[Power Steering] Parts replaced, yet the leaks continue

[Manarius]

So, I'm dealing with a fairly significant ATF leak courtesy of the power steering. I've replaced the O-Ring under the reservoir. I've replaced the high pressure line (I leak significantly less now). However, I still end up with enough on the exhaust to get smoke after driving long distances and enough to get into the tray and leak out when stopped.

I'm not sure if it's still leaking from under the reservoir, but assuming it still is; why is it? The gasket is new; the surface was clean; the torx screws are tight.

Also, is there anything else near the front of the engine that could be leaking? The cooler line? The filter? (Is there a filter?)

I'm sure it's not the rack because it all comes from the front of the under tray.

So, any help or insight or past experiences regarding power steering leaks would be much appreciated.

[huck369]

There is a return line that feeds back into the pump in the front, that could be leaking, it takes regular fuel line and 2 clamps, not a bad ideal to replace it anyway...

And there is a PS cooler in front of the radiator, never seen one leak, but I suppose it's possible...


But it takes a long time to burn off all the old Fluid on the exhaust......

[Green1995SVX]

Huck-

You've never seen the coolers leak because you don't live up here. It's pretty common.

Inspect the cooler for rust/leaks.

Mike

[Mike621]

Check your return line going from your radiator to your reservoir. I recommend replacing ANY original hoses in the PS system if there are any that havent been replaced. Also, check the soft line to the rack that goes to the hard line under the engine.

Both of these hoses can be replaced with universal atf cooler line, so no waiting for dealer parts. Be sure to use new clamps if needed.

[Mike621]

I agree with Mike, the cooler is also something to check. It was nearly rusted through on one of my cars.

[Manarius]

All right, so I'm sure my stock cooler is leaking. I'm off to autozone to get a light duty ATF cooler and some line to see if I can put in a new thing and not use the old one (since getting an OEM one is $90!)

[Manarius]

So, after much toil, trouble, and hatred of the drop pan, I got a light duty cooler plumbed in to replace the stock cooler (which is hardly a cooler I must say).

I ended up stuffing the cooler up in the passenger side fender with the intake baffle with a ton of zipties (the drill would not fit in the fender). I wouldn't say the setup is optimum, but I'm pretty sure that even stuffed in the fender, this new cooler is better than the original. Unfortunately, there aren't any holes in that side like there are in the driver's side so the lines creep out right near the bottom where the ones for the ATF cooler are.

While I was down there, I saw that one line for the ATF cooler was leaking too so I had to replace the clamp (for some reason the line just decided not to hold fluid anymore). I'm hoping now that my car is driveway friendly, but we'll see.

Unfortunately, the original cooler and lines are still floating around down there. I'll probably just cut them off and cap them because those clamps on the original cooler are just about impossible to get to.

Total Cost:
$30 for the cooler.
$3.57 for the extra line.
$3.49 for another quart of ATF (I certainly hope the last)
$2.99 for an extra set of hose clamps.

Total: $39.05 + tax + 4 hours of time (I work slow).