I have a 97 Camry 4 cyl LE with 71,000 miles. I had a large puddle (maybe 8 inches by 16 inches?) of clear oil under the left side, slightly inside and behind the left front tire. It was definitely oil, not water. Since it was clear, I thought brake fluid - but I inspected the master cylinder and all around it and found it dry.
The fluid was actually dripping onto the top of the frame or suspension member going to the wheel, then running down and off the bottom of it. The only wet thing I could find was the boot on the hydraulic steering ram. I know that's right below the lines coming out of where the ram connects to the power steering pump, but none of the lines were dripping oil.
I did have a whining power steering system a few days ago. The reservoir was quitelow and I added fluid up to the cold full mark. Two days later, it's dropped about 1/4 inch.
My car was involved in an accident a while back (6 months or so), in which a backing-up semi caught it at the left front wheel and slowly pushed it sideways about 25 feet. The dealer fixed everything that could be seen at that time. Now I'm wondering if the impact could have set up a seal failure on the left side of this steering ram, and I'm leaking inside the boot, and it's seeping out through cracks in the rubber fro pressure and movement. Does that sound plausible?
Are there any other things I should look at before I go buy one of these?
Ed
(PS - would anyone venture to guess as whether I would stand a chance getting the insurance company to add this to the repairs as related damage?)