Need some quick help here

[nivit0]

I noticed a whine when I was leaving for school this morning, and it was more pronounced this afternoon. I pulled into a parking space after a few mile drive, and I heard a loud noise when turning. When I got home, my power steering fluid level was very low, so I added the rest of a bottle we had here. It didn't fill it to the right level, but it was much better than nothing. An hour later, I checked under the car and found a small pool of orange liquid near the area of the power steering pump or resovoir. I assume the pump is ok, because I drove the car for a quick test after the fluid was added, but I'm not sure what to do now. Should I buy new hoses, I can't really tell which one of the two from the holding tank needs replacing, or if the steering fluid tank itself is bad. I did wipe down all the hoses and surrounding area, but I still can't tell where my leak is. Anyone have similar experiences, with suggestions for me to do? Also, what should these parts cost if for what I need to replace. And would just hose-clamping the tops of the hoses to the holding tank help? I'd appreciate any info.

[Horse_Hunter]

I would find the leak before replacing or working on it. Do a visual inspection on the hoses maybe they have dried out alittle bit and cracked. But before spending money on hoses I would find out what the problem is. If you just fill it up with oil and turn the car on you should be able to detect a leak. Just don't stick your hand in the belt. And no hose clamps wont help you on this one, if the hose is cracked then its just cheaper to replace than to keep on fixing it evrytime the crack grows. Good Luck

[nivit0]

I found the leak, and what a leak it is! It's the outlet hose from the power steering pump, with the fluid under pressure, where it goes into the steering mechanism. The pinhole leak was shooting onto my fan, and spraying everywhere. I'm about to call some autoparts stores to see what this will cost me.

Update:
Pep Boys said it'd be $38, and would be in the middle of next week.
Discount said it'd be $22, and would be in by 10:30am tomorrow.
Guess who won?

It was the pressure hose from the pump.

[ April 25, 2003: Message edited by: nivit0 ]</p>

[raxxus]

w00t w00t discounts!

[nivit0]

It rained ALL day yesterday, and I couldn't fix it then. Took a while to do today, but the new power steering pressure line is installed. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]
I didn't lose as much fluid as I thought I would doing the swap. One end used a 5/8" wrench, the other used slightly larger than a 11/16", and I still can't figure out what size that really was.
After I ran the car for 3 seconds to distribute the newly refilled steering fluid, it appreared foamy, but went back to normal after the short bleeding procedure. Car is all fixed, total materials needed were a bottle of power steering fluid and a pressure line. I wouldn't have wanted to drive in that weather yesterday anyways, so I'm not even sorry the car was down. I think it all cost me about $26 after tax. Not too bad.