Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011 19:04:58 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: PS leaking
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Of the times I have seen the high pressure steel line blow out from rust ..
it was inboard and aft of the right front wheel..
where the pipes are more exposed to road salt and tend to rust there more.
For the poster..
first step is to *look* and see what is going on.
Then come up with a repair plan.
I will warn you that the hose that is clamped to the bottom of the PS
reservoir can be almost impossible to get off, especially without breaking
the reservoir.
the hose gets super hard with age and heat.
I've had to heat the end of them with a heat gun to soften up the rubber a
little.
the reservoir is clipped underneath, where it slides in to a wedge shape
bracket, and can be tricky to figure out.
the large caps get very stuck on the reservoir sometimes..that can be a
pain.
I'd fill it with ATF ..
fire it up ...preferably with a remote starter switch so you can be 'right
there' by it when you fire it off..
just don't get a face full of PS fluid !
Most Vanagons with PS almost never get their PS system serviced that I have
ever observed.
At least....someone should check the filter screen in the bottom of the
reservoir ..
and change out the old fluid and put in fresh new, with the addition of
Lucas Brand ( or some good brand ) of Power Steering Conditioner and Stop
Leak.
Maintain steering rack boots of course.
The longer you don't do something ..
the worse it gets.
Deal with it early .......and you won't have things like a bad pump blowing
out a good steering rack. About the only indications of impeding failure are
metal particles in the reservoir filter screen, leaks, and noises and high
steering effort.
good luck !
Scott
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dennis Haynes" <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, November 06, 2011 5:28 AM
Subject: Re: PS leaking
> After sitting the most common cause of sudden power steering leaks is
> rusted
> out power steering tubes. The high pressure lines need proper repairs.
> There
> are a number of vendors with power steering line repair kits.
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Mike
> Sent: Saturday, November 05, 2011 7:23 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: PS leaking
>
> My '87 Westy was parked for a couple of months awaiting repairs to the
> cooling system. I recently started it up to move it forward one space and
> it immediately dumped a large amount of PS fluid. It left an incredible
> mess in my driveway. I haven't crawled under it yet to look at the source
> of the leak, but it appears to be near the ps pump. I never had it leak a
> single drop of ps fluid prior to this. What is likely to be leaking? I'm
> guessing a hose, because I've read about leaks in the ps hose being a
> common
> problem on older vans. How much are these hoses to repair or replace?
> Could I clamp in a piece of tubing at the leak spot?
