Hello! I apologize if I'm dragging up a dead thread, but I had this problem with my '98 Taurus and wanted to add my 2 cents.
Mine was leaking from the rack and pinion also. The PS fluid was leaking out almost as fast as I could put it in. I took the boot cover off and inspected the inside of the rack and pinion shaft. If you look just inside the shaft, you will see a metal disc that has four holes in it. On my car, this disc had untightened itself and was leaking around the threads. I tightened it back up and the leak has stopped. This is fairly simple to do and will cost you nothing. But, you have to make sure you get it very tight or else it will become loose again and you're right back where you started. I used a long pair on needle nosed pliers and inserted the tips into two of the four holes in the disc (sorry, I don't know the technical name for the part) and tightened it that way. Don't use a screwdriver because you can't get it tight enough with one.
I am in no way a mechanic, but I do like to work on my own car whenever I can to save myself money. I just wonder how many people have had this same problem and have taken their car to the shop and were charged with replacing the entire rack and pinion?
Again, I apologize if I'm pulling up old threads, but I found this forum while trying to figure out what was wrong with my car and hopefully it will help someone else out there with the same problem. |