power steering rack leak question?

[but]

I have pulled my power steering rack out to put new boots,inner,and outer tie rods on and it seems to be pretty grimy and oily. It seems to be soaked in oil. My question is do these things normally leak? should I replace the whole rack now and get it over with or do you think that all the oil came from the previous owner and his main seal leak? There is alot of oil on the underside of the car from the previos owner. My car is down for a rebuild and Im not sure if it was leaking from the rack. any input is greatly appreciated.

 

[tsiboostin]

I recently had a bad leak from my rack. You'll notice that one of the lines actually runs through the middle of one of the bushing that hold the rack. On my car it had rusted the line out there from moisture getting trapped. This caused the line to leak. I just cut the line and ran a high pressure hose around the outside of the bushing. Not sure if this is common but it's a bad design.

 

[DeadsEvolution1]

OUr power steering pump are notorious for leaking and killing the alternator so be careful. Find where it's leaking for sure and fix it

 

[but]

So I should just replace it then huh? I dont want to put everything together to find out it leaks.