Questionhi i hope yopu can help me my 89 toy pickup v6 engine started to smoke
,,also at the same time i started to use steering fluid no leaks,, anywhere
,,investigation leads me to some kind of diaphragm valve thats on the side of
the pump,leading to 2 risers on the intake manifold,,diaphragm got a hole
and engine sucking in ps fluid?,,no reference to valve in manuals i have but
they are not factory,,chiltons/haynes thanks in advance pete
AnswerI doubt if p/s fluid is getting into the engine, the plastic switch on the pump that has two hoses has a vacuum passage in it which is controlled by power steering fluid pressure, when the switch senses pressure it opens the valve allowing air to bypass which icreases engine speed so the engine won't stall under the load from the steering, I have never seen this valve leak internally, what I would suggest is to remove the hoses from the valve and block them off and see if the engine smoking either persists or goes away.