Vandit

This is what it looks like.

I thought it was the hose from the hardline to the front of the motor.

So I replaced it.




But I looked down there recently and it looks the same again. So something is leaking onto this area.

What could it be? Power steering drive seal? When looking at it from inside the engine compartment, I don't see any signs of a leak forward of the PS pump, however, it's obvious something is leaking above this hose and onto this area.

ghhally

Clamped coupling from the power steering line?
Starts leaking into the mantle around the line till it's saturated and spills.

Vandit

I can see oil accumulating at the forward corner of the rubber gasket that sits between the unibody and the engine tin.

Pic of a pic, sorry.

sschultze09

Just like what Geert said, I replaced the same line thinking it was the leak but it turned out to be a clamp right at the bottom of the power steering Reservoir. Making its way down to that spot.

Vandit

So I only need to tighten or replace a clamp? This is a PS fluid leak not motor oil? What's the preferred angle of attack, from the top or through the bottom by removing the engine tin? Thanks!

Rocket Rob

I would suspect its either a power steering leak or its dribble from a sloppy oil change. This spot is a logical low spot for several sources. I would clean the area thoroughly and then take the car for a spirited drive, then immediately check for wet/shiny spots around the power steering pump & top side of the tin and below at the hose you photographed.

sschultze09

Vandet, just slide a piece of paper towel (Blue works good) under the PS res. and associated hoses. Top side. Let it set for as long as you can, a few days maybe. No need to remove the tins. If your leak is the same as mine you will see the paper towel indicate the leak.
Thats what I did and it was just a loose hose clamp.
Good luck!

sschultze09

Vandit... sorry

dutchcrunch

best to take the airfilter cover off. this will give you a clear / better look at the supply line to the steering pump. the hose at the pump that has a clamp is the supply line connection to the resevor. you can try to tighten but better to get new hose. they are cheap. the problem with that hose is even when new they do not fit tight around fitting before you even tighten the clamp and over time will leak no matter how tight you get it. for example when you replaced the engine oil suppy line, remember how tight it was to install without the clamps, well the power steering hose is nothing like that, they should have made it a bit smaller. also when you replace install the hose dry do not lube prior to install.

sschultze09

Dutch, Thanks for the heads up. I need to double check my PS lines.

Vandit

Alright, so I took more pics of the situation.


Here's the mess I see from the wheel well. Leaking onto my new oil line.


From the top, you can kinda see this greasy mess at the corner of the engine compartment.





Here are the lines. The one line that looks the most wet is the one that connects to the hardline that goes forward into the bulkhead (also visible in pic #2 above). The line that goes to the back of the pump doesn't look wet except towards the end that connects to the fluid reservoir.

The area above and around that corner doesn't look dirty enough to explain that mass accumulation in that corner of the compartment. Doesn't make sense to me.

What do you all think?

Rocket Rob

I still think you need to clean all of this off and take the car for a drive and look for new wet/shiny spots. The oil under the power steering reservoir could be remnants from a spill during an oil filter change.

sschultze09

My leak was at the two hose clamps by the yellow arrow. All I had to do was tighten them and it stopped leaking.

Vandit

I went ahead and cleaned the area on the inside of the engine compartment and on the wheel well as best as possible w/ degreaser, water, and towels at Rocket Rob suggested.

There was a significant accumulation of a thick, grease-like, substance in the corner. I tried my best to scoop it out w/ a long screwdriver before doing the degreasing. I'm not sure how/where this grease got there. Is this what PS fluid looks like once it's been accumulating? The PS reservoir is running a bit low too.

I tightened the two hose clamps that sschultze09 pointed out. I added maybe maybe a couple of turns worth of tightness to the clamp screw.

I'll take it for a drive tomorrow and see if I notice anything. It took about 3k miles to go from *this* to *this*.

frankvan

Thread resurrection: Vandit, did tightening the clamps solve the problem? One of my clamps is the non-screw type (not sure what they're called) that can't be tightened so I'm thinking of replacing it with a regular screw type.
I have to top up my PS fluid every two months or so. I just replaced the o-ring and seal on the PS pump shaft although the inside of PS pump "case" was dry. I have the same goo on the rubber tin ware seal.