The Hawk

I had noticed a few drops of power steering fluid now and then underneath the car but in the last few days with the weather warming up, suddenly the car is gushing it. A bottle is literally gone in a day. I know that there isn't too much to the PS system, so does anyone have a diagram of it? I'm guessing that a hose is cracked or the pump seal went bad but haven't had a chance to try and fix it. I got under the car briefly, but its hard to tell where the fluid is coming from as there is a large plastic/metal plate that covers most of the underneath. This is a '98 3.2TL.

01tl4tl

Probably blew an o-ring seal at a fitting, or a hose has a leak- with that much fluid I would suspect hose.
Wash everything with citrus type cleaner- engine cleaner and then start the car while friend turns the wheels and you watch for the leak.

bukjoe15

iTrader: (1)

there is a recall on that from the factory check out www.autoblog.com it tells you about it

The Hawk

I'm not seeing any recall info. Its looks like the power steering recall is for 2005-2008 RL's.

meazz1

I had the same problem.

The return hose became lose at the pump.

A $20.00 hose from the dealer fixed it.

Took me less than 30 min to drain the old fluid , attach new hose and refill.

The Hawk

Is this a DIY job? Can it be easily accessed from underneath? Much thanks

meazz1

Can you look down from the power steering reservoir side of the engine bay and see traces of fluid?

You need to first make sure the source of the leak.

What I will do is take some picture later tonight and tell you to look for possible source of leaks.

The Hawk

I cannot see fluid from the resevoir side. Its dripping off the center of the cover plate underneath the engine. Pics would be much appreciated. I actually do not have access to the car until tomorrow night, but then on Thurs AM, its going to the dealer, so I'd like to try and get an idea of whats going on, just so they don't try to rip me off. Thanks Again!

meazz1

what gave you the idea that it's PS fluid?

The Hawk

Becasue the PS suddenly went out and there was a giant puddle under the car!! I pour it in and watch it leak out the bottom. pretty simple to discern.

meazz1

Can you not tell where exactly it's leaking from?
Pour some fluid and use a flash light.

The Hawk

Ugggg..... its turns out that the steering rack is pretty rusted and is doing most of the leaking. Needless to say that it'll be big $$$ to get it fixed. Quote was about $1200. =(

meazz1

How much is the labor?
you can get a PS rack assembly for $331.00, If I am right.

Look here at # 13.

PS Rack Assembly

01tl4tl

thats a bummer but a good lesson for others.
PS fluid does wear out... just like brake fluid- engine oil and everything else.
It needs to be drained and refilled ~flushed~ out of the rack especially!
A general repairs import shop that also does alignments would be a good choice of installers.

The Hawk

yea, thats the part. They mark it up to about $450, labor was about $550, then $100 for alignment and another $100 for misc BS/tax. I'm sourcing a used rack for about $200 and having a friend do it so it should only be about half of the original estimate. thanks for the help guys.

meazz1

If you have a friend to do it, why not just buy the new parts and same money on labor?

The Hawk

becasue i like to save save save. The part is out of 70K car, and has an 18 month full warranty on it. I have inspected it too, and it looks great. Also, I'm not planning on keeping the car for eternity, so if I get another 60K out of her I'll likely be satisfied.