Hey guys, I'm loosing power steering fluid. It's not a bad leak, but I have to keep refilling it about every 2 weeks. I didn't realize where it was coming from until i was changing my belt and noticed the power steering pump and the area around it was soaked. It was really hard to see up there, but is there anything around it that can be bad besides the power steering pump itself, like a hose or anything that I could replace? Also does anybody have a good writeup on how to change the power steering pump.. I hope they're not expensive cause I know that's what I probably need... thanx...

 

Definitely check the hoses/hose connections first. The return hose is attached to the pump with a clamp only I believe, and there have been a couple of high pressure hose failures mentioned on this forum if I remember correctly.

 

yeah.. i'll see if i can see up there.. from what i remember it was really hard to see.. i know i gotta take my wheel off and peel that plastic back.. i hope i can see the hose from there.. is it easy to access from under the car?

 

The return hose is attached to an elbow on the top of the pump I think. Remember that the return fluid is routed first to the cooler (tube) in front of the condenser and then back to the pump. The pump discharge hose is connected to the pump with a banjo fitting.

 

samething happened to me recently, my mechanic charged 75 dollars...it was the metal clips at each end of 1 or 2 hoses i believe

 

on my 00, the power steering pump seal went bad (its right behind the pulley). at first it was just a slow leak, then on the highway, it completely gave out and i had no power steering. after i pulled over, i popped the hood, there was fluid all over the engine bay from where the seal has blown.