Help with most likely PS leak culprits
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 159
Likes: 9
From: Greenville NC
Help with most likely PS leak culprits
2000 base coupe, mn6, mostly stock.
Long story short, car was sitting for almost two years, bad ps leak and cracked radiator tank and put away because I had to have back surgery and couldn't drive it because or nerve problems in my legs... fast forward to now, increasingly functional and able to do things again, pulled the car out to get it back up to snuff. I'm putting a radiator in it this afternoon and am wondering what the most likely point of a major ps leak is (nothing is obvious from looking at this point even though I drove it 10-15 miles). It would be a lot easier to get in there and redo hoses if needed now before putting the radiator back in. I have a REALLY good local hose shop that can easily make one for me with the factory ends on it if it's worthwhile to do. It leaked bad enough the last time I drove it that it literally sprayed fluid up onto the hood...
If nothing worthwhile comes up, I'll of course put the radiator back in it, clean the engine compartment up carefully then run it and properly locate the leak...
Thanks very much for any thoughts!
Long story short, car was sitting for almost two years, bad ps leak and cracked radiator tank and put away because I had to have back surgery and couldn't drive it because or nerve problems in my legs... fast forward to now, increasingly functional and able to do things again, pulled the car out to get it back up to snuff. I'm putting a radiator in it this afternoon and am wondering what the most likely point of a major ps leak is (nothing is obvious from looking at this point even though I drove it 10-15 miles). It would be a lot easier to get in there and redo hoses if needed now before putting the radiator back in. I have a REALLY good local hose shop that can easily make one for me with the factory ends on it if it's worthwhile to do. It leaked bad enough the last time I drove it that it literally sprayed fluid up onto the hood...
If nothing worthwhile comes up, I'll of course put the radiator back in it, clean the engine compartment up carefully then run it and properly locate the leak...
Thanks very much for any thoughts!
Pro
Joined: Oct 2020
Posts: 529
Likes: 197
From: Columbus, MS
Step one would be to clean everything off, lift the front of the car, and remove the LF wheel so you have better access/visibility to the steering rack and where the pump lines connect. If the leak is as bad as you describe there's a good chance that the entire area is covered in fluid, dust and gunk. Step 2 would be to refill the system and start looking for where it's leaking from. Wear eye protection, because you don't want that stuff in your eyes. If it was "spraying" that means it's likely on the pressurized side of the system and would rule out the reservoir and feed line to the pump, BUT it could be that it's leaking onto the belt drive and getting flung everywhere by the spinning belts/pulleys.
If you don't see a leak with the car standing still, have a helper turn the wheel left and right. If that still doesn't work, have your helper increase engine RPM (and therefore pump RPM) to increase pressure in the system. That will move the fluid around and hopefully make the leak apparent. There's LOTS of places it could leak from, but likely culprits would be the lines that go to/from the pump and rack, and the associated fittings. They're under pressure when the pump is running
If you don't see a leak with the car standing still, have a helper turn the wheel left and right. If that still doesn't work, have your helper increase engine RPM (and therefore pump RPM) to increase pressure in the system. That will move the fluid around and hopefully make the leak apparent. There's LOTS of places it could leak from, but likely culprits would be the lines that go to/from the pump and rack, and the associated fittings. They're under pressure when the pump is running
