Steering gear leaking heavily

Suspension, steering, brakes, wheels & tires

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FreeStyleR
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Re: Steering gear leaking heavily

Post by FreeStyleR »

When I went through repair of my power steering, it was a real nightmare. First the pump died, and then fllowed the cooling unit (https://www.carid.com/power-steering-coolers/). So I had the things taken care of, but then (a couple of days ago) I discovered leakage. The fluid leaked due to a worn-out hose. So I had to fill up fluid and get the hose replaced. Only after this was done, my steering is finally fine, and the steering wheel rotates easily. :woohoo:
Last edited by FreeStyleR on Fri Dec 30, 2016 3:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Jacksdad
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Re: Steering gear leaking heavily

Post by Jacksdad »

Glad to hear you fixed it :thup:

My bump was sitting for six months or more, and when I tried to move it, I discovered a leak from the steering box that squirted a good amount of fluid under pressure every time I turned the wheel. When I was done shifting it over about fifteen feet (backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards...), I found I'd left long splashes of oil all over my in law's driveway and drained the reservoir. I didn't have time to tackle it, so I refilled it with Prestone stop leak and carried on with the body work. Every day I would start it and cycle from left to right lock a few times. I went through two bottles of the stuff, but the leak slowed down dramatically in the first week. I knew the seals had dried out from lack of use, but I figured at best I'd slow the leak down, so I was really happy to see it almost gone. After I finished off the Prestone, I drained the reservoir with a piece of tubing, and refilled with Lucas stop leak. A year later and it's still not leaking.

Don't mean to hijack your thread, but I figured fellow owners with steering leaks are going to find their way here, and the simple fix might work for them too. The amount of fluid I was losing and the way it was clearly under pressure left me with little hope of stopping it with anything less than a rebuild or new steering box, but a few bottles of stop leak did the trick. I'm sure I'll have to throw some money at it eventually, but for now, my steering works fine and I have no leaks. Just wanted to share in the hope that it saves someone time and money on a costly repair.
1971 DRW F350 cab and chassis with an Open Road motorhome conversion, Dana 70, 352 (originally 390)/C6, PS, power front discs, and 159" w/b.
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FreeStyleR
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Re: Steering gear leaking heavily

Post by FreeStyleR »

Lucas stop leak
Sounds interesting! A friend of mine also experiences bad power steering leakage, and has already got plenty of stuff repaced, but no luck so far. Will tell him about this one, maybe will help him as well, as he's already thinking of getting rid of his Ford due to constant hassles... :fr:
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Jacksdad
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Re: Steering gear leaking heavily

Post by Jacksdad »

I was more than pleasantly surprised. I figured that a leak like mine was more than a match for any fix in a bottle, but it appears the leak has all but gone. It takes a little while, and it's important to cycle the stuff through by turning the wheel (or driving) so the seals come into contact with the fluid, but it might save him some money and hassle. Fingers crossed.
1971 DRW F350 cab and chassis with an Open Road motorhome conversion, Dana 70, 352 (originally 390)/C6, PS, power front discs, and 159" w/b.
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