Leaking Power Steering Fluid.

[camryle2001]

Leaking Power Steering Fluid:
I found the power steering fluid below the MIN level about a month back and I topped it off to the MAX level. I have noticed that the fluid is again below the MAX level and soon will be below the MIN level. So there is obviously a leak.
The end of the small hose that connects to the reservoir is my suspect. It always remains wet and shiny with the fluid. I dabbed a tissue into the wet end of the hose and it was the same colour as the fluid. The other end of this hose that goes into the engine or the pump is dry.

Q1. So is it safe to assume that the end of the hose near the reservoir is leaking? The reservoir could itself be leaking but I doubt that. You people can help me figure it out.

Q2. If it is the hose, how do I replace it? As soon as unhook the hose thwe fluid will start leaking from the reservoir. I can drain that out and top off with a new fluid. But what about the pump? How do I make sure no air gets in the system? When I unhook the hose from the pump end and hook a empty hose and pour fluid, there will surely be some air going into the pump. What is the right procedure?

Thanks a lot.

[Mike Gerber]

First of all, check to see if there is an o-ring inside the cap. I had a problem like that on an old 86 Camry about 10 years ago. The o-ring inside the cap had become defective. I simply had to take the o-ring to an auto parts store and match it up and get a new one and put it on. It solved my leak coming from that area. The dealer sold only the complete cap for around $30. I think the o-ring cost me 50 cents. Check this out first.

If it truely is the hose, you drain the fluid, replace the hose and then start the car. While the car is stationary, turn the steering wheel from lock to lock slowly and repeatedly for about 5 minutes. This will bleed the air out of the system.

Mike

[RBeavers]

If I may add something - don't worry that much about getting air into the system...the power steering pump does a pretty good job of pumping that fluid, so that any air will flow through the system and back into the reservoir quite quickly.

You can observe this action by having about a half-full reservoir of fluid and have somebody turn the steering wheel back and forth. Look into the reservoir while the steering wheel is being turned and you will see that the flow of the fluid is pretty strong. The system will make short order of any air.