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Power Steering Fluid Leaking on 96 v6 SE

A

Apu Nahasapeemapetil

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Sep 10, 2003
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My power steering fluid was leaking slightly but lately I noticed it has started to leak even more. It seems to run down somewhere behind the engine block down onto the oil pan. Someone told me there could possibly be a sensor behind there that may use a plastic gasket. Can anyone identify this part if there is one? This is on a 96 v6 SE.
 
forgive me if I am wrong but I assume the engine bay is setup similar to the later years so...

On the back side of the engine on the passenger side there are a couple hoses that could be leaking but there are no sensors back there. One hose is the high pressure hose that runs form the pump to the rack. The other is the return hose that runs from the cooler to the reservoir.
 
Yikes.. I seriously hope it is not the pump. Anyway, I just checked again with the person and he told me the sensor he was talking about is the power steering pressure switch. Or like SVT#4967 said, there are only hoses. Thanks!
 
Apu Nahasapeemapetil said:
Yikes.. I seriously hope it is not the pump. Anyway, I just checked again with the person and he told me the sensor he was talking about is the power steering pressure switch. Or like SVT#4967 said, there are only hoses. Thanks!
Click to expand...

You should be able to find the switch... There should be a rubber hose which feeds the PS pump from the reservoir, then a metal pipe coming out of the pump with the pressurized fluid in it... Follow this metal pipe until it turns into a rubber hose again, the switch should be right before that junction...

That is how the Zetec is set up, but I can not see the Duratec being any different...
 
The power steering hose uses teflon seals where it screws into the oil pump. It could be leaking down behind the pump and this could make it appear your leak is somewhere else. Check around the seals...are they dry? Also check behind pump best you can or bottom of pump and see if it is wet.....

If it is the seals, buy about 6 of them, they are not expensive. put at least 2 on the hose before attaching to the pump....one will not do it. Do not stretch the seals.....

Bob
 
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BoSoxBruin said:
You should be able to find the switch... There should be a rubber hose which feeds the PS pump from the reservoir, then a metal pipe coming out of the pump with the pressurized fluid in it... Follow this metal pipe until it turns into a rubber hose again, the switch should be right before that junction...

That is how the Zetec is set up, but I can not see the Duratec being any different...
Click to expand...

nope, on the Duratec that sensor is right near the motor mount, right on top of everything.

So is the leak at the back of the block or at the front cover?
 
get that fixed asap! your first line of defense is to switch to standard power steering fluid. the reason behind this measure is your alternator is going to die very slowly. i went through 4 alternators in 2-3 years before i figured out that it was really power steering fluid leaking. atf will eat right through the protective casing on the windings and will destroy your alternator. if you want to slow it down i used valvoline max life power steering fluid with stop leak and that has seemed to work for a while now till i can get time to pull the engine for the long list of maintenance i have planned. your rear seal is probably leaking. you can pick up a reman pump for cheap at most auto parts stores.

to replace the pump put a jack under the engine with a block of wood so as not to harm the oil pan and take the tension off of the upper engine mount. remove the 5 bolts for the top of the mount then remove the coolant tank. remove the other 3 bolts holding the rest of the upper mount to the frame and you now have access to the steering pump.

good luck hope this helps.
 
Well, I looked at the switch last night. It definately was not leaking. Neither was the two hose ends connected to the resevoir. I spent a while under the car cleaning up the oil leak and got light headed from the engine degreaser I was using. Also was a little dehydrated and floor temp was at least 100 degrees.

I'm crossing my fingers it is the teflon seals and not the PS pump.
 
kscontourkid said:
like i said valvoline high mileage PS fluid with stop leak in it should do the trick if you are not wanting to replace at the moment
Click to expand...

why do something like that that can just start leaking at any point again? Why not just fix it now? Only time I can see someone doing that is if they are miles from home and need to get home, then do the temp fix but then fix it after that.
 
btrautman said:
The power steering hose uses teflon seals where it screws into the oil pump. It could be leaking down behind the pump and this could make it appear your leak is somewhere else. Check around the seals...are they dry? Also check behind pump best you can or bottom of pump and see if it is wet.....

If it is the seals, buy about 6 of them, they are not expensive. put at least 2 on the hose before attaching to the pump....one will not do it. Do not stretch the seals.....

Bob
Click to expand...

I know this is an old thread but does anybody have the OEM part numbers for these seals? Or can I pick these up anywhere?
 
Your not kidding this is an old thread! I do not have the part numbers but you are probably best getting them from the dealer. Just explain what you need, they can find it quite easily.

Bob
 
Well I did get mine to stop leaking. There is a white nylon seal at the top of the threads and a rubber o-ring down at the bottom of the threaded hole. Even after replacing both of those it was still leaking out along side of the tube on the inside of the nut. I ended up using a flaring tool to compress the tubing at the end creating at tighter seal when the nut was fully tightened. I wouldn't recommend this but it worked for me (I was surprised).
 
btrautman said:
The power steering hose uses teflon seals where it screws into the oil pump. It could be leaking down behind the pump and this could make it appear your leak is somewhere else. Check around the seals...are they dry? Also check behind pump best you can or bottom of pump and see if it is wet.....

If it is the seals, buy about 6 of them, they are not expensive. put at least 2 on the hose before attaching to the pump....one will not do it. Do not stretch the seals.....

Bob
Click to expand...

Are you serious about using more than one of the teflon seals: here is my ordeal:

Power steering - the never ending story
It started with a leak. Figured a new pump is breaking the bank, got the Autzone one.
Installed it (***** to get the mounting flange off the old one and onto the new one, since the new pump does not come with one; wish they charged $5 more and include it properly mounted).

Pump back in, leaking worse than before. Figured I did not install it properly. Took it out again and tightened all bolts in cross sequence, main bolts (the one that go through the actual pump) first, cover second. Leaking.

Suspect pressure side elbow (had to reuse the old one, new one doesn't come with one).

Neco connection helped me out with a used elbow ($54 at the stealership).

Pump out, installed new elbow, back together: leaking all over the place.
Figure it must be that I did not have the right seals. Research points to 2 teflon seals (tough to get onto the fitting, hot water and/or hot air gun help). Stealership had 2 (bought 4 just in case).

Pump out, installed seals on both connections of the elbow (one to the pump, one to the hose). Properly reinstalled. Leaking.

Since the exact point of the leak cannot be seen with the engine running (buried under top engine mount and pump cover), I can't tell if it is the elbow still leaking, or the pump itself.

I would like to leak test the pump to determine where the leak is (and then take appropriate counter measures). Could I take the pump off, fill with power steering fluid, then hook up a compressed air hose to the low pressure side and force the issue?

Any other suggestions?

Could it be that I damaged the new pump when pushing the flange from the old pump onto the shaft?​
 
Today I pulled the PS pump the 4th time. Had new/reman from Autozone: leaking. Had used/working elbow: leaking. Picked up teflon seals from ford dealer: leaking. After pulling today, I put a compressed air hose with a rubber cone on the high pressure side of the pump, sealed the low pressure side with my thumb. Carefully applied pressure, and saw PS fluid coming out on the elbow between the nut and the elbow tube (not the threads against which the teflon seal works). Obviously, the conical part is not sealing against the pump; could be the elbow or the pump.

As a last try, put high temp gasket maker on the conical part (and on the threads for good measure, since I was not willing to go through the heating up required for the teflon seals to fit over the thread).

Put it back in. First 10 min of running shows no leaks. If it holds: fine. If not, I will bring pump get to Autozone and get another one, and will spring for the $55 the stealership is charging for a new elbow (and new seals).
 
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