Power Steering Fluid Leaking Fast – Positions and Solutions

If you are new in the world of machinery and cars, then this is going to be one hell of a ride for you. Since I will be telling you everything that you need to know about power steering fluid and its leaks. 

Power steering fluid plays an important and a very essential part in your car, it is let’s say almost the reason why your car is running or performing the way that it is, whether it is a good performance or a bad one, it entirely depends upon the condition of your cars power steering system and fluid.

In this article today, I will thoroughly walk you through everything that you need to know about car leaks and especially power steering fluid leaks, that happen in your car, I will briefly talk to you about the reasons , the causes and the solutions of the power steering fluid leaks, so that you don’t get upset when you see a leak in your car and you will know just what to do about it in no time! So, let’s get going! 

1. What is power steering fluid?

You are needs energy to work just like you, this way it can keep on going for hours and hours without giving you any extra fatigue, power steering fluid is what gives your car this energy. To be more accurate, just like the engine which needs a proper lubrication to work, in a proper and a healthy way. Power steering system also needs a lubricant to keep its components fresh and working.  

This lubricant known as power steering fluid is used to make the components of the power steering system running, if the power steering fluid is not given to the power steering system regularly then your car will face damage. Which is why you should not only keep checking the levels of the power steering fluid in your vehicle but also keep checking for the leaks of the power steering fluid in your car.  

2. Why power steering fluid leaks?

Like I said before, power steering fluid is the main lubricant to safe and smooth driving, without power steering fluid your car will or can fail or you can have trouble turning the steering wheel of your car. Therefore, you should keep a check on the levels of power steering fluid left in your power steering unit and cylinder.

Sometimes, your car face a leak and when it does it very hard to determine and find out the cause and the solutions of but not anymore, I will be giving you guys a thorough list of leak causes that you may face. 

Some of the main reasons for power steering fluid leaks are

• Old and worn-out power steering system
• 0-rings and deals losing mass and form
• Vital components failing to do their job properly

Read Also: Power Steering Fluid Symbol 

3. how to know if you have a power steering fluid leak?

You will know that you have a power steering leak through various symptoms that your car will give you overtime. Once you know about the symptoms that tend to be because of a leak. Like I said before, just like all the other fluids present in your car, power steering fluid should also have a right level for functioning properly, and to drive your car. 

Here are the few symptoms of a power steering leak in your car:

• Noisy Steering

If your power steering is making a lot oof noise, specially when you are turning your steering wheel around or when you are turning your vehicle around, it is a symptom that you need to check the levels of power steering fluid in your car. When your car is low on the power steering fluid, you will hear a weird noise, that can sound like a sharp shrill or an occasional chirp, especially when u is driving slowly, or when you turn your steering wheel to left or to the right.

• Difficult Steering

You might not notice a difference on the highway, but when you are driving on a low speed, you will have to put in a lot of effort while you turn the steering wheel. When power steering system loses fluid, they start working less efficiently. Slowly, you will start to feel the difference on the steering wheel end, making it super hard to turn the wheel than it normally is. This is the main symptom that you will know that your power steering fluid is running low, which can signal a leak.

• Leaking Fluid

It is easy and normal to ignore a few droplets of any kind of fluid that may find under your car or anyone else’s car, unless its not a big puddle of fluid, nobody takes it seriously, or gives it a second thought. But it is very important to investigate any fluid that you see under your car before it becomes a bigger issue. What you need to do is that you need to check the fluid, smell it and look closely down the power steering circuit or system to see where it is coming from.  

Read about: How To Flush Power Steering Fluid 

Finding the power steering fluid leak

For you to find the power steering leak you will firstly need to examine the power steering unit or system of your vehicle and see if you can see any physical signs of the leak. You should expect to see the leaks in one of these 3 places.

• The leak could come from a loose connection on a hose which carries the fluid all the way from the power steering pump to the steering rack.
• Another area where the leak can take place is the power steering pump itself, in this case you need to look at the area where the power steering pump shaft is exiting the main body of the pump.
• Lastly, you need to find a leak by the steering rack, which means you need to go along the steering rack hoping to find a leak, this is one of the most common areas to find a leak in. 

Fixing the leak: a step-by-step guide

When you see a leak in your cars power steering system or unit you should get it checked asap, getting your leak delayed can get you more damage than you can imagine. Therefore, you should get the leak fixed and fill it up with liquid as soon as possible again.  

This is why I have made you a list of step-by-step guide on how you can repair your power steering unit and stop your power steering fluid from leaking.  

1. Act Fast

The main key to fixing the leak is to act fast on it, if you see a leak in your car’s system, you should get it checked immediately. Do not wait until your car is out of all the power steering fluid that you have put in your car. Generally, you should keep checking the fluid levels of your car and keep crosschecking between them, so you know much time a fluid takes to go all out.   

2. Pay close attention to your car

If you can’t figure out if your car has a leak or not, then this ones for you. What you have to do is that you should take your car out for a long drive and then pay attention to it and how it steers, most of the times when your car is undergoing a power steering fluid issue or leak it will give you a hard time when you are trying to turn the steering wheel, and you will be able to notice these things more when your car is in a consistent but also slow speed.

You can turn your steering wheel from left to right slowly just to make sure you are not hearing any kind of noise or whirring sound coming from the steering wheel indicating that it is giving your car a hard time, apart from this, you might also feel resistance coming your way from the steering rack when you might be driving on a slow speed.

Read if you want to know: What color should power steering fluid be!

3. Clean your reservoir lines and cylinders.

To fix a leak in your car you first will have to fix your reservoir lines of your car, what you will have to do is to is to take a clean cloth and wipe it all over your reservoir lines to check for a leak, another thing that you can do is to get a dipstick and check your fluid levels every now and then just to make sure there is no leak happening in your power steering unit.

4. Fix the leak

Last but not the least this is the most important part of the plan, fixing the leak, once you understand how you are supposed to fix the power steering fluid leak of your car you can do it in no time without any extra pressure. All you have to do is a little service adjustment for your car and where you think the leak may be coming from. You can also get one of the most famous leak products that are available and specifically designed for leaks and their maintenance, these products will help you stop the leak in no time, and that too permanently.

How to prevent a leak

You can prevent a leak by using a power steering stop leak fluid, you can use this leak fluid on your O-rings and seals which are not easily accessible, no leak reaches the O-rings and seals where they live right in the den. It is basically poured into the power steering reservoir, where it begins circulating through the system with the power steering fluid.

This will stop the power steering fluid leak and will get your car out of the danger zone in no time at all. Another thing you can do is to prevent or minimize a leak is that you can get your car to go to monthly checkups at the repair shop, where they will make sure that your car is not dealing with any kinds of leaks at all. If not this, then you can yourself give your car a through wash and a check up where you can see if your car is going through any major leaks or not.       

Leak causes

Like every other machine that has come into being or that has been invented, cars too need a lot of maintained and time to run smoothly.  Every machine has two main enemies, time, and usage, when cars reach a specific time of their life or are used to a specific length, they start losing their mass and form.

These mass and forms are in the shape of the o rings and the seals that are used in the manufacturing of your car parts. These seals may even break up into little chunks and pieces and start circulating in the fluid system of your power steering unit.

When this happens, the vital components of your power steering unit can no longer do the work of your car properly and thus the fluid starts to leak out.   

Final Thoughts

Now that we have reached the end of the article, I hope by now you know all about the solutions, causes of the power steering fluid leaks, along with that I also hope that you have learned the ways that you can fix the leaks all by yourself.

If you still have any questions or if you are still confused by anything, make sure to go and give this article another read!  Good luck