I think my Rack is going out.....

SniperX13 · #1 09-11-2005, 05:59 PM

Ok, here's the deal. Just suddenly, as of yesterday morning, my car has been eating my power steering fluid at a extremly rapid pace. Now, I say eating it, because there is no puddles on the ground, and no signs of it being sprayed anywhere in the engine compartment. I fill the resevoir to max, then I can drive anywhere's from 10-15 miles maybe, sometimes way less, and then I start hearing the pump giving a huge whine, because its empty. Then, I have to fill her up again.

I have tried stop leak made for power steering systems. That didn't seem to work. It was suggested that I try transmission leak stopper, kinda as a shadetree mechanic fix....

Is this good signs that my Rack is going. If so, how much on adverage would you say it would be to get it fixed..... Money is a tight option. I have a baby due in less then a month, and I am living from check to check, with this being my only car.

Should I try the transmission stop leak as a last ditch effort?

All help and advice is greatly appreciated.

btw, My car is a 1998 Taurus SE, and it has the 3.0L Duratec in it.

again, thanks!

mastermech · #2 09-12-2005, 01:05 AM

replace the rack. you say you saw no evidence of leaks or spray of fluid anywhere in the engine compartment or on the ground if indeed no signs of fluid is evident then the o-rings in the rack are cracked or the cylinder wall is scored and your just filling the rack with fluid. Not sure the cost for of a rack for your car though, sorry.

stratman440 · #3 09-12-2005, 02:27 PM

rack is $175 from autozone but it is not one i would replace myself. I work at a shop and we put one in a 1998 taurus and it took a full day of pain. We had to disconnect the exhaust and drop the cradle 6 inches to get the thing out and it was still a pain in the ass. We charged 250 plus parts to do it so it isn't a severely major item.

SniperX13 · #4 09-12-2005, 05:03 PM

Ok, I think I shall ask the place I bought it from. I have an appt with them on Wednesday.....

now here is a funny thing.... for the past day and a half, I haven't had to add any fluid to it..... but when I turn, I get a rubbing sound and feel vibrations all over the front end.

could this still be the rack and thes are just symtoms?

mastermech · #5 09-12-2005, 05:49 PM

i forget to ask does your steering hard or like it getting some assistance? I still say to replace the rack. the fluid could still be leaking through and causing pulsations in the steering, not sure about the rubbing, the rack only turns so far in either direction, anywhere for 1 1/2 turns of the wheel from center left or right.

stratman440 · #6 09-13-2005, 08:43 PM

are you using ford transmission fluid or power steering fluid? my 96 calls for ford transmission fluid and i know mixing the two could present problems which might be making your problem worse. Just my two cents worth.

SniperX13 · #7 09-15-2005, 05:09 PM

Well, I dropped it off at the Dealer I got it from yesterday. It will be ready on Monday. They replaced the rack and the pump. According to them, the pump had three cracks through it, and was gummed up from the stop leak I had used. They didn't say what was wrong with the rack entirely.

To answer the question about turning.... it was fine until the day I took it in, when it evacuated all fluid in about 5 minutes. I had a bear of a time turning left, but turning right was alot easier. I had to fight the wheel a bit to get it to turn left, and when going straight, the wheel was a little jerky at times.

About the Fluid, I was using Prestone Power Steering fluid. then, I switched to O'Reilly's house brand. I didn't know there was a difference.

although the prestone was blue, and the O'Reilly, was clear.

mastermech · #8 09-15-2005, 05:32 PM

a pump having three cracks in it who whaled on it? their reason to replace the rack is probably because stop lead can clog the passages in the rack. Also, in the future only use what ford recommends.

SniperX13 · #9 09-15-2005, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastermech

a pump having three cracks in it who whaled on it? their reason to replace the rack is probably because stop lead can clog the passages in the rack. Also, in the future only use what ford recommends.

According to them, the rack was bad, and because it kept draining the fluid, it caused the pump to go out.

I had no idea what Ford recomended, and I went with what my wallet would allow.

mastermech · #10 09-15-2005, 05:42 PM

yes, that's true running a pump dry especially from ford starting in 78 will destroy a pump and can damage the rack since both rely on the fluid for lubrication. g'luck with the car.

mr_tw · #11 09-15-2005, 10:55 PM

whatever fluid you need is usually cheap, i had a similar problem but it was just a busted boot on the rack and i was able to replace the rack myself, but mine uses type F tranny fluid (1990 Vulcan) and it's just as cheap as the next stuff (more or less) just look in your owners manual and it will tell you what you need, using the wrong fluid is really bad, becausde it's similar to using the wrong oil in your engine and it can cause parts to fail, or not work properly, so that my 2 cents

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