Having power steering problems with my 1996 Seville. It started leaking fluid but the source was not obvious to my mechanic. On the hoist with the steering wheel rotated side to side you would think the leak would be obvious ....so not likely a pressure side of the system?? On the second visit we elected to replace the pump ....which worked fine for about two weeks and now I'm once again losing fluid. Any one had a history of this ? Could I have replaced my pump with one that was about to fail ??
Power Steering Failure
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Not unless you installed a used pump.
Spray the system (rack, line fittings and such) with Brakleen. The leak point should become evident after a cleanup.
I never understood this mentality. I'll replace 5 things I don't need instead of the one I do but at least those 5 unnecessary things cost me less than they would have if I had really needed them from someone competent. When its all said and done I've seen people spend better than a thousand to not fix what eventually only cost a few hundred or less from me to really fix it. A competent mechanic is your best friend.
Most common leak sites on that platform are the power steering pressure line right where it goes from hose back to hard line on the passenger side of the engine and the rack and pinion seals. The rack leaks can be slow but usually pretty obvious visually. The pressure line often fails in a matter that it only leaks a noticeable amount when turned all the way to the lock and held there. That would be my bet. But after 19 years that rack and pinion unit doesn't owe anybody anything. And I'd be surprised if it didn't leak at at least a little bit.
No, a tracer is a dye that makes the leaking fluid easier to "trace". That said, if the area is clean and dry, the leak should be fairly easy to spot, which was what I meant.
With a dye you don't even need to clean the area. The whole point of using it is that it will show up even over old sludge. The catch is to check for the new dyed fluid a soon as possible. If you hesitate, it will be harder to find the origination point.
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