Mike in CO

I have a nasty power steering fluid leak. Ran the car for the first time in a month or two and the power steering was almost non-functional. Found that the reservoir was pretty much empty and lots of fluid on the floor. Seems like a fairly slow leak, as I refilled the reservoir and it didn't dump right back out (yet). The car is going to the dealer for something else, so I will get them to diagnose it for me.

Question is this: Assuming it is either the reservoir, a hose, or the pump, are there any gotchas to a repair or is it just pretty much a straightforward replacement of the faulty part?

(I understand the bleeding procedure to simply involve turning the wheel back and forth from lock to lock with the engine running until bubbles stop appearing in the reservoir and fluid level remains constant).

Thanks,

Mike

BruceWard

I would check the hoses at the bottom of the reservoir first. If they have fluid on them then the fix may be as simple as tightening the clamps that hold them on.

Make sure you reinstall the reservoir as low as possible to avoid it conflicting with the hood!

User 41221

Its the hose running from the bottom of the resevoir to the side of the power steering pump. I would just about 100% guarranty it, judging from the amount of fluid loss. Its a cheap ($25 hose) and very easy fix. Tightening the clamps probably won't fix the problem, altho it may slow it down for a couple of months, at least thats what I experienced when I had the exact same symptoms as you described.

Regards,

Jason Judd

Seems like a pretty common problem... I've had it, too.

Jason

RajDatta

Yeah, this was my first car where I DIDN'T have it. The nice thing is that god forbid you need your rack rebuilt, griffiths is local to us in NJ. They rebuild steering racks and PS pumps and are located in Dover.
Raj

user 8430

I have this too.....so I should check the hose coming from the bottom of reservoir going to the ps pump? Where does it leak from?

mike_hammond

I had a leaky pump on mine, bought a porsche seal kit which was under £10($20) and was about an hours work to do.

Mike

User 41221

It usually leaks where it connects to the power steering pump. Key words are "massive fluid leak". If that describes yours, its probably that hose.

Regards,

user 8430

hmmm mine would be described as gradual leak...on pasenger side of garage floor ;_)

DC968

Kgain, your leak is probably either the hose(s) from the bottom of the reservoir or the reservoir itself. Mine was leaking and cured by simply tightening the hoses, but I have heard of people that had hairline cracks in the reservoir.

William Green

If your hose is beginning to leak chances are that the clips have loosened off but it may also be that one of the internal seals has gone. Got top remember that the rubber is old now and most likely has sustained a bit of damage from the clips.

I had this problem and decided to remove the PS pump, replace the seals AND replace the pipe that runs from the reservoir. Also used new clips all round. Found out when I was in that the large 'O' ring was on its last legs.

This is a cheap fix and can easily be done by anybody.

Now I have no more leaks and hopefully it will last another 10 years before I get another leak

William

RajDatta

Wil, nice job there. Care to do a write up for some of us? . It will help everyone out and if you can also direct where to get the seals and parts from. This way we can build a database for the others. Thanks in advance.
Raj

ugo968cab

Me too. I had a P/S pump leaking from halves, got a kit from a Rennlister, now the pump is completely dry and I also recovered the original pressure from it: i noticed the the resealed pump makes the steering more firm over bumps.

The P/S pump kit can be bought from many places:

www.klaindustries.net
www.rennbay.com

The DIY work is easy, and in a couple of hours you can dismount the pump, change the seals, and remount it. I have some photos taken during the work, but never wrote the accompanying instructions :-(

Bye

Ugo

Mike in CO

I would love to see the photos!

mike_hammond

Guys is self explanatory, once your got the pump off, remove the front pulley, split the case, 4 bolts, remove the internals & push the shaft out. Replace the front seal, reinstall the shaft then replace the seal on the internal pump mechanism and the caseing seal. Put the case back together and reinstall the pulley.
It is really easy......honest

Mike