Faint POP...No Brakes, Power Steering

2 nights ago I was backing out of a parking spot and had turned my wheels a bit, but not all the way. Started backing out and heard a faint POP noise. I continued to back out of the spot, noticing that my steering was getting more and more difficult. Once backed out of the parking spot, I saw quite a bit of fluid on the ground, and the leak was following me. I have a *bad* coolant leak right where I saw the fluid "start" on the ground (front driver side), so I just assumed that's all it was.

I come to the end of the parking lot, tried to brake...no brakes! My brakes were stiff as a rock. And I proceeded to take the turn, my power steering was completely gone by now.

I checked the brake reservoir yesterday, it's full. Then I checked the power steering reservoir...BONE DRY.

So now I am lead to believe that the leak was actually power steering fluid, but what was the popping noise? There is a small "puddle" stain under my car right now from what I assume is power steering fluid.

Why would my brakes go out if my power steering leaks to bone dry? I thought the pop may have been a fuse, but all fuses in F1 junction box are good...and a blown fuse wouldn't leak out power steering fluid!

Well...at least I had a pretty decent working Mustang for 8 days...this sucks, it's always something!

I don't even know where to begin to look. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

What may have caused it to pop in the first place? I have had the car over 6 years and I've never had a hose "pop" on me...is there possibly a clog somewhere?

Thank you for the info, I appreciate it!

awesome, I'll try to get under there today and local it! Thanks trinity_gt

It looks like the leak is coming from the top of the rack & pinion. We put some fluid in there and I got where I could see underneath the car when my fiancé started it...leaking BAD. It seems to be coming from the top of the rack & pinion, right under the engine block. Seems like a place that would get hit the engine block a lot (anytime it bottoms out) since the car is lowered.

Any ideas? How hard is the rack & pinion to replace? What all is involved? It looks like it's wedged in the above the K-member but below the block.

Swapped out the rack & pinion last night. Picked it up for $193.99 at AutoZone with a $63 core fee. Got 10% off just for asking, w00t!

Once we got the old rack & pinion off, I noticed a hairline fracture in the top of it...just as I thought! It had been worn down over the years by the oil pan.

The removal and install wasn't too bad at all. Just make sure you get a tie rod connector separator tool. That was by far the hardest part to get off (even with the tool it took my body weight [230lbs] bouncing on the tool to get it off!). Make sure you measure the distance from the tie rod stopper nut to the outside of the tie rod connector. This will give you a good measurement on where to put the nut on the new rack & pinion.

The complete process took us about 4 hours. You'll need some sockets, a few good extensions (about 15" total), some pliers, tie rod separator tool, a hammer and a few other tools. Overall, it's a pretty easy replacement.

Time to go get an alignment...