QuestionI have a power steering leak in my 92 LS400, fluid must be refilled every 3 days, a new blueish smoke is coming through the exhaust at start up..There is no oil on the ground,i already changed the high pressure hose..what do u think is my problem??
AnswerPowersteering has nothing to do with the engine.
The oil at start-up is oil burning.
If the smoke goes away by the time the engine is warm and does not come back afterwards. It's simply the valve stem seals leaking.
Generally, when they first deteriorate to the point of no longer sealing. They leak very, very slowly. So that there is no noticeable change with the engine running. What happens is the oil pools up while the car is off, and is burned off at startup. Afterwards it still leaks... Just not fast enough to be noticeable.
Eventually they need to be replaced. While most people consider them a "forget it". Don't forget them entirely. If they deteriorate rapidly (Not normally the case) you can simply leak all your oil out faster than you realize b/c you're use to the smoke.
Just do your weekly oil level inspections.
Nobody ever adjusts valves on Toyota engines because they tend to not go out of adjustment till say, 100-150-200,000 miles, but they *are* called for insepction / adjustment every 60,000 miles.
Provide dyou do not have any noteable any oil consumption. You can let it ride months (or more) until you can afford to have your valves adjusted.
Just don't get pissed off & give up on the car. It's simply maintenance. Anything rubber eventually cracks so.
Look at it this way. Even if you don't want to go paying probably $800-1200 for them to be replaced + a valve adjustment + new valve cover gaskets (It's all at the same time so no extra labor costs. And really you could just do *all* maintenance at once. Plugs, distirbutor caps & rotors, timing belt & water pump, drive belts, new ATF & differential fluid & brake fluid)
It still average out to a hell of alot cheaper than having any descent form of a car payment for a couple of months.
It's basically a million mile drivetrain if you really stick to preventative maintenance. That's why you see this drivetrain for sale at 100-150-200,000 miles from wrecked cars & bought up without thinking twice about it. Fix 'em up alittlebit (new minor external seals), good as new!
AFA the power steering leak. You'll just have to find the leak! Great job starting with the HP-hose!
