservoir cap, and bubbling in a pink frothy foam.
3. There was a horrible loud whining noise.

Now, I drained it when I replaced the pump, but didn’t do a complete flush. The pump itself seemed to have clear power steering fluid in it, but when I replaced the fluid I used ATF, as per the Factory service manual.

Was it the combination of fluids? Or perhaps the leak in the return hose? It wasn’t pouring out of there, just a drip.

Topic

[Josh]

If the FSM says use ATF and someone just used regular PSF the system should be flushed out. The reason Toyota says use ATF (and for that matter Honda says to use Honda PSF) is that the system was formulated to work ONLY with that fluid and using other fluids can kill the pump or eat away at other parts of the system. I suggest you flush out the system fully and then refill with ATF per FSM instructions.

[Its me]

The foam and noise is air in the system, that is normal considering what you have done. To bleed the air, turn the wheel all the way (till it stops on each side) both ways back and forth about 15 to 30 times. The foaming and noise should lessen each time you turn, till both go away.

Karl

[Author]

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