power steering fluid leaking--help!

[sjr8ut]

My 88 taurus 3.0 all of the sudden started leaking a lot of power steering fluid. Is there a common place that leaks on these cars? I was driving it today and the power steering was extra noisy, so I checked the fluid level and it was dry. I filled it up and the noise went away. Have I damaged my pump or anything else by running it dry?
Thanks.

[joemcgee]

Originally Posted by sjr8ut

My 88 taurus 3.0 all of the sudden started leaking a lot of power steering fluid. Is there a common place that leaks on these cars? I was driving it today and the power steering was extra noisy, so I checked the fluid level and it was dry. I filled it up and the noise went away. Have I damaged my pump or anything else by running it dry?
Thanks.

Your problem can be found in 4 areas: 1st the shaft seal on the pump (the front of the pump will be wet) 2nd the pressure hose ( if this is leaking the fluid will come out of the leak area under pressure {almost like a garden hose} 3rd the return line might be leaking { this type of leak often shows up when the car is off} 4th the rack and pinion { this usually shows up as a tightening or hesitation in the sterring when turning the wheel}. Your brief note semms to indicate that you probably need a new pump. You may want to try "Lucas" power steering stop leak. It is a good product and will cut down on the noise you hear from the pump. But if it doesn't work plan on replacing the part thats leaking (I'm betting the pump)

[Dan_in_WA]

I had a power steering pump that was leaking between the plastic pump resevoir and the high pressure fitting that threads into the pump itself.

The problem? It was a poorly re-manufactured unit. There was a deep scratch on the sealing surface in the plastic pump body. The solution? I got an O-ring of the next thickness up, smoothed down the scratch, put a LIGHT coat of RTV on the scratch, and installed the new, thicker O-ring seal. It hasn't leaked since.

PS The only thing holding the plastic resevoir body onto the pump is that high pressure side connector. Pull that connector out, and you can remove the pump body.

[sjr8ut]

Hey, thanks for your help. It turned out to be the pressure hose. It was a hassle to get it out because of all of the turns in the metal portion but it fixed the problem. I hope that the pump is ok after running it dry for a little while.