Leaking Steering Fluid $$$ or $$$$?

[New Madrid]

Hello everyone,

I have a 2001 Ford Exlporer Sport. After doing some driving on a gravel road with some soft spots, my truck has begun to leak steering fluid. I've looked closely to see if its just one of the seals, but I can't tell exactly where the fluid is coming from.

My question is, Am I damaging my power steering by driving around with a slow leak? Also my alignment has been gradually detoriating. Could this be directly related to the leaky hoses or is it meerly a case of hitting winter time potholes? Any idea of the cost of a repair like that?

Sincerely,
NewMadrid

 

[IZwack]

Technically, if it is leaking and you keep topping off the reservoir with fluid so it never goes empty, then everything in the hydraulic steering system should be good. However, chances are, that reservoir will run dry at some point (long drive?) and that is when parts start going bad (the pump). So check that reservoir and see if it still has fluid in it. If it doesn't, then you might have already damaged the steering pump if has gone dry (from heat and friction).

So first thing to do is to find where the leak is coming from. If you must, get a paper towel and clean off the leaked fluid and take it for a spin. Then see if you can pinpoint the leak.

 

[New Madrid]

Religiously Topping Off

Thanks IZwack for the reply. I've been pretty consistent about making sure there's always fluid in the resevoir. The steering gets a little heavy before it runs out and I usually keep a spare bottle in the car.

Assuming that it is a worn out seal, would you have an idea what a repair like that would run? I pretty good at fixing things myself. Is that a relatively simple procedure I could knock out in a couple of hours on a Saturday?

 

[IZwack]

Well if its a seal, it will probably be on the high pressure side of the system and unfortunately, most of those seals are going to be on the rack/pinion itself -- which is not too difficult to replace but just time consuming (not to mention you need an alignment afterwards). And I doubt you can just replace a seal on the rack and pinion, I think you have to replace the whole unit -- which is a good idea anyway because you have to remove the unit anyway.

If it's just a hose, thats not too difficult to replace, except you'll wish you had smaller hands to snake your arm between things. But again, if it is the hose, you do have to remove the pump from the engine (assuming you have the SOHC engine -- VIN 'E', not 'K') so that takes a few more minutes because you have to loosen the serpentine belt.

I can't load this page right now (comes up with an Error), but at some point later, check out AutoZone's Repair Guide:
http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm. That should walk you through every step of replacing the rack/pinion unit or replacing the high pressure hose.

If you do need to replace the rack and pinion, these units usually go for between $130 and $150 (after core charge) at your local parts store (Advanced Auto, PepBoys, etc...):
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=252&PTSet=A

If its just the hose, these run between $20 and $30 at the same parts stores.

 

[New Madrid]

Thanks again. I'll check out the Autozone link. I have a SOHC vin "E" also. I need an alignment anyway, so that doesn't bother me too much. Thanks.

 

[Pollarican]

I would say there is a much greater chance that your High Pressure line is leaking rather than a rack and pinion seal. Price for a new line should be about $30, and the repair is definately something you could do during a Saturday afternoon. Like IZ said, you will probably have to pull the pump if it is the high pressure line, which should only be a few bolts; the hardest part of the job is fiddling with the tight setup of the system.

The one time I had to repair a power steering leak it was the high pressure line. From what I have seen and read about PS systems, that line is usually the first part of the system to spring any kind of leak simply because of the pressure it sees day to day.