'01 sport; ps fluid leaking out a crack

[recoonce]

in a cast iron like pipe running across the bottom of the truck. I am ignorant on auto repair so please bear with me.

We began noticing hard steering in my daughter's '01 sport last week, 37k miles. I added more p/s fluid and it got better, but noticed there were still leaks all over the driveway.

Apparently, it got much worse this week. I added a bottle of p/s fluid a few minutes ago and then noticed it was dripping rapidly and forming a puddle on the driveway. I got under the truck and noticed this cast-iron appearing pipe-like rod running across the bottom with what appeared to be a big crack on the bottom of it. Sure enough, the crack was where the leak was coming from.

So, my questions are:

What is broken?

What will it cost to fix?

Who should do the repair, dealer or shade-tree type?

Any chance the pump is blown also?

Thanks,

Richard

 

[JoshC]

I doubt your pump is gone to, probably just a bad line. Can you give us more detail on where this line is coming from and where it goes to? It's probably aluminum, not cast iron. Lines are not hard to replace if you can any automotive work yourself, shouldn't be to expensive, but there are a couple of different lines, so let us know where it's at. A picture would be nice if you have a digital camera.

 

[boominXplorer]

That a b!tch at 37k! I take it you didn't get the extended warrenty? If the crak isn't big you can cut it out and put a sleeve over it. If its big your going to have to give us a picture to show us which one it is.

 

[recoonce]

Thanks. I think it is aluminum after all. It is about an inch and a half to two inches in diameter. It is parallel to the ground. When I get under the front grill area of the truck the pipe is right above the black wide metal part of the frame. It that makes any sense.

Unfortunately, don't know where the digital camera is.

I did notice this aluminum pipe is about two feet in length, approximately. It does appear to tie in eventually to the tie-rods that are attached to the wheel. There is an intermediate connection of some sort that has a ribbed-like rubber sleeve over it. In other words the ribbed-like rubber sleeve connects the aluminum line to the tie rods.

There are other smaller various lines connected to the larger aluminum line that is leaking.

As you can tell I know little.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[recoonce]

If I can come with the camera I will try and post a picture later today.

The crack though, is about four inches long.

 

[boominXplorer]

is there any lines running out of the cracked area? Because if it is just a line you can sleeve it. If there are lines coming out of it Good Luck!

 

[recoonce]

No lines coming from the crack area which is on the bottom of the line. The lines that are coming from this big line appear to be on the front of the big line towards each end of the line.

I bet the crack is too long but we'll see.

Thanks,

Richard

 

[JoshC]

If it is an inch or two in diameter that then is the rack and pinion. This "pipe", is it laying horizontal? If so, then it must be about 2 feet long with a couple of lines coming out of the front of it on the drivers side.

 

[recoonce]

Yes, this line or pipe is laying horizontal to the ground. Also, it is probably about two feet long with a couple of smaller lines coming out of it.

Rather expensive to have fixed I would guess.

 

[JoeDirt]

A solution to replacement...

Plan A.) Replace the part. Pay a mechanic to change it if all else fails.

Plan B.) (cheap fix) If you have clear access to the crack: step 1: Drain out the fluid. Step 2: drill a hole at each end of the crack to arrest the crack from propagating further. The hole diameter should be roughly twice the size of the crack width. Do not drill through to the other side of the pipe. Step 3: Seal the outside of the crack with a hardening puddy such as JB weld. Refill and check for leakage.


warning: I have never tried the latter plan. I cant see why it wouldn't work only unless you couldn't get the clearance for the drill. If it is alluminum, you should have no problem drilling the holes out. The total cost of this should be less than $10 bucks...you'll only need a quality puddy and replacement ps fluid.

 

[JoeDirt]

feel free to tell me Im nuts.

cost: Freebie!

 

[recoonce]

That's a rather interesting solution, drilling holes and filling with putty. I wonder if the strength of the hardened putty would withstand the pressure inside the line?

I must admit, I thought of duct-taping the thing to get it to the shop. Still might.

 

[recoonce]

Finally, I have a picture. Not of my truck but a diagram I found off Google.

I don't know exactly how to get the image on this post but I am going to try the image button in the instructions here and give it a try.

Anyway, in the diagram the crack is basically where the word "cylinder" is pointing to; on the bottom side of the cylinder.

 

[JoshC]

Picture didn't work, but your rack and pinion is cracked. I would pay someone to do it, unless you are mechanically inclined. The rack itself it around 150 give or take a few and i'd say figure on paying about 150 to get it replaced, but that's just a figure, i don't know for sure.

You were right, that is cast.

 

[recoonce]

Thanks so much. At least I now know what is in store. And no, I am not in the least mechanically inclined. Wish I were.

I did manage to get the instrument panel out of a 88 Volvo without tearing anything else up. Pretty proud of that. Not that I replaced the broken odometer, just wanted to see if I could get to it.