power steering fluid leak

[twocamrys]

I took my 1996 V6 Camry in for an oil change at the stealership and they told me that my power steering fluid was a little low. I have not noticed any leaking fluids in my garage. The car is steering normally and does not make any noise when turning. My car only has around 85,000 miles on it. I was told that leaking fluid may be sign that the power steering pump and rack are going bad. They wouldn't tell me for sure since I refused to pay them a $60 diagnosis fee.

Given the age and mileage of my car, what is a probable cause for a power steering fluid leak? What kind of tests can be done to determine the condition of my power steering pump and rack? I assume that I need to get the hoses checked since they are original.

I do not know much about power steering so any advice would be appreciated.

[wimpwgn]

Usually it's the seals in the PS pump that wear out and cause the leak. You can either rebuild the PS pump yourself by getting the seal kit or buy a new/reman pump.

[REAPER STRAIN]

Try Lucas Power steering fluid first. Its great stuff and it stops leaks becuase it's so think. I used it because I was bleeding powersteering fluid. It slowed the leak dramatically. I found the problem later (i never tightened the bolt to the power steering pump) and its been fine ever since. You can also add some flourescent dye to your reservoir and check the source of the leak with a UV light.
Goodluck

[chronoti]

there a crush washer on the ps pump that normaly goes bad. that and the clamps they use. i have a leak too mine getting kind of bad i need to retop off about every 2 weeks or so.

[damohhh]

i took my car to the workshop because of a leek they apparantly changed the pump, still leaked pretty seriously too. a friend told me it was the pressure hose. went to get a suspension check the mechanic wanted to charge me $350 for a new pump.. he can shove it up his ass

[damohhh]

i took my car to the workshop because of a leek they apparantly changed the pump, still leaked pretty seriously too. a friend told me it was the pressure hose. went to get a suspension check the mechanic wanted to charge me $350 for a new pump.. he can shove it up his ass

[marc780]

Given the age and mileage of my car, what is a probable cause for a power steering fluid leak?

Wear and tear is the usual cause...unless the car was beat on or the steering was run low on fluid. The fix is to replace parts as needed. The power steering pump is the usual problem since it has most of the moving parts.

As an aside, i have some comments on prevention being worth-a-pound-of-cure about many car problems, so here they are. You cant stop wear but i think you sure can slow it down a lot with just a little bit of work. Most people know they have to check the power steering fluid once in a while but few people ever take the trouble to change it.

The manufacturer is of little help here since they will tell you this fluid never needs to be changed. And strictly speaking, it doesnt, since the car will still run long enough to get out of the warranty period (and after all, this is all the car manufacturer is concerned about). But for you and me, who are mostly concerned about driving the car for a million billion miles til we are forced to buy a new one - the end result is that on most cars, the same factory fill of p/s fluid is in there for the life of the car. And we all know what causes the most wear to mechanical parts: dirt and other contaminants. As a result, any dirt that gets in, stays in, and important anti wear additives in the fluid eventually wear out. dirty, worn out fluid is not doing much for your car except speeding up the wear process.

As a result...I simply refresh my power steering and brake fluid, at every other oil change to get some of the dirt out and get some new fluid and additives in. By "refresh" i mean i suck the old stuff out of the reservoir with a 99 cent turkey baster, and then top it up with new fluid. Do this 3 or 4 times and you've pretty much changed the fluid. (Its alot easier to me than unbolting hoses and all that and just about as effective.) If you refresh once in a while (its never too late or too early to start doing this) i think you will remove or eliminate ost or all of the dirt that causes wear and help your car last a little bit longer. And save yourself some money and trouble too later.

i took my car to the workshop because of a leek they apparantly changed the pump, still leaked pretty seriously too. a friend told me it was the pressure hose. went to get a suspension check the mechanic wanted to charge me $350 for a new pump.. he can shove it up his ass

sorry for the bad experience, hope you found a better mechanic!

[ed_hon]

I just had a very expensive repair done my 1998 Camry V6 @ 115k. I was also losing power steering fluid, and the independent mechanic ended up replacing the power steering rack as well as rebuilding the power steering pump. Ouch! He also replaced some of the hoses. He said the reason was the fluid never got changed. Word to the wise: flush the power steering fluid and the brake fluid regularly even though the manual doesn't say so.

[nelca]

I have a severe power steering leak on my 1994 4-cylinder Camry (full reservoir lasts only about 4 hours). It may be too late for it, but after reading positive postings on this site, I was going to try Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. Does anyone know where it can be purchased in Canada or, failing that, where on-line? The leak is on the steering wheel side of the car, not the reservoir. My mechanic said it would cost almost $800 if all 3 power steering lines need to be replaced. (He has inspected the underbody, but is still not sure where the leak is coming from). Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[nelca]

As a follow-up: I found this on Canadian Tire's website for $11.99. I am going to try it and will post again to advise how it turned out. Meanwhile, if anyone knows of a reliable mechanic in the Toronto area who can deal with this type of problem, please let me know. I think mine may be past his prime.

[Cooloyota]

The pump was replaced about three years ago, and now power steering fluid is still leaking. Not that seriously leaking, but kind of annoying.