LEAK CHASING - POWER STEERING

[Ross Wooldridge]

OK FCBO hive mind -

I need to source a power steering leak. It leaks down onto the floor, but it's hard to pinpoint where exactly it's coming from.

So, my first steps are to start by cleaning the years of crud and grease off my lower engine, steering pump, steering box and steering gear.

Once it's clean and dry, I hope the leak source is more apparent, but if not, is there a dye that one can put into the fluid that will show up with a hand held light or something like that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[mrfury68]

You have the first part, cleaning and de-greasing your pump, steering gear and surrounding areas. Put a piece of cardboard on the floor under the steering gear / pump area to help isolate where the leak may be coming from. There are only a few places for a leak. On the pump it would be the pulley shaft, reservoir seal or the line connections. On the steering gear it could be the pitman arm seal, input shaft seal or the block where the lines connect. Don't forget to check the lines too. Easiest stuff first. Good luck.

 

[65sporty]

If needed you can put dye in the oil and see it with a black light

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

What kind of dye?

 

[65sporty]

I use this brand at work.

Tracerline Application Specific Dye-Lite Leak Detection Dyes TP-3100-0601

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Thanks!

 

[MoPar Maniac]

Clean it up, let it dry and spray it with an aerosol foot powder or the like. Oil shows up real well on that white powder.

 

[commando1]

My method has always worked and it's cheap.
Like said above, scour the suspect area thoroughly and then place kleenex there. You'll eventually be able to pinpoint the precise location of the leak.

 

[Moby]

Just went through a steering leak search myself.
It didn’t act like a high pressure leak so I cleaned everything up and checked it all for being dry. I ran it and then let is sit for an hour or two and then felt around the bottom of the reservoir edge and came back with a wet finger tip.
It turned out to be the large “O” ring that seals the reservoir can to the back of the pump.
A $12.00 rebuild kit and a little time and it’s been going strong with no leaking.
It had been making a huge mess. PS fluid, dirt and goop every where on the head, block, cross member, steering gear box etc... I was waiting to fix the steering leak and then move on to other leaks but the steering pump was the whole thing.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

Glad you fixed it!

I got things all cleaned up, and took it for a tets drive yesterday, and let it sit for a while.

From first look a few hours later there was evidence of fluid at the low pressure return hose barb and at the pump inlet for the same. Tightened the clamps, wiped it up, as of this morning no fluid leaks. Gotta drive it to really see. I was surprised that the clamps were a little loose, but it stands to reason that the leak could be from there, because when the car is shut off there's small amount of fluid remaining in the retun hose - some of it will drain into the reservoir, and the rest sits in the vertical part of the hose, and if the clamp is loose, well... Same thing for the reservoir inlet.

I also need to to stop overfilling the reservoir - I think that's a common mistake. Only to the bottom of the neck apparently.

So - driving the car a bit more will be the proof if that's the only place the P.S. system was leaking.

Other leaks? Trans speedo cable seal, and rear diff pinion. Both very minor.

However, joy of joys, it looks like the new reproduction seal I installed on my steering pot coupler has already failed... it lasted less than 500 miles.

 

[Moby]

Good job on the clamp!
I hope that’s it for you. You are correct on the fluid level, at or just below the base of the neck.
On the pinion seal, if you haven’t done one before it’s helpful to mark or paint your pinion nut in relation to the yolk and yolk to case. That way you can remove and then reinstall your parts after replacing the seal and set everything back in its original orientation, including turns on the pinion nut so that your pinion bearing preload doesn’t change.