The rack and pinion appears to be leaking but I can't tell exactly from where yet- the fluid drips down from nearly the middle of the car and is a pretty steady drip at idle. What are everyone's thoughts about best repair options? I tried a bottle of stop leak of course. I have checked the rubber return line and it is not leaking, so it's not that easy a fix. Has anyone replaced seals themselves before? How easy is that and what specialty tools are involved? The steering seems to be fine otherwise and unit seems to be ok. Thanks for your opinions!
1995 Maxima- rack and pinion leak
Jun 05, 2011
3 Replies
Rack and pinions are not easy to fix. Some seals need to stretch to be installed and they need to be reconditioned to original shape by using heat. There are normally two hoses, the high and low pressure hoses. The high pressure hose would probably be a good guess for a leak.
Good luck,
AS
robbie wrote:
is the high pressure hose all metal?
No, there is a short lenght of rubber hose. It will be near rack union to contol valve. The pump is on the engine which is rubber mounted, the rack is on the subframe which is bolted to the chassis.
The 2 pipes from control valve at steering joint to 1/2 way along and far end of rack are metal with unions. You need to check those unions.
If the rack is leaking from ends or the control valve steering column seal then one from a scrap yard would be cheapest option.
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