Power Steering Issue

[stanno]

Hi Guys;

I bought my camry with a small power steering system leak, and over the last month it has obviously gotten worse. what used to be a small top up every other week turned into every other day. my wife was driving it without any fluid for a good while and the steering, as expected, got tough.

a friend told me that i can add like 2-3 corks of engine oil and then fill with power steering fluid and interestingly, that has slowed down the leak by faaarrrr. but now that i've added the fluid, i was locking the wheel from left to right and there's this high humming/singing sound whenever i do. if i hold the steering at the end of a lock it just continues to hum/sing, stationary or while driving. the fluid isnt frothy or discolored as far as i see. is it air that is causing the humming ???

- stanno

[Jimnist]

Humming is usually when it's low on fluid. You really should fix the leak, running the pump dry isn't good IMO. It's most probably the high pressure hose. That happened to my Camry as well, started off okay, but after parking, it would drop most fluid.

[stanno]

if the pump does go, i can get another here in JA for cheap, but i'd at least want to kno it's the problem first. the fluid level is currently at the 'max' mark. when i lock from left to right with the engine running i can see the return line moving about.

[Jimnist]

Try to find where it's leaking from by going under the car or turning the wheels full lock to lock with the tyres on the ground(greatest strain on system) and look for leaks/drips on the ground. Because you said the return line is moving about, i would assume it might be a flexible hose somewhere along the return line that's cracked. Although i only think this because you say you're loosing fluid and not loosing heaps of fluid.

If it were the high pressure hose, you'd loose almost all fluid when there's high stress on the system.

[stanno]

Originally Posted by Jimnist

Try to find where it's leaking from by going under the car or turning the wheels full lock to lock with the tyres on the ground(greatest strain on system) and look for leaks/drips on the ground. Because you said the return line is moving about, i would assume it might be a flexible hose somewhere along the return line that's cracked. Although i only think this because you say you're loosing fluid and not loosing heaps of fluid.

If it were the high pressure hose, you'd loose almost all fluid when there's high stress on the system.

actually, before i used the engine oil to slow down the leaking, a full reservoir wouldn't last more than a day. even when parked overnight, it would be empty by morning. i've peered at the undercarriage many times to try to find where the leak is coming from, but from the day i bought the car, it was all muck under there. i had planned to get two cans of degreaser and go to town, just haven't gotten to that bridge yet, and locating the source of leaking fluids in an engine bay can be a tricky thing to locate if the engine isnt clean enuff for u to distinguish a trail. my feed line is crystalised basically. it's on my list to change. but i'm gonna replace the rack, cuz i believe it's goin bad. i can hear noises from it when it's moved lock to lock