greg69jones2008

I am having a serious leak, I can drop a bottle of power steering fluid and it's all gone in 3 days.

I cant seem to locate where the fluid is droping and from what I can see there is only 1 hose that goes from the pump to the driver side fender wall then goes up somewhere else near the firewall I guess.

Any tips on how to track the leak down? I noticed a few days ago it was dry on fluid and when I turned the wheel the car begun to stall really bad only when I turned the wheel, im guessing the pump is either done for or nearing its end but would like to plug the leak before it goes all the way.

Its a V8 5.0L firebird, 1984.

paulo57509

The leak should be really obvious if you're losing that much fluid.

There's only three places it could be leaking from - the pump, hoses or steering box.

greg69jones2008

Okay steering box, where would this be? I know the pump is where you fill it right? I only see one hose but I didnt have a chance this morning to look harder, and steering box....well thats new to me lol

paulo57509

Follow the hoses from the pump. Where the hoses end up is the steering box (or steering gear).

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Probably not the pump, or the box. (Box is the thing the other end of the lines goes to)

Most likely the lines.

There are 2 of those. 1 has steel sections and fittings; that's the high-pressure one. Can have as much as around 1400 psi in it when you turn the steering wheel to the end stop and hold it there. Those develop pinhole leaks and will squirt an AMAZING amount of fluid out.

The other looks like regular hose and has clamps; that's the return one. It has suction in it sometimes, in particular at the same times that the pressure line has its highest pressure. When that happens, it draws in air. The air makes a foam out of the fluid in the reservoir. Then, under that super high pressure, the air compresses to a tiny fraction of its original volume, in all the pressurized parts of the system; then, when it comes back into the reservoir, it acts just like a Coke that's been shaken up. It explodes violently into foam and spews EVERYWHERE.

Obviously, either line can empty the reservoir in a matter of seconds.

Best thing to do is, take it to the quarter car wash, pick up a can or 2 of engine degreaser along the way, soak the pump and hoses and gear down in the spooge, and blast it sterile so you can actually SEE what you're doing. Then, fill the reservoir without spilling any, pull it out of the bay and into the sunlight, shut the motor off, and wait about 15-20 minutes for all the foam to dissipate. Then when the fluid is all the way clear, crank up the motor, and have your assistant turn the wheel all the way to one side and hold it there while you watch everything. Look for a pinhole sized leak (the fluid will come out WITH GREAT FORCE so it may not appear right where it's leaking, might hit the fender or the block or who knows what). Guess what you need to replace if you see that. If you don't, but instead the fluid sudddenly becomes foam or the reservoir IMMEDIATELY spews, you need the return hose. Buy actual "power steering return hose", NOT fuel line.

greg69jones2008

Great bit of detail there, makes me a little more confortable to get under and see whats going on.

Last night (before I saw this message) I checked under when stoped at a laundrymat and found it dripping from a long bar the goes from left to right, but I am beginning to wonder if its leaking around the box and slowly dripping down that pip, plus there was about 2-4 more spots around the box that was dripping as well.

So I get engine degreaser, I heard that stuff catches fire easily which is why I never used to begin with, is it really safe to use? Just spray all around and use the pressure washer at the car wash? Water wont mess anything up?

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yes it is safe, used carefully; shut the engine off and let it cool down for a few minutes first to be sure.

You mostly need to wash all around the PS pump and gear. Nothing around there is a problem with water.

As described, when those things leak, the fluid goes EVERYWHERE; you might find it dripping off of your fender, your rear bumper, your transmission, or who knows what else. That's not a good way to tell what's leaking. THat's why you gotta clean it up first; get rid of the entire car being drenched in it, so you can see where it's coming from. In fact you'll probabyl want to use the degreaser method all up under the car wherever it went after you fix it, so it doesn't stay all covered in schmutz for the rest of eternity.

greg69jones2008

Ide love nothing more than to hit every square inch under the hood with degreaser but I really dont know enough about this stuff to do it lol

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

It's not any harder than getting rid of any other mess. Basic cleaning skillz.

Start with the matter at hand; tackle the rest later.

greg69jones2008

Very true, I just hope it's a hose and not something expensive lol I already have enough problems finding anyone in my town that knows anything about carbs.

bigdog42

Future reference. I took the whole pump and reservoir out of mine (jeep) only way I could get it out and inspect it. Covered the whole reservoir with JB Weld marine sealant because I originally thought it was leaking from the reservoir. Waited the 15 hours for that stuff to cure, put it in, let it settled, turned on the car, and started spewing from the high pressure line. Just have to wait a week because the high pressure line is $100.... If that doesn't fix it, I'm just giving up. I will keep it updated after I switch that out.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Sofa has you covered.... I just wanted to say welcome and don't let the car overwhelm you. You sound kinda young and new to these cars.

Just start reading the posts here at TGO. Go buy you a $15 haynes repair manual for the third gen firebird. It will help you along the way. Don't get/take car repair tips from other kids in school, most don't have a clue.

I know your older than my step son (he's in the 9th grade) but my god you should hear some of the BS he comes home and tells me that the 11th, 12th graders says about fixing/modding cars. We both just shake our heads and wonder why they would even think X. This kid knows much more about cars than the rest of his whole HS, but he has been around me for 7 years, helping out with diff car builds, engines, etc.

Your power steering leak is simple. All parts are pretty cheap, pretty easy to get to. Just do like Sofa said and clean it real good so you can see the leak.

It could be leaking from the threaded fitting on back of pump where high pressure line goes, nipple on back of pump where return line goes. The pump body it's self. Any where along the length of pressure or return line, or the gear box but the gearbox is not a common leak point however your fittings on line going into gear box could be loose and leaking.

Night rider327

iTrader: (13)

Oh, are you still having carb issues? I read in your other thread you have an edelbrock carb..

I can walk you through everything on that carb. I have been using that type carb for street builds for 15+ years.

The edelbrock carb is a design that goes back to the 1950's. The same basic carb was made by Carter and used as a factory carb on many 1950's/60's cars, then as the aftermarket carter AFB, FM (Federal-Mogul) kinda let the AFB carb die out in the 80's and sold the patten/design to weber about 25 years ago, and then weber started building the carb for edelbrock with a few mild changes to it from its original 60+ year old design.

Get with me on open post or PM with what kinda carb probs you are having and I can help you through them.. I'll give you a few very basic edelbrock carb tips now.

They do not like high fuel pressure. Anything over 5.5 psi pushes the needles out of the seats and causes carb to flood. I have had to use $25 holley dead head fuel pressure reg with stock fuel pumps before to get pressure low enough to work. I set all mine to 5.25 psi.

Float height settings are the #2 major prob. For MANY years they came shipped from factory and even listed spec in manual was wrong on the floats. The correct settings are 7/16" at rest and 15/16" drop measured at front tip of floats with gasket in place. You can go to 1" drop but no more.

Also the way the floats are adjusted makes them easier to 'change' on their own. It's a little brass tab that you bend up down / in out to set floats.. High fuel pressure can bend the arms and change settings.

The stock shipped metering rod step up springs are never the correct springs. I don't think I have had 1 single engine that wanted/needed the orange 5" hg step up springs.

dmccain

iTrader: (2)

I had a hard time finding PS leak also and it was the steering box. Not too expensive or difficult to fix.