John Chase

I have a 2005 Tl that is absolutely pissing through power steering fluid. I fill up the reservoir and start the car, then see the puddle building up on the ground. The puddle is located almost towards the middle front of the car but not quite its a few inches towards the passenger side.

WHAT puzzles me is whether or not this is the power steering hose that is under recall. I had previously noticed the fluid was low one time and refilled it. Yesterday driving the car starts having problems steering, I check the fluid and it's empty. I go to a gas station right around the corner and refill it, not even 5 miles up the road its empty again.

Does a leak developing this fast and of this volume suggest the hose is more likely than the rack itself? I cannot see any leaks from the top of the power steering hose anywhere inside the engine compartment but there is a portion of the hose that terminates at the bottom by the rack that you cannot see from the top right?

I don't have the ability to jack the car up where I am, any suggestions to how I can find out if it's the hose or the rack?

thoiboi

You're going to have to be our eyes bud.. kind of hard for us to diagnose for you over here. Go to a garage and put it on a lift .

truonghthe

take it to the shop and have them put the car on the lift or you must able to put the car on jack stand to see where the leak originate from. There are no otherway around it, I would suggest you do it ASAP because if PS touch any hot part on the engine... it will have a fire. YOU HAVE A FIRE HAZARD.

John Chase

So I made an appointment at the dealer tomorrow morning to replace the power steering hose since it's under factory recall But I also just went and bought Lucas Oil Stop Leak power steering fluid. I put it in and unlike regular fluid that just runs right through this stuff hasn't even gone down a little in 5-10 miles of driving. When I first put it in I did see a small puddle under the car of what looked like maybe the thinner fluid that was left in the system. After that puddle nothing else seemed to come out.
​​​​​​
This stop leak stuff shouldn't have worked if it was a hose right? Unless it fixed a leaky O-ring on the hose ends? Any thoughts?

DMZ

The only thought here is to find out where the leak is ASAP! ............. As in today or yesterday.
.
.

t-rd

You might have to replace the hose that's the hardest one to replace of all, the one that crosses the subframe by the passenger side. I replaced mine and it took me a long time because of its hard to reach location behind at the bottom of the engine. The ends of the hose basically cracked and opened up. I was getting a leak, but not as bad as yours.

t-rd

Here are some pictures of the hose I replaced.

Majofo

I'm not sure if it's OP's issue, but over time, all the P/S lines will sieve. The oil eventually breaks down the rubber hoses and it'll leak everywhere.
First will be the high-pressure hose, next will be the low-pressure hoses from the cooler to the reservoir.

The high-pressure hose is a fucking bitch. Good thing on the TL, the flare nut is facing the wheel. On some other J platforms it faces inward.
I spent more time than I'd like to admit trying to delicately get feed the high-pressure line back into the pump and secure that fucking nut.

Removing the hose isn't the worst, getting the new hose back the same way it got in is nearly impossible.
You'll be crammed under the subframe swearing obscure and hate filled obscenities, this is your fate.

Majofo

I can confirm that the P/S oil will drip to the 3rd cat and catch fire.

Storm

iTrader: (2)

also check your power steering reservoir, I had a tiny crack which was causing a leak.