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Power steering fluid leak


Saturn
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My 02 RWD pathy has been puking power steering fluid for some time now, after going through 3 bottles of it with stop leak and checking the pump and all lines around it I finally took off the skid plate and an H-shaped brace in front of the rack and noticed that the leak seemed to be coming from the drivers side boot, which has been completely ripped open. However, the passenger side has also been ripped and does not seem to be leaking. I don't have much knowledge of steering systems so far, so forgive my inexperience, but do the boots hold fluid? And if not, then where might the leak be coming from? Are there any well known trouble spots in this area? Thanks for your consideration!

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The boots don't hold fluid. Seems as though your seals are leaking and allowing the fluid to get past and into the boot on your driver's side.

I'm not familiar with the rack enough to say whether you can readily replace a seal or whether you should get a new rack.

 

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Agreed, sounds like a leaking seal. The seal is serviceable, but not while the rack is on the truck. It's undoubtedly not a fun job, and one of those jobs where you end up rebuilding the entire rack (and still needing to buy other parts, like the boots) vs. buying a reman'd replacement. Although a replacement costs more, it's less work than rebuilding it (and the part has a warranty).

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Thanks guys,it sounds like I'll be taking it into a shop as this is a bit beyond me and I already have to replace my trailing arms and I'm doing that myself.

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  • 5 months later...

Replacing the rack is easy. No need to huge markup for a part you can swap yourself in a few hours.

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

 

Is there a write-up anywhere with pics. on this forum? My wife's '04 SE 4x4 is starting to leak PS fluid and the shop wants $700+ for the rack before labor is added.

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ISO 68 Turbine Oil FTW

 

You might could even try ISO 100 Turbine Oil but beware ISO 100 is THICK. Vane pump might not like 100. I can personally vouch for ISO 68 though, my rack was leaking like a sieve, and 68 slowed it waaaaaay down and the pump likes it just fine.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by onespiritbrain
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I don't think I would use Turbine oil in a hydraulic system. Hydraulic AW ISO 68 would be fine, but turbine oil doesn't have the right additives to function properly as a hydraulic fluid. Turbine oil is pretty plain, hydraulic oil usually has anti foaming additives, friction modifiers (sometimes called anti shudder) additives, etc. You might be able to get away with it, but not really how it was designed to be used.

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