Is there a common problem with the 5th gen Maximas with the power steering system? Cracked reservoir, leaky pump? Anything that is a commonly known problem that I should check first? I started with the hoses underneath the reservoir and I'm fairly certain it's tight. I didn't have the time to see if it's cracked and just refilled hoping the problem would go away. It's leaking slower but it's still leaking. Any advice on places to start?

 

Don't know if this will help, but my first car was an '86 max and it leaked power steering fluid almost non-stop. I had it looked at a couple times and got underneath it myself. I started to change the rac-and-pinion but realized the cost wasnt worth it b/c I already had over 150K. I just added fluid as needed, or about once every two weeks. The guy I sold it to replaced all of the hoses and clamps and he said that fixed the problem for the most part. Still had to add fluid at most once a month.

 

Yeah, I've been keeping my eye on the fluid level and it's taking a complete refill every other week or so. This time I'm keeping a hawkeye on it to see exactly when it dumps. It's been a week now and the level has barely moved. I'm curious as to whether it's a heat issue or something else. I was just hoping someone would reply back that there is a common problem with the plastic reservoir cracking or something and all I'd have to do is replace that. I guess this is one way to 'bleed out' all the steering fluid