Power steering is sucking air into system

[shawnbru]

My Explorer has always had a slight power steering fluid leak since the day I bought it four years ago. I would top it off every 3-6 months. Annoying but no big deal. Just a week ago it started leaking like a mad dog. You can watch the fluid drip off. It will make a 12" diameter puddle overnight. The goofy thing is that I will check the fluid after driving it and it is very high and sometimes is blowing out of the top. At the same time the pump makes that cavitating sound as if there is air in there. My guess is that it is pulling air into the system from somewhere. It is a huge mess so I haven't had time to clean it up and see where the fluid is coming from. Any suggestions?????

 

[irtySanchez]

There is really only four components here that can be the problem. They are: the pump, the gear box, the pressure hose, or the return hose.

The first thing to do would be to eliminate the hoses. If they are not the problem, I would eliminate the gear box next. Unless there is some freak accident with the gear box, it will only leak from one place: the seal where the pitman arm attaches. Look for fluid and slop around there. It points down to the ground, so if that is your problem, it may be somewhat obvious.

After that, your next stop is the pump. You should do a thorough inspection of the pump. You may want to try and re-create your problem by taking the belt off the pump. Take the cap off the resivoir and spin the pulley by hand. Watch how the fluid cycles through the pump.

These are some steps to help you get started. Good Luck!!

 

[jimmiecakes]

The "usual" culprit (the one most likely to fail) is the pressure hose. When the hose has finally leaked enough fluid to drop the level in the reservoir to the pump inlet, air will enter the pump and be whipped into a froth that will make the pump appear over-full (and contribute to the early demise of the pump). Of course, all the debris from a dying pump winds up in the spool valve in the steering box. This cuts the faces of the teflon seals and damages the bore that they ride in.

The one other relatively common place on your Ex, is the Pitman shaft seal. It should be relatively easy to determine where the leak is from and I heartily suggest a repair before "ancillary damage" enters your vocabulary.