Hello experts,
I have 96 Nissan Quest which runs fine except -- it leaks power steering fluid. I went to a local precision tune shop and on their suggestion, I had them replace the lines. After a month I noticed my minivan is still leaking the fluid, and I took it back to them. Now they say, the pump must have gone bad between the time they replaced the lines and the month that passed. They swear that their original diagnosis then didn't indicate the pump was bad, just the lines. Although I think, it is more than coincidence that the pump, which worked for 13 years, just went bad after they replaced the lines and that's the reason I fail to see any "effects of repairs done" (I feel my van is leaking the fluid at the same rate)
My question to you experts are,
Can a bad pump leak power-steering fluid? I didn't use my van for two weeks and it sill leaked fluid, so can a bad pump still leak fluid when the car isn't running?
Secondly, how difficult is it to replace the pump? I am not a mechanic, but, can a layman follow instructions and replace it? The same garage shop gave me an estimate of 624$ for an original nissan pump+labor. They don't install after-market pumps. My local autozone shop sells one that works in 96 nissan quest for 165$ -- big difference.
Any suggestions, advice, tips welcome.
Thanks