Need some help with my Y33 Q45 PLEASE

[Ollie36]

The power steering in this car seems to hate me. A couple months ago the system bubbled out at the reservoir so I figured the rack was shot so I replaced that. It was fixed although it wasn't factory perfect and I could hear/feel that the pump was weak and slowly going out. So I replaced the pump and it was fixed again, sort of. That lasted a month or so until it started getting tough and then it bubbled up again and the power steering is absolutely gone. So now I am completely stuck as to what could be wrong. I never saw any leaks other than from the top of the reservoir and it's hard to tell now as there's fluid all over the place from me trying to flush the system.

Now today I went to look for leaks again and tried bleeding the system and cant even hear the pump anymore. So apparently I burnt this pump out already but I know I could still hear it after the PS stopped working. Any ideas guys? Im totally lost. Leak or clog in the pressure hose maybe, that mightve caused it to bubble out the top and leak out and hurt the pump? I always tried to keep fluid in it but sometimes I had no choice but to drive the car kind of far

Any help is appreciated.

Ollie

[maxnix]

I could hear/feel that the pump was weak and slowly going out.

it's hard to tell now as there's fluid all over the place from me trying to flush the system.

Now today I went to look for leaks again and tried bleeding the system and cant even hear the pump anymore. So apparently I burnt this pump out already but I know I could still hear it after the PS stopped working.

I always tried to keep fluid in it but sometimes I had no choice but to drive the car kind of far

First off, there never were any Y33 Cima as those all were Glorias and Cedrics. You have a FGY33.

Secondly, it is difficult to tell from your narrative if you know how to bleed or fill the system correctly. Did you ever inspect the hoses? It is almost impossible to wear out the pump without sever neglect or extreme incompetence. I bet all you had was air trapped within the assembly. Inspect your lines and fittings and report back as to how you accomplished the PS flush.

[Ollie36]

First off, there never were any Y33 Cima as those all were Glorias and Cedrics. You have a FGY33.

Secondly, it is difficult to tell from your narrative if you know how to bleed or fill the system correctly. Did you ever inspect the hoses? It is almost impossible to wear out the pump without sever neglect or extreme incompetence. I bet all you had was air trapped within the assembly. Inspect your lines and fittings and report back as to how you accomplished the PS flush.

This is from memory so someone correct me if I'm wrong. Y33 is family chassis code. For VH41DE Cima/Q45, specific chassis code is FGY33. For V6 turbo Cima, specific chassis code is FHY33. For V6 turbo Cedric/Gloria, specific chassis code is HY33. I'm talking only about the Y33 family, of course. IIRC the actual Y33, specific chassis code, is the Gloria/Cedric with the small V6. And then there's a whole bunch others than I can't remember like the AWD versions and all the different motors in the Glorias and Cedrics. It's way to complicated so at the end of the day I call them all Y33s just like sometimes calling an RPS13 an S13 and an HSRKRGZ32 a Z32. (bad examples)


Anyway, I inspected the hoses and system for leaks and couldn't find any, like I said. To bleed the system, I jacked the front of the car and turned the wheel back and forth until the bubbles came out and made sure not to overfill. When I attempted to flush the PS, I hooked the PS return hose up to a hose running into a bottle and capped off the return line tube on the reservoir. I had my friend start the car and slowly move wheel from lock to lock while I poured new fluid into the reservoir. I don't know how else to do it without a special machine or whatnot. I never said I was a professional with power steering man, that's why I'm here asking for advice. I'll keep cleaning off the hoses and checking for leaks but any advice is appreciated!

Ollie

[BadQ45t]

You saw you replaced the power steering rack, what kind did you use? Cheap Pep Boys MExican reman'ed ones usually last 1 year and die. I bought a Maxima with one that the PO used Pep Boys, warranty was 12 months, life of PS rack was 14. PB would do zero to help. Sounds like you might have a POS one like that.

[BadQ45t]

You saw you replaced the power steering rack, what kind did you use? Cheap Pep Boys MExican reman'ed ones usually last 1 year and die. I bought a Maxima with one that the PO used Pep Boys, warranty was 12 months, life of PS rack was 14. PB would do zero to help. Sounds like you might have a POS one like that.

[maxnix]

Yeah, rack could be a problem. I used a Marval on my G50.

Disconnecting (or more likely reconnecting) the supply hose could be your problem. Don't do it this time, use a good ATF like M1, have your friend slowly crank lock to lock pausing only a second at each lock while you poor from the top never letting it get too low so no air is introduced.

This should give you an air free fill, eventually. 10 cranks (5 left and 5 right).

A lot of aftermarket vendors market parts for Y33 and then FGY33 owners are disappointed because they don't fit or don't work on the heavier cars. Thus we try to eliminate confusion brought on by careless use of the chassis codes.

[Ollie36]

I used a reman'ed rack from the Rack Doctor which I've heard is usually pretty decent. TBH I don't recall if I used a quality pump though. Maxnix, do you mean a Maval rack?


I'll give this a try and report back.