steering fluid leak??

[ChrisRL]

Hello all
Just drove my 1984 944/1 back down from Big Bear Lake, CA to Los Angeles, CA, a trip of around 100 miles each way. That's where my mechanic buddy lives.

I took it up there because for some reason the power steering fluid was leaking out of the reservoir, smoking as it hit the exhaust. He traced it to a missing gasket in the power steering fluid reserve tank, said that all the lines were clear.

So I'm back down here and .... smoke out of the front compartment again. And lo and behold, I'm a half a tank down on the ATF and the power steering is whining away again.

Could it be a cracked tank? I've rechecked everything and it doesn't seem so.

Most perplexing, but then again I'm a newbie at this so...

Maybe someone has experienced this before?

Thanks in advance!

Chris

[fiat22turbo]

Replace the tank, there's a built-in filter at the base that can get plugged up over time. It's $15 or so and get a new cap while you're at it just to be sure.

Don't overfill the reservoir as it will leak out of the top and creat a heck of a mess.

A new feed line to the pump and refreshing the pump are also fairly cheap and easy to do and aren't a bad idea as part of maintaining the system.

If you still have leaks, then you'll need to look at the pressure lines and the rack itself, which are more expensive and difficult to change out.

Finally, the fluid used in the system is ATF, not power steering fluid. Using power steering fluid will cause more leaks in the system.

[ChrisRL]

Stefan, thanks!
Chris