Leaking power steering rack

[BenStark]

Recently i detected some oil spots on the carport floor, so I thought it would be my oil filter not correctly mounted during the recent maintenance.

 

Went back to the garage, and it was discovered that the rubber on the power steering rack was covered in oil.

 

I was quoted 7K for a new aftermarket rack. Got a second opinion and was quoted about the same.

 

Now started googling it, and it turns out that there actually is no need for a replacement, since oil leak indicates worn seals, and can be fixed.

 

For the experts, what is your opinion on this? The car is a 13 year old Nissan Navara, and I don't notice any irregularities in the steering.

[transam]

It depends, if the seal is leaking because of a worn bush near the end of the rack, then a good idea to fit a new or reconditioned rack.

P.S. Are you sure it is p/s fluid and not oil lubricating the inner ball joints.....?

 

Steering fluid is usually red, lub oil insn't...

[BenStark]

17 minutes ago, transam said:

It depends, if the seal is leaking because of a worn bush near the end of the rack, then a good idea to fit a new or reconditioned rack.

P.S. Are you sure it is p/s fluid and not oil lubricating the inner ball joints.....?

 

Steering fluid is usually red, lub oil insn't...

The oil covers the outside of the rubber, left side of the rack, for about 10 cm. I had to top up the oil as well

Edited September 1, 2023 by BenStark

[transam]

Just now, BenStark said:

The oil covers the outside of the rubber, left side of the rack, for about 10 cm.

What colour is it, stick your finger in it, then stick your finger in the pump reservoir to compare..Smell the oil, gaiter oil and fluid smell different. Did they inspect the gaiter for being porous, or cracked.

 

I had a power steering rack seal fail, a lot of fluid in the gaiter and on the deck, had to replace the bush and seal, that was about 40 years back....????

[transam]

1 hour ago, BenStark said:

The oil covers the outside of the rubber, left side of the rack, for about 10 cm. I had to top up the oil as well

If you had to top up the p/s "fluid", then the inner seal and perhaps the bush are knackered.

How many Km has it done...?

[BenStark]

1 minute ago, transam said:

If you had to top up the p/s "fluid", then the inner seal and perhaps the bush are knackered.

How many Km has it done...?

It has about 220.000 Km.

 

Just had a look, not easy without a decent carjack, and it looks like dried grease on the rubber.

 

I put some clean carton under the car now to see if there are further leaks.

 

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, BenStark said:

It has about 220.000 Km.

 

Just had a look, not easy without a decent carjack, and it looks like dried grease on the rubber.

 

I put some clean carton under the car now to see if there are further leaks.

 

 

Near 140,000 miles, usually the left side gets the bush wear, when the road use adds up.

If you grab the track rod tight, see if you can feel any play in the rack bush, but really needs to be up in the air. Your drip tray will provide more evidence....

 

If fluid leak, it will mix with the inner ball joint oil, so will point to one thing or the other, if you have to top up the fluid, then it is probably what you are going to see.

I took our run-around to B-Quik because of a steering rack prob, just to get it up in the air, I got under there to have a prod, the rack was knackered, they didn't do racks, so got it fixed where they did...

[brianthainess]

Just get a new one fitted, buy the time you have paid for new seals, and labour it's hardly worth it, plus it could be worn inside and still leak. Just to blow my own horn I am a mechanic ????

Edited September 1, 2023 by brianthainess

[BenStark]

How about a refurbished or second hand rack? Would that be a valid option and significant saving on the 7k quoted?

[transam]

12 minutes ago, BenStark said:

How about a refurbished or second hand rack? Would that be a valid option and significant saving on the 7k quoted?

If it has a guarantee, yes, back home we had shops that reconditioned them, there isn't a lot to go wrong in them.......

[richard_smith237]

Who on earth is trolling and targeting Trans with 'sad / confused' emoji's when his comments are none other than helpful. 

 

Mods should be able to see who is repeatedly posting  the negative emoji's to troll someone else. 

Looks like its one person who may have had a disagreement with him on a previous thread and is now being childish and stalking him.... 

 

I've had the same happen to me and have a very good idea of who it is, but ignore it... 

Mods, perhaps look into this pathetic behavior, 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

16 hours ago, BenStark said:

I was quoted 7K for a new aftermarket rack. Got a second opinion and was quoted about the same.

To be fair - 7k baht for a replacement aftermarket hydraulic steering rack seems a good value if that is the price all in.. 

 

OR, is that just the price of the replacement rack and gaskets, seals, oil, labour etc are on top of that ??

 

Best to confirm that info first perhaps. 

[transam]

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

Who on earth is trolling and targeting Trans with 'sad / confused' emoji's when his comments are none other than helpful. 

 

Mods should be able to see who is repeatedly posting  the negative emoji's to troll someone else. 

Looks like its one person who may have had a disagreement with him on a previous thread and is now being childish and stalking him.... 

 

I've had the same happen to me and have a very good idea of who it is, but ignore it... 

Mods, perhaps look into this pathetic behavior, 

 

 

 

I am used to it, but they DO get found out............????

[BenStark]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Who on earth is trolling and targeting Trans with 'sad / confused' emoji's when his comments are none other than helpful. 

I reported it as well, and it seems they now have taken action.

 

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

OR, is that just the price of the replacement rack and gaskets, seals, oil, labour etc are on top of that ?

Price is for aftermarket rack including labour

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, BenStark said:

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

OR, is that just the price of the replacement rack and gaskets, seals, oil, labour etc are on top of that ?

Price is for aftermarket rack including labour

7k baht seems to be a decent price to be fair.

 

This could be one of those issues when taking a step by step approach with cheap fixes turns out to be a waste of time and more costly.

 

 

It's difficult with mechanical stuff in cars...  

 

Just last year the mechanic (Mazda Suk 65) saw 'dried water marking' on a radiator hose (which could have been from a minor leak or puddle splash etc).

The repair quote was excessive IMO...   the mechanic told the Wife that the car was dangerous to drive in its current condition (which was utter BS).... 

I told the wife to ignore him (we'll use a different garage in future) - if there is a problem with the coolant, modern cars have alarms and we'll see the water temp rise (there was no such thing).

 

We went to a different garage... (Mazda - Ramintra), later on for a new windscreen, we also told the mechanics who were very honest and pointed out the other mechanics at the other dealer were full of it. 

 

Thus: Second opinions are always good to get. It's good to have a basic understanding to tell if the Mechanics are BS'ing or not... and Trust your instinct, if the Mechanic is honest or not. 

 

In the example you have given it seems the mechanics are being helpful and honest. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BenStark]

On 9/1/2023 at 11:30 AM, BenStark said:

I put some clean carton under the car now to see if there are further leaks.

3 days and 100km later, not a single drop on my carton

[transam]

2 hours ago, BenStark said:

3 days and 100km later, not a single drop on my carton

Great....????

[BenStark]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Great....????

Sure, only makes me wonder why it leaked previously.

 

I actually have the impression that it stopped leaking from the moment I topped up the oil reservoir a few weeks ago

[transam]

1 minute ago, BenStark said:

Sure, only makes me wonder why it leaked previously.

 

I actually have the impression that it stopped leaking from the moment I topped up the oil reservoir a few weeks ago

Having not seen it with my own eye's it is hard to say.

 

But I would totally clean the gaiter, so ithere is no sign of oil, then keep an eye on it, could be just a porous gaiter, or your problem may reappear if you use full lock.... Fingers crossed..

[BenStark]

After more than 250km since I started this thread, I just checked again, and the rubber is wet, but it doesn't leak that much that there are drips under the car.

Oil in the reservoir is still at maximum.

Should I replace anyway, or wait until it get worse? Is there a risk that the car breaks down?

[transam]

11 hours ago, BenStark said:

After more than 250km since I started this thread, I just checked again, and the rubber is wet, but it doesn't leak that much that there are drips under the car.

Oil in the reservoir is still at maximum.

Should I replace anyway, or wait until it get worse? Is there a risk that the car breaks down?

You must determine what oil/fluid it is, put a bit of paper in a tray, to see what colour it is, inner ball joint oil will be green-ish, power steering fluid will be pink, or a mixture of both when mixed, so any sign of "pink" will mean it could fail on you, if green, don't worry, but you should check there is the recommended oil in the gaiter to keep things lubricated...

[BenStark]

13 minutes ago, transam said:

You must determine what oil/fluid it is, put a bit of paper in a tray, to see what colour it is, inner ball joint oil will be green-ish, power steering fluid will be pink, or a mixture of both when mixed, so any sign of "pink" will mean it could fail on you, if green, don't worry, but you should check there is the recommended oil in the gaiter to keep things lubricated...

Wiping the rubber with tissue, it looks green.

 

What and where is the gaiter?

[transam]

4 hours ago, BenStark said:

Wiping the rubber with tissue, it looks green.

 

What and where is the gaiter?

The gaiter is the rubber thing you are cleaning, and green oil is good news for you.

As you have lubricating oil "leaking", not power steering fluid, and leaking means there is still some oil in there. What I would do...

 

Remove the gaiter clips at both ends, turn the gaiter 180 degrees, get an oiling can with oil in it, push the can nozzle under the top of the gaiter at any place you can get to, then squirt oil in, not huge amounts, replace the clips if you can, if not, buy a couple of suitably sized jubilee clips..????

 

[tomster]

This worked for me:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/i3438459204-s12718268694.html

 

I used it on a Honda Accord 2003 with leaking power steering.

 

I bought a 100ml syringe off Lazada and it came with a catheter attachment, sucked out 355ml of the existing power steering fluid and put this stop leak in.

 

Took the car to a cleaning place with an inspection pit and got them them to clean the underside of the engine.

 

Since then no leaks.

[MangoKorat]

7000 baht fitted for a power steering rack is mega cheap compared to UK prices - Thai prices take some getting used to but I think that's still a good price.  If there's any play in the bushes on your existing rack, new seals will be wrecked in a short time.  Some bushes can be replaced without stripping the rack and sometimes come as part of a kit - bushes and seals.

 

However, at 220,000km on Thai roads, I think I'd be replacing the rack as per Transam's suggestion but have you checked out the Nissan price?  I've been very surprised at Thai dealer prices on two occasions in the last few years - 6500 baht for a Honda Civic brake master cylinder compared to a UK dealer price of around 15,000. Then, I wanted a lockset for my bike - ignition, tank and seat.  Due to potential language problems at Korat I decided to buy a lockset back in the UK, that was until the Kawasaki dealer quoted me £407 (19,000 baht)!! I got a set back in Thailand for just over £140 (6200 baht).  Worth checking the dealer price - you could be surprised.

 

Alternatively, try GP Autoparts in Bangkok - they can usually offer aftermarket or OE parts for most cars at superb prices and have an English speaker available. Used them a few times and they've been excellent - original Mazda pick up front bumper (in Mazda packaging) - 2000 baht and in stock!

 

https://www.gpautoparts.co.th/en/home-page

 

Any of you guys that have a Chevrolet - GP are the only official parts stockist in Thailand now and they've had everything that I've wanted in stock.

Edited September 10, 2023 by MangoKorat