power steering woe

On November 10 I had my power steering pump start moaning up a storm on the start of my commute in cold weather. I checked the fluid level when I got to work and sure enough, the fluid level was all the way down. I located some Pentasin at the parts store nearby, topped it off and waited for the fluid level to drop again. Admittedly I stopped watching after a few weeks, it didn't seem to be dropping at all. Well, today 29 January the power steering started to moan again and sure enough the reservoir is empty. It seems I really do have a leak somewhere. Underhood there is no leak apparent and I just last month I was all over the underside of the passenger side rear end replacing a bad muffler, and I didn't see any evidence of a leak then. I suppose today I'll jack up the front of the car and check the connections at the steering rack. Any other suggestions people??

Probably only leaks under load when you aren't around your house. Check up front where it is driving the steering. The fittings and box can leak or the line between the pump and front.

I guess the question is whether I can tighten the fittings or if I have to replace the lines. Looking through the shop manual I see that the fittings are the snap together type. I hope I will be able to see the residue from the leak. I realize I won't see any drips unless the system is under load. cheers

You might see a drip formed even with the car off. Some times even snap together fittings can use exercising to get them to seal correctly again. Power steering fluids don't just evaporate and some sort of residue should be present where ever the leak is. From the time it took to go down its probably seeping or dripping out. Class 1 leak is seeping, class 2 drops evident and class 3 you see it constantly dripping, pouring or squirting. Don't turn the wheels when at a stand still. It's bad for the tires and not good for the power steering lines especially if they might have old orings in the lines. If you have been doing some turning the wheels without rolling its probably where you are loosing the fluid. You could wet the driveway then do some cranking the wheel back and forth between stops to get an idea for where the leak is by spotting the rainbow formed when the fluid hits the water. If you do it rolling you'll have an idea of left or right. If you do it sitting still like I'd never try you should be spot on for where the leak is above or has dripped after travelling down a line or chasis to drip down. Good luck.

what is this power steerin thing you speak of

Quotes source post: 8255318

That's enough out of you air boy..

Take the intake airbox out and use a mirror to see under the PS pulley. My PS seal went and was accumilating underneath/behind the PS pulley. The pump is a PITA to replace.

Quotes source post: 8255927

Of course it is... Thank you for the tip. Will check this before I go and jack it up and remove the belly pan. The pump is moaning anyway - I kind of hope its the pump seeing as it's probably hooped.

Update I have to replace my oil sump plate and I have a couple of weeks off so I put the car on 4 jackstands and crawled underneath. Dropped the belly pan and the steering rack is clearly leaking out of both boots...badly. Looks like the rack is toast. A new rack is $775 - that's for an OEM TRW unit. Replacement procedure is not too bad. 1) Take off the wheels 2) Make sure the steering wheel is straight. 3) Undo 4 screws that connects the rack to the steering column. The area is a bit tight. 4) Disconnect the tie rods at each wheel - I need a tool to pop out the tie rod ends. 5) Take out the two bolts that mounts the rack to the subframe. 6) Extract the rack from the drivers side...wiggle, rotate, pull, rotate, wiggle pull. Must research some new curse words. 7) Swap over tie rods and boots to the new part. 8) Insert the new rack into the void. 9) bolt it back to the subframe. 10) Re-attach tie rods. 11) Install the belly pan. 12) Drive to the alignment shop. I'll be honest, I'm going to ask my indy what he'll charge me to do the job. For three hours or less I'll let him do it.

Ouch, at least it will be a fresh start for the steering.

Quotes source post: 8380652

Oh Boy! It's true but let's be honest. It's money spent with no real gain. Still it has to be done. I do plan to take this car to 300,000 miles and failures like this are to be expected. So far the clutch and transmission feels great, and the CV boots are sound. Stuff happens right.

What is the km on your car. I have the exact same thing happened to mine, wining only when cold, checked the fluid level and it was bone dry. No evident of leaks and was told it could be the steering rack. Car has never been tracked with 100k km. Just topped it up and lets see what happens in a few weeks.

Quotes source post: 8388270

166,000 kilometers. It went dry the first time about 4 months ago. I also deluded myself for a while that it wasn't actually leaking but 2.5 months later it was dry again. I lied to myself again but this time I wasn't buying it. Just three weeks later and it was dry again. Of cours ethe leaks get worse the longer you wait right. I didn't have the time to jack it up to see if the leak was from the front or back, but then one rainy day I saw the oil slick from the front. So I knew it was either the pipe fittings or the rack itself. Yours will be leaking from the pump either at the pipe fittings or the seal or it will be leaking from the front either the pipe fittings or the seal inside the rack. I was just quoted three hours to swap out the rack. My indy will match the $775 cost of the part itself from Pelican. Don't forget the $108 for the toe adjustment. That's $1350 for the full job taxes and all in.