98 Camry with 98k miles -- rack & pinion leaking. Normal?

I had my '98 Camry have its 90k mile service not too long ago, and now (maybe a coincidence) I find that the rack & pinion is leaking and needs to be replaced.

This seems to be quite unusual for a car with such low mileage.

Any opinons? Thanks.

Reply to
podi2NOSPAM
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My 97 just had a safety inspection done with 118K miles and the inspector told me it has begun leaking. I haven't seen a drop in fluid level yet though.

Reply to
badgolferman

You can check the rack and pinion fluid level? You're are talking about steering fluid level, correct?

Reply to
slguy

Yes. Do they have separate fluid compartments?

Reply to
badgolferman

Yes, I will check the level this afternoon. Last I looked (I don't remember well though) it was ok. But who knows.

Reply to
slguy

The steering rack and pinion is power-assisted which means there is a power-steering pump c/w lines and resevoir to supply hydraulic fluid to the R/P unit. Inside are valves and assist-hyd piston(s). These all need seals to stop the steering-oil from bypassing under pressure and these seals will eventually start leaking.

Unless the steering oil resevoir needs regular topping up,..the problem is as your mechanic says i.e. advisement.

Regular oil-changes will lengthen the life of the seals,..but to what extent, I'm not sure.

Jason

Reply to
Jason James

After the 90k service I noticed that they over-filled the transmission fluid, so the puddle I see in the garage was thought first to be engine oril, transmission fluid, and then power-steering fluid. I got under the car last Saturday and found oil splashed all over the under side of the car but couldn't see the source clearly. I then aimed a torch at the rack/pinion from the top and could definitely see the oil splashed in this area.

The mechanic sprayed some WD40 and cleaned the underside to identify where the 'oil' is coming from and asked me to stop by a few days later.

Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed since replacing the rack and pinion will set me back by, I'd say, $600 or so.

Reply to
slguy

Unless the steering rack is just dumping fluid (which you usually only see from the pump and high pressure hose on your model) you should be alright for a good long time just monitoring the fluid and topping off if necessary.

Reply to
qslim

The time to change your rack is when you can no longer steer the car. I was in the used car biz, one of the standard auction tests was to turn the wheel off center. A car with a bad rack would have a pronounced stiffness to it. Until you get to that point, I wouldn't be sweating it, but I would make sure any leaky couplings are taken care of ASAP.

Reply to
Roy Blankenship

Mine leaked at 117K. Tried

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for 1500 miles then changed the fluid using turkey baster method and no more leak.

Reply to
scott

Well, I actually have good news but I'm a little confused.

My mechanic and I *thought* it was the rack & pinion that was leaking but we were not absolutely sure because something like the transmission fluid was found to be splashed under the engine including the rack and pinion. The mechanic therefore cleaned the area with WD40 and asked me to come back in a few days to look at it one more time. By the way, he is the neighborhood mechanic that I have known for a while, so he wouldn't lie to me because I, too, know one or two things about cars. Had I taken it to another many dishonest mechanics in the area, I'm sure they would have recommended replacing rack and pinion right away. Anyhow, during the 90k mile service they had overfilled transmission with fluid and when I pointed this out to him he pumped out excess fluid and brought the level to normal as well.

Now, a few days later, after the car had sat in the garage overnight, I have found no signs of any leaks. The garage flow is dry!

The questi>Mine leaked at 117K. Tried

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for 1500 miles then changed the

Reply to
podi2NOSPAM

I'm no expert. However if your weather has been nice like it has been here perhaps the seals have become more pliable and the leak is slower. I have a slight leak from the valve cover gasket on my 2000 Sienna and it hasn't shown anything on the driveway in the past week.

Reply to
badgolferman

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote: snip

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I'm not a trans expert but from my experience it used to be if you overfilled a trans it could push fluid out the dipstick tube or if the dipstick had a very tight seal on the tube, fluid could be pushed past the o-ring where the tube fits in the trans. There were a few trans that overfilling could cause seals to blow and the seals would have to be r&r'd. I'd say your problem is solved, you had too much fluid and it escaped out the tube at the top or where it fits in the pan. Since you're not seeing a signs on garage floor, I'd just check the fluid level occasionally and not worry too much about it. HTH, Dave

Reply to
davidj92

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