Rack and pinion leak

[Aeroelastic]

Hi, I have oil drop at the bottom of the rack big nut shown below. Is there a seal within the assembly? Power steering reservoir still full. But want to be cautious, thanks.

Note: picture not my car. Didn’t have my phone with me while under the car so have to get an internet picture.

 

[AdventureWagon]

Are you sure it's from the power steering and not tranny fluid?

 

[diggerdave]

The big nut is the rack adjustement nut which allows the tension on the steering rack to be increased or decreased.

I can't remember what the set-up is inside it but there are some old threads with photos I vaguely recall.

You could try tightening up the big nut, but don't overdo it otherwise your steering willl become very tight and no longer self-centre, though it's easy enough to back it off a bit if you do. THere is a locking ring around the outside but that is almost impossible to loosen so just concentrate on the big nut in the centre.

 

[diggerdave]

I don't see a seal in there

 

[Aeroelastic]

It is brownish oil, should be power steering. Not the distinct Auto trans oil smell.

 

[Aeroelastic]

I probably agree. Watched a Timmy the Toolman YouTube video that replaces the guide and there is no seal in there.

Does this mean that the seal within the rack is knackered?

Might try the Lucas power steering stop leak and see how it goes.

Is replacing the power steering fluid quite straight forward?

Thanks

 

[Chris]

Getting the rack off is not particulalry complicated but can be a touch frustrating getting to the various nuts and bolts. The steering column joint can be quite maddening. But I have done two I think from memory. Replacing the fluid is as easy as pouring it in to the header tank, wheels off the ground, turn the wheel side to side. Not technical at all. In most common applications power steering fluid and automatic transmission fluid are the same thing. Should mention that getting the fluid out isn't difficult either. You just create your own leak with a spanner! There is a neat trick that you can use where you use the PS pump to pump out the old fluid whilst you pour in the new, but we'll get to that another time.

 

[Beastrider]

Both the transmission and the power steering use Dexron II/III.

I would thoroughly clean and degrease the whole area, then run the truck for a week or so, so you could be more sure where any fresh leak came from. Then you can be sure what area to focus on. Check your power steering fluid level though.

There are a couple of techniques to change the steering fluid, but I draw as much fluid out of the reservoir as possible (with a turkey baster), replace with new Dexron fluid, run the vehicle and repeat several times over the course of a few days until it’s clean. It’s easy to do and might use up a litre in total. Timmy the toolman is an excellent source of info too.

When I first got my truck, there was a leak from one of the driveshaft seals on the front diff. I suppose the gear oil would get flung off the driveshaft and blown backwards. It used to drip from the steering rack- see photos. You may have already found the correct culprit but oil has a habit of spreading and appearing to come from something else. Just saying - be sure you are chasing the right thing.

 

[Aeroelastic]

Cheers Chris.

What is the capacity of fluid required for power steering? Got some genuine Toyota ATF left from my tranny fluid replacement.

I assume I can mix the Lucas stop leak with ATF fluid…

 

[Chris]

Not a clue. It'll be in the hand book. Not much more than a litre I'd think. I think it's work reading (which you probably have) Beastrider's excellent thoughts.

 

[Aeroelastic]

Thanks Beastrider for the photos. I will clean and double check. I have replaced one of the leaking CV seal last year but this is on the other side of the rack.

But will be taking a closer look. My PS fluid need replacing anyway as it is brown now. Whatever the previous owner put in, it must be there for a while.

 

[diggerdave]

Hmm. Not sure. It could be leaking from the point where the steering column entres the rack, which is on the opposite side of the big hex nut. Of course it's possible to refurbish a rack and replace the seals but I was advised by my old mechanic that it's rarely worth attempting unless you're an expert and have access to the right tools. I don't know whether that's a fair assessment but I know it would be beyond my abilities! If it were me I would try the stop leak stuff and if it doesn't work budget for a refurbed rack. I had a squeaking rack once and partially replaced the fluid by sucking it out of the reservoir and replacing it with new, doing that several times with lots of turning from lock to lock between top ups and that seemed to work well, with no need to undo pipes or anything.

EDIT: whoops, I see this has already been answered.

 

[Aeroelastic]

Cheers diggerdave, I will cross check again. After looking at photos from the net, as you said, the entry or joint between the column and rack could be a likely leak source.

 

[Chris]

Quite likely of the bushes have gone. With engine off, lie underneath and have someone waggle the steering wheel side to side. There is supposed to be something like 1mm of movement. Quite a common age-related failure. If it waggles about all over the place then quite possible that the quite delecate little series of seals that DD mentioned have had a work over. I rebuilt mine a long tome ago. Quite fiddly.

 

[Lancashire Cruiser]

Chris, that’s interesting about the 1mm of movement. I was looking at the LBJ’s last week while it was on the ramp and while my mate was waggling the wheel I noticed a slight play of around 1mm in the rack. Glad to hear this is considered normal.

 

[Chris]

When mine went ( lonnnng time ago when I had a LWB Collie) you couldn't get the bushes. I had to take the rack off, send it away and have it re-bushed. The MOT station sent an alert to the Min of T about it as Toyota dealer said it was ok. It moved quite a lot! Needles to say dealer got over ruled and I swapped the bushes out. What a difference to the steering!

 

[Aeroelastic]

You can get bushes easily online now. So begs the question, Poly or Rubber. Anyone used Poly on these that can share their opinion?

 

[Chris]

Poly was all you could get back then. it worked, never needed to do them again, but then I don't own the vehicle any more. Personally, if there is rubber, I'd always go for that. Poly has its applications but in something like a steering rack, rubber just has better properties in my view. It's not like bushes in a trailing arm or damper.