Power Steering Fluid

[Mickyh]

OK info for the dumb novice please.VS-v6 power steering fluid leak.
Im losing heaps of fluid,where do i start looking for leaks,reservoir seems ok and hoses coming out of it ok,Where next?
Thanks fellas

[immortality]

very common to leak around the rear seal in the pump. have a look around where the pump bolts to the engine bracket. also have a good look at the lines. maybe it's leaking around the retuen line somewhere.

go get some engine degreaser and give the engine/ power steering pump and steering rack a real good clean, then it will be a lot easier to see where the leak is.

[accentstencil]

Also check for leaks from the rubber boots on the steering rack.

[Mickyh]

Theres what looks like a plastic Sump at the front of underside of engine,there is a small hole in upper front wall,is this supposed to have some sort of plug in it?

[greenacc]

what do you mean plastic sump ? any chance you can post a photo

[Mickyh]

Looking at the photo it might be Ally.the blob is blutack over the hole till i find out if its supposed to be plugged,the fluid was dripping out of the hole

[greenacc]

hey micky, hey micky
that looks like the rear of the engine to me, between engine and gear box yes.. ? Thats not power steering fluid coming out of there. Hate to tell U that is probably engine oil, or could be trans fluid. what colour is that fluid ? red or brown ? I think your rear main bearing on your engine is leaking oil. that makes it hard to pass rego but that blu tak might save you !!! steering leak will be somewhere else, is there fluid dripping onto your oil filter from the steering pump ?

[accentstencil]

Looking at the photo it might be Ally.the blob is blutack over the hole till i find out if its supposed to be plugged,the fluid was dripping out of the hole

Any fluid coming out of that hole will be either oil from a leaking rear main seal of the engine or tansmission fluid from the main seal of the transmission, depending on the colour of the fluid. I don't think blocking the hole is a good idea as it will allow the fluid to build up and make a bigger mess.
Edit. I see I'm too late.

[Mickyh]

hey micky, hey micky
that looks like the rear of the engine to me, between engine and gear box yes.. ? Thats not power steering fluid coming out of there. Hate to tell U that is probably engine oil, or could be trans fluid. what colour is that fluid ? red or brown ? I think your rear main bearing on your engine is leaking oil. that makes it hard to pass rego but that blu tak might save you !!! steering leak will be somewhere else, is there fluid dripping onto your oil filter from the steering pump ?

Yea sorry bout that wouldnt know me rear from me front.The fluid that was coming out there was RED,and yes it looks like fluid dripping on filter.
Time to shoot it or what?

[Mickyh]

Hey Guys is it safe to drive, as long as i keep an eye on the fluids (no money to fix) Missus usually drives it.What to look out for before it totally dies.

[moff_man]

narr you just need a kit put through your pump. if your mechincley minded and have a book you can get away with doing it your self, just need a press or vice and a puller.

or drop in to your mechanic and get him to do it. i work at holden and we see it alot rough prices , kit 15 - 20 bucks labour around ahour depending what they charge, we chare 82 an hour

[greenacc]

yeah, safe to drive as long as your brakes work ey ??. keep the fuids topped up like you said, and a drip tray on the driveway Lol. The fluid dripping onto the oil filter is your steering leak... mine does that too. could be the hoses or the pump itself is leaking.

[Mickyh]

OK, CHEERS EVERYONE,for your help.

[Ozpacman]

Mate I've just been through this on my VS and it ended up being leaks in two places on the power steering pump. The large 'O' rings in the the main body of the pump were hard and cracked. I fixed that and then found that the small 'o' ring on the high pressure line (where it screws into the rear of the pump) was weeping. All good now!

Russ

[vxcalais_01]

Get some Auto-RX and flush it through your power steering or transmission. I just did my power steering, and after 1600k's of the cleaning phase, when i drained my fluid in the steering, there was all this dark crusty stuff at the bottom of the resevoir that it had cleaned. THe fluid went dark as well. Now no leaks, no noise, seals rejuvinated and no more clicking when i turn the wheel left.

Easier option, it to fully flush both power steering and trans and flush and use Valvoline Maxlife ATF. It has Ester base seal rejuvenation/sweller and may stop the leak. It will at least slow it.

The seals go hard because people don't really replenish the fluid as often as they should. Say even every 50,000 is a good idea. but who does that, people just top it off. I just did mine like i said at 200,000 ! In that time i did have some leaks at the hoses which i just tightened up (do this first if its leaking externally). Then recently it was very loose/soft the steering and used to click when turning left, now its pretty much gone....and steering is very good now.... Maxlife ATF, Auto-RX etc have ester seal additives in them to soften, rejuvinate the old hard seals, this is the same for trans and engine......you soften the seals to make them pliable, clean them out so new oil can refreshen them and swell them to the contact seal is now true......cheaper to try this before a seal change ! Like a rear main seal, alot of times it is just dirty from old oil which has built up and gone under the seal and it leaks as the seal is not contacting anymore. This can be fixed.....as long as seal is not torn.

[Zuicider]

well you could always do what my dumb ex housemate did, to check to see where it was leaking from , he dumped the fluid, cleaned it up and filled it with water . then he proceeded to wait and watch to see where the water was coming from