When should steering rack be replaced????

My 2001 Taurus 24V 85000 miles, has had a steering rack leak ever since we bought it 3 months ago ( it showed itself a week later, private party sale). About 3000 miles have been put on it. I added some fluid when I found out it leaked and it was just below the min. line (while not running). I filled it up just below max. After about 2500 miles it had lost enough to be a slight bit below the middle line. I added more and haven't looked at it since (2 weeks?) A few times there have been large (dinner plate size) spots on the road, several times there have been drips smaller than hand size, and some very small spots. It doesn't seem to be losing a lot. My friend noted that it leaks when the wheels are turned, but not straight.

I was going to "let it ride" for a bit as it is a $700 repair. The NAPA Parts guy today made a comment that it could just blow and we'd lose the steering. I hadn't thought that was a likely scenario. He made it sound like there would no doubt be an accident. I thought it would get gradually worse first, and that I'd notice it, and act on it.

I have been waiting because we've only had it 3 months and I fear there could be other,mechanical problems (no real reason to think that, except age and a couple stalls that are hopefully just the IAC). I am just leery of dumping that much money into it, yet we just bought it, so getting rid of it is not an option anyhow.

Any comments on how long I should or shouldn't wait? Afraid to let my hubby know about the cost since it's my son's car, but due to the cost, and the fact that we helped him pick it out and pay for it, I feel we should pay most of it (but that's another issue!).

ADVICE PLEASE!

Well, it's never a good idea to let a known problem continue to be a problem. Yes, there is a chance it could fail, and that failure could lead to more expense than if the initial issue was fixed.

That being said though, I doubt that if the leak "blew" it would lead to catastophic failure. Likely the power steering would no longer be power assist. However, chances are pretty good you would still be able to steer. Granted at slow speeds the steering would be difficult, but at traffic speeds, there probably wouldn't be much difference in steering effort.

However, if the leak did "blow" it would probably quickly lead to a failure of the power steering pump, which replacing that would increase the repair cost considerably.

Maybe this is a good time for your son to learn the lesson of "car maintenance and expense of ownership."

-Rod

Yes, he does need to learn that lesson. Unfortunatley I learned the lesson of don't trust the old guy who may not know he has a leak. That's a long story....but the end is that I helped choose this car, and if I had done it properly, my son wouldn't be facing the expense. This popped up so soon that I feel responsible........Like I said, another story.

He is learning that if he gets hit in his bumper in a parking lot (that's his story!) that he IS responsible for that. The corner is hit in and he has to live with it.

Thanks for your sensible advice and reminder that the repair could get worse if we don't do it now.