Hey guys I got back from a 100ish mile trip today and only a block away from home as I was turning a corner I hear a 'whining' coming from my front end every time I turn and the wheel felt kinda shaky - I got home checked the fluid its super low, got under the car and see a metal part that a bunch of lines(steering fluid lines I think) are going into just kinda wet and it's been dripping.

So what should I do?? 2morrow(its 11pm here) I'll climb under her and attempt to tighten all the lines going into that metal pieceif I can, and add some steering fluid to see how fast she's leaking - I'm guessing this is a new thing seeing how the part was just all wet and I'll probly have to replace it if tightening doesn't work.

What should I do? Any advice from you guys? Is this a hard fix, cuz I'd like to do it myself and learn/not pay a mechanic? Do you think it's going to be expensive? And ummm am I going to be causing any additional damage by just adding fluid and driving her tommorrow? I have to run a booth downtown for the fourth of july in the afternoon and I work in the morning..

 

Check the rubber lines going into the pump. One of them probably has a hole in it. If you do have to replace it, it is a pretty easy fix. It is held on by 2 nuts that you can get to by turning the pulley and lining up the hole in the pulley with the nuts. You may be lucky and only need to replace the line feeding the pump.

 

I replaced the pump thinking it was the seal where the pulley is... and that only took about an hour. but the real problem was in the pressure line and return lines. replaced them a week ago and havent added fluid since.

 

You need to get down and dirty and see where the leak is. Could be the pump, any of the hoses or the steering mechanism. With the engine running, and the fluid reservoir full, turn the steering wheel full lock. This maximizes the fluid pressure and helps finding the leak. Do this in both directions in order to put pressure on both sides of the steering mechanism

 

do exactly what z28pete says, but it really helps if you clean the engine first so that you can see where the leak is... use brake cleaner. it works miracles.