Power steering fluid leak

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Alan Griffin

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Hello all.

I’ve been leaking power steering for about three weeks now and trying to diagnose the problem. I did notice a hole in a line and hoping this is the issue. I took pictures of the line. Can anyone provide insight as to what this is?

D994EC13-C0F7-4D09-AEBE-CB9BF5E9F2C9.jpeg
 

mattbta

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The circled area looks to overlap two wire looms. The part with the clamp on it is hose though.
 
OP
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A

Alan Griffin

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Does anyone from experience know where the leak maybe coming from? Cost to replace?
 

SnowDrifter

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Clean the shmoo off, drive it for a few days, then look again.

Leaks can come from any soft part or something with a gasket/seal.

Really can't help you any more than that. I can't tell where the leak is coming from in the pic as everything is coated in a film
 

msandli

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I am dealing with this same issue. I believe the lower line with the hose clamp is the high pressure feed to the steering box. If you grab it and try to move it, it should actually be a rigid line. That hose clamp might be lose, or the fitting at the reservoir might be loose. You might also be leaking at the pulley. I suppose there's also the small chance that you're leaking at the return line (the line in the upper right part of your picture), or the seal where the pump mates with the reservoir. As you've discovered, it's hard to pinpoint it because there are so many possible places for a leak in such a small area. I'm no expert, but my guesses are a leaking high pressure fitting, or a leaking pulley (simply based on mechanical arguments). IDK if you can pour some UV dye in the reservoir and then shine a black light under your hood to help; I know they do that for AC leaks.

Also, I've seen replacement videos as I'm thinking of replacing this myself. The job doesn't look too hard - if you can change oil, do breaks, etc., you can replace the pump. However, it just kinda looks like a pain in the ass, because there's a bunch of stuff you have to move to get to it. And then you have to consider the "while I'm in here" jobs, esp the water pump. I don't know where you live, but I figure that tripling your parts cost is a decent estimate for a shop to to the p/s pump ($150 pump = $450 shop job).
 

eohat

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I just replaced my power steering pump so I'll try to help you out. As others mentioned, you’ll want to degrease the area so that you can see where the leak is, and be able to determine if your fix is successful. After degreasing, remove the power steering pump cap and inspect the gasket under the cap rim, as they tend to harden with age and leak. Check the fluid level to make sure it’s in the correct range.

Depending on what options you have, there are different power steering pumps. Your pump appears to be set up for hydroboost. Just above and to the right of your red circle is the hose clamp on the end of the hydroboost return line. I would recommend replacing that factory clamp with a new worm-drive hose clamp. If it still leaks there you may have to replace the rubber return hose. Check any other hose clamp connections to see if they’re leaking. As msandli mentioned, check the lower hose connections too. If you do replace the pump you’ll need to buy/rent a power steering puller to remove/install the pulley.
 
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