Power Steering Leak from rack?

[2GeNTSi]

I did some research but couldn't really come up with anything, but I found a ps leak coming from what I found is called the steering rack. The only part of it that I know of is the inner and outer tie-rods. Anyways when I was working on my car a while ago I noticed an orange colored fluid all over the downpipe and the hangers, I trailed it back to a line coming from the bottom of the "rack" on the passengers side. It appears to be coming from the flare fitting so the obvious thing for me to do was tighten it, which I did. Now I've had to add more ps fluid about every two days.

Since I'm low on funds just like most of us on here, I think I'll go ahead and try to replace the fitting, maybe there's some kind of seal of washer that is cracked or something. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance.

 

[x camaro owner]

a pic would be nice

 

[qwall]

you can't buy just a single seal for rack'n'pinion, they come as a full set and that costs around $100. You can get a steering rack from junkyard for $50-$60 and it dosn't matter if it's fwd or awd as long as it's from 95-99 turbo dsm, I think 420a cars have different racks, someone correct me if I' wrong.

 

[Boosted4]

Well, I know I got my lines from the dealer for 70 dollars. Heres a tip, if you are going to replace one line, I cannot stress enough to replace both of them as if one is leaking, the other is not far behind. Its cheaper than buying a new rack, and chances are ... you dont need a new rack. This beats buying a rack from a junkyard because the lines are kind of known to fail sooner or later.

PS - This is not the easiest task in the word to replace these lines ... but if you are willing to do the work, it can save you some cash.

Brandon

 

[giester2]

If your lines are leaking at the fittings on the rack, what you need to do is loosing the nut on the hose, then re-snug it back into the rack. Being that it is a flare fitting there is not a washer or o-ring that seals the line only the flare. Sometimes flares can be hard to seal (thats why most manufacturers have gone to o-ring or quick disconnect) so if you are having problems getting the flares to match up properly you might try wiggling the pipe on the hose as you snug the fitting down. This is an old trick to get them to line up.

It might be a good idea to go ahead and change the hoses at this time. Hoses do deteriorate from the inside out so they may be in need of replacing even if don't have a leak yet. As they deteriorate from the inside they sluff off rubber which can cause havoc in the system. Always remember that power steering is a SYSTEM that involves hoses, a gear assembly (rack) and a pump.

It is also a good idea to flush the system of the old fluid from time to time. The fluid breaks down due to heat just like the oil breaks down in the engine. The power steering system is the most violent system on the vehicle (1200-1400 max psi, 160-180 degree farenheit at normal operating temperature) behind the engine. And everyone knows that you have to change the oil in the engine.


hope this helps

 

[91awd]

I was under my car changing all the fluids and i noticed my rack was leaking too. It's leaking from where the boot is. Can this be fixed with out buying a whole new rack because it still steers just fine I didn't even know I had a problem untill I saw it. Sorry for stealing the thread just didn't see making a new one and then having everyone get mad.

Thanks, Brian

 

[giester2]

I was under my car changing all the fluids and i noticed my rack was leaking too. It's leaking from where the boot is. Can this be fixed with out buying a whole new rack because it still steers just fine I didn't even know I had a problem untill I saw it. Sorry for stealing the thread just didn't see making a new one and then having everyone get mad.

Thanks, Brian

You need to replace the rack. If there is fluid on the boot then the rack can be leaking in three places...one of the two rack shaft seals or the lower pinion seal.

Even if you noticed the fluid in one boot there should also be fluid in the other one also. This is because of the design of the rack. As you turn from left to right air is transfered from one boot to the other through a hollow space in the rack shaft. This is done to equalize the air pressure. Being that this happens, if you have a leak at the bulkhead (passenger side of rack) you will see fluid on the driver side also.

I don't know how much money you have to spend to replace the rack, whether you want to go with new, remanufactured, or used, but my suggestion would be to find a quality remanufactured one. I would stay away from national part store ones though. Look for a remanufacturer in your area that seems to be knowledgable or has been in the ps rebuilding business 15-20 years. Usually at these places they take a little more pride in their work and often are cheaper than the part stores.

 

[91awd]

I figure it will be around $400 dollars for a reman. We replaced the one in my friends 89 camry and that's how much his was. It's leaking from the drivers side I didn't see any on the passenger side but it may have just started. I changed my oil about 1500 miles ago and it wasn't leaking then.

 

[giester2]

$400.00 for a rack...Is that installed??? If that price is just for rack maybe you should shop around....check on ebay (both auctions and stores)...there is at least one very reputable dealer on there (that I know of), that will supply references if need be. I know many people are scared of ebay but there are some good guys on there with perfect feedback

 

[2GeNTSi]

ugh I have money to buy a new rack but I don't want to spend that much. Anyways here's a pic of where it is leaking, it's on the passenger side. I already tried tightening it and it continues to leak, I can try loosening it up and then move the line around while tightening it...hopefully that'll work.

 

[2GeNTSi]

anyone have any ideas?

 

[2gredspyder]

i just got a new rack installed. the rack cost me $229 remanufactured. it was easy to take the damaged one out but to put the new one in was kinda dificult. we had to removed the lines before putting the rack in cause it wouldnt go in with the lines attached to it. that was the easy part,, the dificult part was putting the lines in. they have to lined up so perfect when attaching it to the rack.

 

[2GeNTSi]

I've already got the line out, there seems to be some kind of metal nipple on the end of the line and the an o-ring and then the flare fitting. Tried replacing just the o-ring but didn't work, I'm guessing I gotta replace the whole line.

 

[SNE2040]

Sorry to bring back an old thread (don't have enough posts to submit a new one).

I got a 97 Eclipse GSX and there is a ton of steering fluid leaking from the boot area on the passenger side. If the seal replaceable or do i have to change the whole rack? How hard is it to replace?