Rack & Pinion

[gethere]

My 98Camry 4 cyl.2.2 with 103,000 had timing belt, water pump, transmission flush, power steering and ac belts replaced 6 mths ago as maintenance. Right after I notice what must be ps fluid on driveway (small amount of light color). Stops a few months later. I ignored it.
Now take in for new tires and find out the rack & pinion has failed seal and fluid in the "boots?" No prior problem with steering, little harder now. Could anything have caused this leak from the previous repair? Or is it just age and coincidence? I will have to replace the r&p and seems strange it wasn't noticed earlier. (Not by me, but the mechanic!)

Also told of a leaking oil pan and valve cover. Is this a repair which can wait since I do not see any oil on driveway? Must be a small leak.
I know little about cars, but enjoy trying to understand what you experts have to say on the forum.

And does this car have a distributor O ring??
Thanks for your time. Don't laugh too hard!























































































Don't laugh too hard!!

[eyeball96]

Say u don't see the rack leaking now? Is there PS fluid in the resivor?...U can Try Lucas power steering stop leak, if its not a massive leak. Suppose to be guarantee to work.

It didn't work for me, my Rack was finished, and I replaced it, but it leaked like a sieve

[redgtxdi]

Here's my .02.........

I have a '98 2.2L like you. Steering's fine, but I noticed a leak & had a mechanic look at it. He said it's the trans pan and diff cover leaking. (I blame "flushing" as I've had it regularly flushed & can't imagine both covers leaking for any other reason otherwise).

Anyway......haven't had them pull the covers yet but that's another source of leaks you might check. (Trans pan's easy, but diff cover's supposed to be a PITA)

Now, assuming that it's truly the R&P, I also have a '95 Geo Prizm (Corolla) and I *KNOW* that sucker's R&P leaks like a sieve.....BUT......despite the fact that they told me to replace it TWO YEARS AGO, I've been just refilling the reservoir as needed & the thing's still working & steering just fine. Sometimes I have to fill the reservoir monthly, sometimes I check it and it's ok for 2 or 3 months, but I'd probably trade the thing in for a new Corolla before I go to those extensive costs.

[BMR]

Originally Posted by gethere

Could anything have caused this leak from the previous repair? Or is it just age and coincidence?

Not likely. Probably just coincidence.

Originally Posted by gethere

Also told of a leaking oil pan and valve cover. Is this a repair which can wait since I do not see any oil on driveway? Must be a small leak.

I'd say it can wait, as long as you watch your oil levels. If it's not leaving drops on the ground, then yeah, it's a pretty small leak.

Originally Posted by gethere

And does this car have a distributor O ring??

Dunno. Someone else will have to answer that one. I have seen O rings on distributor caps, so it's not a dumb question.

[Kep]

A distributor has two seals. An exterior one between the shaft and engine block and an interior one between the shaft and the "axle". However, I don't believe that any of the '98 models have a distributor.

Any leak from an oil pan is very rare. More probable is an oil leak from elsewhere dribbling down and dripping off of the oil pan. I believe many mechanics use this ruse because they can point at it and show the client oil. I would recommend cleaning the engine compartment very well and then trying to definatively find the leak. If necessary you may want to use a UV dye in the oil to help pin point a leak. I would suspect the valve cover gasket well before the oil pan. By the way, check the torque of the four spark plug tube nuts (30 mm and I believe only 15 foot lbs).

By any chance did someone add power steering fluid? Camrys use ATF in their power steering systems, NOT power steering fluid. The wrong fluid may have damaged the rubber parts of the rack & pinnion. If this is the case you might be able to flush out the power steering fluid and replace it with Dexron III. Some of the ATF suppliers make a stop leak product that may help. However, you may wind up needing to rebuild or replace the rack & pinnion.

Luck
Mike