89' 745 Power sterring leaking HELP

Steering got harder all of a sudden on my way home and when I arrived I
found fluid leaking from the under carriage around where the steering shaft
connects to the Rack. there was little fluid in the reservoir.
Any ideas on what to do appreciated, assume a "how to" for dummies
instruction style.
Does this mean the rack is broken?
Seems brickboard says could be a hose or seal? not clear.
Is this easy DIY type or should I go to mechanic?
Is it OK to put in some ATF for now till I fix it/ get it fixed?

Thanks for your help.

PT
89 745GL 331K Km

 

From a point at sea, to the circles of your mind, this is PT:

You need to find where it is leaking from. Hopefully it is just a
split pipe. If it is the pipe from reservoir to pump you may get away
with taping it up as a temorary measure. If it is a pipe from pump to
rack, these run under pressure, so putting more ATF in is a lost
cause.

However, if it is coming out from the rubber bellows where the
track/tie rod joins the rack housing, then it is probably not good
news. Have a close look at them, including the *top* of the bellows,
in between the folds - is there a hole?

The thing is that the fluid should never get as far as the bellows,
there being seals inside the rack to stop this. If the bellows start
to fill with fluid it means that the seals have gone. Now the bellows
can cope with a small amount of seepage, but eventually they start to
sag under the weight. When this happens, the top of the bellows starts
to snag on the linkage inside, and eventually gets pinched and
ruptured by it. From here on fluid just gets squirted out every time
you turn the wheel.

I've had this happen on a couple of cars, and simply replacing the
bellows is only a temporary fix. It is possible to replace the seals
in the rack, and I've done this successfully, but finding the parts
for it was difficult. Eventually I got some from a rack rebuilder who
grudgingly sold me some.

The simplest answer is an exchange rack, which should be good for
another 331k Km. They are pretty straight forward to fit if you are
doing it yourself, though it can be messy (it's still full of oil even
when it's empty) and you'll have to get the tracking set afterwards.

If the hole is in the bellows you *may* get some mileage by topping
up, but expect to lose lots and not be popular with other road users.
The power steering is failsafe - if the power assistance fails you
still have steering, but it will be very heavy and low speed stuff
will be difficult. If you go too far without oil you risk losing the
pump too, and these cost as much as the rack.


--

Stewart Hargrave

Faster than public transport


For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my name

 

Thanks Stewart, I will do a closer inspection and report back.

PT
89 745GL 331K Km

 

Hi all,
I Had a closer look this morning and found the source of the leak, It comes
from one of the metal pipes ( 2 short and bent pipes) directly under the
joint (where steering column/shaft meets the rack). they were flaking apart
when I touched them but only one is leaking.
no liquid in the bellows (both sides).
Any common name for this? I need to get new replacements since there are
unlikely and impractical to buy used ( corrosion and all.)

All help appreciated.

Cheers,

PT
89 745GL 331K Km

 

Excellent and a good Laugh with that, a friend put me in contact with a
retired mechanic today and he was glad to come have a look. He said he would
get some pipes from a salvage he knows well and have it done tonight ( still
not back though). I can learn from him this time. I am assured it will be a
very friendly charge $$. got a digital pic of the spot but could not send it
to your email...

Cheers and Thanks again.

PT
89 745GL 331K Km