Power steering problem

Hi,

I was wondering if someone can advise me on this. I have a 98 Tacoma, 2WD Regular cab with about 80K miles on it. I was finding the steering wheel a bit tight and upon taking it to the dealer, they told me that the steering pump has to be replaced and quoted me $575 for the job. Since it's such a lot of money, I did some netsearch to try figure out if there's a cheaper way of doing it. I found that OEM pumps listed as made by Paval cost about $250 and the dealership told me they'll charge me about $150 for labor if I get them the part. Doing it like this saves me about $200 but my worry is that if these Paval pumps are the actual OEM pumps used by Toyota since I don't want to end up with a inferior pump that breaks down in a few months. The dealership also told me that they won't warranty the job if I bring the pump because they're not going to take responsiblity for it. Any suggestions about these Paval pumps? Other shops like Midas also quoted me $400 parts and labor for the job.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Sorry, the OEM power steering pump brand I wrote about in my message is Maval.


Hi,

I was wondering if someone can advise me on this. I have a 98 Tacoma, 2WD Regular cab with about 80K miles on it. I was finding the steering wheel a bit tight and upon taking it to the dealer, they told me that the steering pump has to be replaced and quoted me $575 for the job. Since it's such a lot of money, I did some netsearch to try figure out if there's a cheaper way of doing it. I found that OEM pumps listed as made by Paval cost about $250 and the dealership told me they'll charge me about $150 for labor if I get them the part. Doing it like this saves me about $200 but my worry is that if these Paval pumps are the actual OEM pumps used by Toyota since I don't want to end up with a inferior pump that breaks down in a few months. The dealership also told me that they won't warranty the job if I bring the pump because they're not going to take responsiblity for it. Any suggestions about these Paval pumps? Other shops like Midas also quoted me $400 parts and labor for the job.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

A couple of times (very rare considering the number of parts I have handled) I have had dealer supplied parts that were defective. Since the shop I worked for supplied the parts, the shop had to cover the cost of the labor and deal with the dealer in exchanging the part. Whereas the only warranty the shop would give on customer supplied parts was that they were installed properly. No guarranty that they would work.

What kind of warranty is the supplier of the part offering?
What kind of warranty is the dealer offering?
What kind of warranty is Midas offering? What company is making the Midas part?

I always make the shop doing the work supply the parts. This way if there is a problem, parts and labor are covered.

I guess you need to decide if you are more concerned with savings or warranty. The pump you listed is a rebuilt OE pump. It should be just as good as a new pump.

Since Midas is quoting a price for parts and labor that is comporable to the dealer quote with you bringing in the pump you should compare the warranty that Midas is offering with the warranty that you will get if the dealer supplies the parts and labor.

IMO, you should seriously consider letting the Dealer do the work. This job is more than just a bolt on and the dealer will have a much better chance of doing it right the first time. Warranty or no warranty. In my mind, Midas is very questionable for anything more complex than shocks.

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it. I've one question about the OEM Maval pumps. TcmaBoy said that these are remanufactured OE pumps. What does that mean? My understanding of something OE was that it's the actual part that is used by the manufacturer in their products, sometime after getting it made from a subcontractor. So, in this case it would be Toyota getting steering pumps made by Maval and installing them in their vehicles. Am I wrong here?

The general opinion here seems to be getting the job done by a shop, prefereably the dealership and not buying the pump myself, so I'm swaying toward that opinion.

BTW, yesterday I took a look at the pump in the truck, there's not much evidence of leakage though, it seemed pretty dry to me.

Maval does not make pumps. They take used OE pumps and rebuild them. When ever a pump is replaced the broken unit goes to a company such as Maval and they repair them. You get a pump that, for all intents and purposes, is new.

This is common for a lot of parts such as starters, power steering pumps, alternators, transmissions, engines, etc. There are only so many parts in circulation. When a part breaks it is simply not thrown away. It is repaired and put back into the parts stock. This reduces repair costs and increases parts supply.

Here is a link for a Maval Tacoma PS pump.
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/apw_parts/toyota~tacoma~p-fs-s_pump~r-mmp~apw43bee67e73729.html

Note the Description.
"Toyota Tacoma P/s Pump is designed to replace the oem unit. Toyota Tacoma P/s Pump is higher quality than stock."
This sounds like a replacement part made by Maval. Some other links ask for a core charge, to be refunded when the old pump is returned in rebuild-able condition. So you could be getting a aftermarket pump or a OE pump that has been rebuilt by Maval.

In most cases I have not found aftermarket or OE rebuilds to be as good as new dealer parts. They are less expensive.

If you looked in the pump fluid reservoir and it is low it should be refilled and checked frequently until you get the pump replaced. Add fluid to the cold mark if engine isn't warm. ATF Dexron II or III should be Ok.

BTW; If your steering pump isn't leaking or noisy the increased steering effort could be caused by several parts other than the pump, I hope your dealer made enough checks to be fairly sure the pump is defective.

I wouldn't suggest Midas for steering system repairs.

Clifton

"Toyota Tacoma P/s Pump is designed to replace the oem unit. Toyota Tacoma P/s Pump is higher quality than stock."
This sounds like a replacement part made by Maval. Some other links ask for a core charge, to be refunded when the old pump is returned in rebuild-able condition. So you could be getting a aftermarket pump or a OE pump that has been rebuilt by Maval.

When you hit Maval's site they list their parts as remanufactured. The description on the Autoparts Wherehouse site is a generic statement that is coppied and pasted for most parts. I see them all the time. It is one of those "insert product/company here" things. It saves time on web development.

http://www.mavalgear.com/

I used an aftermarket rebuild kit on my pump and have had no problems with it. It has held up to abuse for the last 6 years now.

As far as shop selection goes I have found that it is the individual location and not the company makes the difference. I have seen just as many complaints about dealer work as compliments. As long as somone else offers a comparable warranty there really is no difference. The only reason I see for going to a dealer is if the truck is still under factory warranty. An ASE mechanic is an ASE mechanic no matter where they work.

I agree that the shop is a huge variable - depending mostly on the mechanic quality than the identity. However, I think there is a huge difference between the average dealership and Midas, in particular.

Thanks again for all the clarification and advice.

As Flash75 says, even I'm a little worried about the diagnosis from the shop after taking a look at the pump myself and finding it quite dry. I haven't heard it making any noise either. I hope they don't replace the pump and then tell me that something else also needs replacing because I'm already looking at $575 here.