Power steering is dead.. help please?

#1 10-06-2005, 03:11 PM

My steering got VERY heavy this afternoon. I stopped to check the fluid and it was bone dry. I bought a quart of fluid and started filling the pump. It took about half a quart. Once I started the car, I started topping it off. It took the whole quart and then I realized there was a large puddle of fluid on the ground. The leak (or gaping hole) is hidden from view and the pump is not visably leaking. Where should I start diagnosing it? Thanks in advance.

Manarius · #2 10-06-2005, 03:13 PM

There's a gasket right near the bottom of the pump..the fabled O-Ring. It's probably worn out. It costs like .34 to buy so...

Then again, with the amount of fluid you said it took could also make one think that you broke a line or that there's a leak in the rack or something like that.

Electrophil · #3 10-06-2005, 03:16 PM

This definitely sounds like a fitting on the rack has come undone. How fast is it leaking out?

Hocrest · #4 10-06-2005, 03:52 PM

I had to get mine up on ramps and look from underneath th find the leak. One of the return lines rotted at the end. I had replaced it with the same 3/8"(?) hose that is used to run to your tranny cooler.

The connections are a pain in the ass to get to. I had to work from above and below to reach them all, but didn't have to remove anything else to gain access.

Good Luck.

ensteele · #5 10-06-2005, 06:03 PM

I have had the same thing happen. I am willing to bet that it is the return line. If you have not replaced the line, you should anyway. They seem to go out at this age. Good luck.

#6 10-06-2005, 08:47 PM

Thanks for the response all. I left my car in Greenville since I didn't want to drive it 2 more hours to Charlotte in it's condition. Am I going to damage anything by running the car without the hoses connected? I'm assuming it could destroy the pump, but what about the rack?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ensteele

I have had the same thing happen. I am willing to bet that it is the return line. If you have not replaced the line, you should anyway. They seem to go out at this age. Good luck.

Hocrest · #7 10-06-2005, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarkerussell

Thanks for the response all. I left my car in Greenville since I didn't want to drive it 2 more hours to Charlotte in it's condition. Am I going to damage anything by running the car without the hoses connected? I'm assuming it could destroy the pump, but what about the rack?

I'm not saying that it is good for the pump, but I drove mine for a few days with out PS fluid. It is a bear to park with no power assist though. It has been working fine since I replaced the hose and refilled it.

#8 10-06-2005, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hocrest

I'm not saying that it is good for the pump, but I drove mine for a few days with out PS fluid. It is a bear to park with no power assist though. It has been working fine since I replaced the hose and refilled it.

That's good to hear. Hopefully it's just a hose or two and I can get it going ASAP. Thanks.

#9 10-06-2005, 10:11 PM

With the engine running I lost the whole quart in about 15 seconds. Without it running it held the fluid... This leads me to believe it's the return line... If the supply (high pressure) was broken, it should have just leaked out once the tank was full... then again, maybe the pump was keeping it in...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophil

This definitely sounds like a fitting on the rack has come undone. How fast is it leaking out?

Electrophil · #10 10-06-2005, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clarkerussell

With the engine running I lost the whole quart in about 15 seconds. Without it running it held the fluid... This leads me to believe it's the return line... If the supply (high pressure) was broken, it should have just leaked out once the tank was full... then again, maybe the pump was keeping it in...

I think you are dead on right. If it's leaking out that fast running, it pretty much has to be the return line.

Luckily, there's only a few to check anyway.

What would be cool is if you went out there, and it was only one of the lines had slipped out of the Power steering fluid cooler. That's a real easy fix.

ensteele · #11 10-06-2005, 11:46 PM

When I lost one of my return lines, I didn't know why I had problems steering after parking for a couple of hours. I poured in about a quart and it was on the ground before I even finished. I got it onto a hoist to find out where it was coming from and we found it was the return line. That was easy to fix. I would not drive it without fluid though because it could burn up the pump.

Electrophil · #12 10-07-2005, 03:04 AM

And even if it doesn't completely burn up the pump, (which it may), it will cause enough damage where the pump will "whine" from this day forward until you either replace the pump, or go to the doctor for a prescription of Prozac.

#13 10-07-2005, 06:24 AM

Unfortunatly I was in Columbia, SC when it happened and I had to make it to Greenville, SC. That was about 2 hours of highway driving... hopefully the pump didn't kill itself. We'll see next week when I get to Greenville to work on it. Thank goodness for spare cars.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electrophil

And even if it doesn't completely burn up the pump, (which it may), it will cause enough damage where the pump will "whine" from this day forward until you either replace the pump, or go to the doctor for a prescription of Prozac.

dcarrb · #14 10-07-2005, 06:32 AM

The cooler-to-pump PS return line was the first thing I replaced on my SVX; it wasn't leaking but was clearly failing at the connection to the pump. Fortunately, as someone else mentioned, it's cut-to-fit ATF hose and thus a very cheap and easy fix. I keep about six feet of the stuff coiled inside my spare wheel, 'cos you never know...

dcb

immortal_suby · #15 10-08-2005, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcarrb

I keep about six feet of the stuff coiled inside my spare wheel, 'cos you never know...

dcb

good insurance - I do the same thing. Spare atf/power steering hose in there.