[Ant21]

Well at least I think it is! :'(
Basically, my mum thought there was a leak under the driveway so I rolled my car back and saw this patch of damp, dabbed my hand on it and sniffed it. Smelt like power steering fluid and it also felt oily and had a green tinge to it.

Checked under the bonnet and the power steering reservior looks like it is weeping from the cap (TRW system - Not sure if it is Gen 1 or 2 though, [has a round bottle!?])
Cleaned up the bottle and also the cap just incase it was some dirt or something causing the cap not to seal properly.
The level is bang on MAX.
Had a look under the car and didn't notice anything obvious like damp patches or anything like that. I'm going to jack it up and get under at the weekend for a closer look.

Has anyone ever had any issues like this and what was it that caused the leak? Just trying to get an idea at the moment at the rough cost for a repair. Just hoping it is not a new rack thats needed as from what I'm aware it's a subframe out jobbie!

Are there any common places that these racks / reservoirs will leak so I can take a closer look. Hopefully it is just something simple that can be done on the driveway.

Cheers!

 

[waggy02]

i've got a leak on the rack, small weaping from behind the gaitors...but am sure the oil should be red
green tinge is what colour oil went in my g/box

 

[Ant21]

Ill have a look behind the gaitors, probably the seal thats gone
I've got the Vx green PS fluid in my rack, thats what came out when I changed the fluid about 2 years ago so thats what went back in.
My box had the Vx red fluid in, but I since changed that for some castrol stuff.

 

[Ste_VXD]

could be a cracked pipe on the rack, or the seals on the pipes, which are white plastic o-ring type things. But i used plumbers tape as i wasnt confident in the plastic things. Dont remove a pipe unless your ready to fix it, cos if its sealed, it may not reseal.

And yes, its a subframe out jobby to replace the rack. You should be able to replace the pipes or reseal them with it on, or i hope so for your sake.

Hopefully its a simple new bottle top required. Doesnt it have an o-ring? I know its a stupid shape held tight under the firewall on my 2.0dti. Pain to get back on.

 

[Ant21]

Cheers pal, I'll jack her up tomorrow if it's not raining and take a closer look.
The bottle cap doesn't have an o-ring but more of a fat rubber blob in the middle which I guess helps seal it.

Ill let you know how I get on!

 

[Ciano]

power steering - green fluid
gearbox - red fluid

 

[Ant21]

Well, I've since found out that my mum parked on my bit of the drive ... :angry: :lol:
And it was actually her car leaking. Managed to track it down to the plastic thermostat housing which will be swapped over at some point this weekend.
Thanks for all your help everyone!