Power steering fluid leak!

[Blue2kMustangGT]

HELP...I came home tonight and noticed a power steering fluid trail behind my car! It's only leaking when I turn. I see a trail from the street turning into the driveway, then no trail up the driveway, then a trail leading into the garage! It's not leaking while idling in the garage. Looking into the engine the reservoir is dry and I don't see any wet hoses. Looking from under the drivers side the front lower control arm is wet.

I'll have to get it up on jack stands tomorrow...any ideas?????

 

[bdcardinal]

bad steering rack. replace it with a new or reman one. the swap is insanely easy. just remember to bleed the hydroboost.

 

[Blue2kMustangGT]

bad steering rack. replace it with a new or reman one. the swap is insanely easy. just remember to bleed the hydroboost.

I still haven't been able to get it up on jack stands yet. I was hoping it was a hose that gets more pressure when you're turning the wheel. Is there something that wears out on steering racks (gaskets or seals)? How do you bleed the hydroboost? Thanks for your input, I've never worked on steering before!

 

[bdcardinal]

check the hoses, but probably one of the bellows(the boot looking things) has busted and its easier to replace the rack than fix the bellows. there are 2 bolts that hold on the rack to the k member. one side is a 18mm the other side is a 15mm. you undo those, as well as the outer tie rods(18mm). then you need line wrenches for the hoses that connect to the rack. pull it all out and put it back together. you will have to do an alignment when you are done. this is a good time to replace the outer tie rod ends. when you refill the system(i use Mobil 1 ATF) refill until the line is full. the power steering pump will still sound like a groaning. look on the hydroboost unit and you will see a bleeder valve on the top much like what you see on a brake caliper. put a tight fitting hose over that and hold it on tight. loosen the bleeder and have a helper push on the pedal. act like you are bleeding brakes and loosed and tighten the bleeder. you will have to refill the resivour with more ATF. take the vehicle out and align the car.

 

[bdcardinal]

another thing you can try thats a lot cheaper. buy a couple cans of brake cleaner and clean the crap out of everything under there(be careful to not breathe in too much, cause you get high really easy). clean as much as you can then refill with ATF. keep an eye out for any leaks developing. if it was a shop they would do that, then add some UV die and run the system until they see a leak. then they would use a UV light to look for glowing dye. but this is the perfect time to switch to a synthetic ATF for power steering fluid. it will hold up to higher temps on a road course, and also improve the feeling through the wheel.