Not a good week.....
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
From: Meridian Idaho
Not a good week.....
It hasn't been a good week for me and it's only Tuesday night! First I ruin my windshield with that damn evil scoth brite pad (believe me, I know, I'm an idiot....), and then I find this leak on the garage floor and was hoping that someone here might be able to help me out.
I am not real mechanically inclined, so bear with me if I do not get the right terminology.
It wasn't a big leak, a few drops here and there on my garage floor towards the front of the car so it must've been leaking for a couple of days now. I jacked her up and took a peak underneath. What I found was something that had dripped on the frame from up above. Upon closer review, it looks like the steering column case is leaking. It's a steel rod that appears to be running up at maybe a 30 degree angle with U/Y shaped head going into a "casing" that was absolutely filthy and had a very wet "oily" feeling substance all around it.
The underside looks a lot worse. Is my power steering going out? Can anyone give me a rough cost estimate? Thanks guys, this week is surely to do me in.
Sorry the pictures aren't that great, it's late and I've had a real bad day.
I am not real mechanically inclined, so bear with me if I do not get the right terminology.
It wasn't a big leak, a few drops here and there on my garage floor towards the front of the car so it must've been leaking for a couple of days now. I jacked her up and took a peak underneath. What I found was something that had dripped on the frame from up above. Upon closer review, it looks like the steering column case is leaking. It's a steel rod that appears to be running up at maybe a 30 degree angle with U/Y shaped head going into a "casing" that was absolutely filthy and had a very wet "oily" feeling substance all around it.
The underside looks a lot worse. Is my power steering going out? Can anyone give me a rough cost estimate? Thanks guys, this week is surely to do me in.
Sorry the pictures aren't that great, it's late and I've had a real bad day.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,251
Likes: 4
What color is the steering fluid? GM fluid is clear and if it's red someone used ATF fluid. If that's the case then flush the steering system. Is it running down the lines from the pump or leaking from the rack? Take it to a self serve car wash and hose it all down and watch it for a few days to see where it's leaking from. You want to see if the hose connections are tight.
Worst case, a new rack is $500 and you can install it yourself using the magnuson supercharger install procedure to get at the rack. I'm sure it won't be cheap at the dealership. Typically if the rack is failing the steering gets difficult, shakey or rough. If it's just a leak and the end result will be a replaced rack then drain out the resevior and refill with a fluid that has a leak stop in it. This will buy you some time. It's not hard to pull the rack but it does require removing the rdaiator to get at it.
Worst case, a new rack is $500 and you can install it yourself using the magnuson supercharger install procedure to get at the rack. I'm sure it won't be cheap at the dealership. Typically if the rack is failing the steering gets difficult, shakey or rough. If it's just a leak and the end result will be a replaced rack then drain out the resevior and refill with a fluid that has a leak stop in it. This will buy you some time. It's not hard to pull the rack but it does require removing the rdaiator to get at it.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 499
Likes: 0
From: Meridian Idaho
To be honest, when I first saw it, I thought it was oil. It might have been red at one time but now it looks blackish brown, just like used oil. Hell, maybe it is oil. I could only jack my car up so high to squeeze under there and from what I could tell, it looked like the majority of it was leaking from the bottom of "the rack".
If I didn't see any drips on the garage floor, I'd say the car was working fine. Steering feels tight and crisp, no noise or whining when I turn the wheel, everything seems normal. But I guess its early in the game.
I guess I'll keep my eyes on it. I've already made an appointment for next Friday. We'll see what happens.
If anyone else has any thoughts, please do share....
Thanks.
If I didn't see any drips on the garage floor, I'd say the car was working fine. Steering feels tight and crisp, no noise or whining when I turn the wheel, everything seems normal. But I guess its early in the game.
I guess I'll keep my eyes on it. I've already made an appointment for next Friday. We'll see what happens.
If anyone else has any thoughts, please do share....
Thanks.
Last edited by skeeterJD; Oct 19, 2005 at 11:31 AM.
