vindell

I was replacing inner tie rod ends. On both sides, when I removed the bellow boots, oil came out and dropped on my shoes. I assume it is from the rack, but not sure when it could have come out. Replaced the tie rod ends and the steering seems to work fine. Need to worry about the rack?

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

You got a seal leak. Keep an eye on the power steering fluid

python

iTrader: (4)

sam is right..for now try some lucas stop leak
http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...tid=9&loc=show

TaffyK20si

This could also effect your alternator as the power steering is directly above it and can drip on it causing it to fail.

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

You mean the bellows down by the steering rack. Well below the alternator. Right? (I think misunderstood by other responders)

I'd say just keep an eye on it. On my '91 with 182+k miles, I had a little of that, and also had a small pinhole at the bottom of the bellows, allowing a little of the PS fluid to drip out. I remedied that by simply rotating the boot 180 degrees so the pinhole is now on the top and any fluid (not much) that leaks past the seals will be contained within the boot.

Almost everything leaks a little as it ages. The challenge is to figure out the best way to address each issue, considering the rest of the car.

I'm always suspicious of unwanted side effects from a solution, so I'd put the Lucas stop leak as step 2.

step 0 (if not already done) is to read up on the infamous PS issues with these cars and to clean the solenoid filter, which appears to be the root cause of most PS issues.
step 1 is to not worry about it and keep an eye on the PS fluid level. See if you can live with it.
step 2 is to add Lucas stop leak
step 3 is to investigate the actual point of leakage and repair it.

vindell

You answered right on the money, oldskewei. Thank you!

LScowboyLS

PS leaks getting in the alternator and burning it up are common on LS400, but red oil in the bellows of your rack only means you have a PS leak, it doesn't tell you where it is.

if you could be sure it is only a rack seal leaking, then you could safely ignore it and just watch the fluid level and not worry about a repair, but the key is that it can be difficult to be sure it is *only* the rack leaking, and therefore easy to have a higher up PS leak wetting the bellows and burning up your alternator at the same time!

what brand of tie rod ends did you use, and do you like them, and did you do both inner & outer?

vindell

I just bought this 91 LS400 (will post pictures if I figure out how to attach images!) about two months ago. It has loose upper control arm ball joints and one inner tie rod ends. I replaced both upper control arms and all tie rod ends, then took the car to Firestone for alignment. I used Omega Auto Store in Miami area. Still Don't know if I like them or not.

To me, the PS fluid inside the bellows can come only from the rack. Will watch the fluid level for a while and see. Thanks for all the posts.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

Yup, I agree it's from the seal under the bellows and there is no way it's getting on the alternator. But as cowboy said, look to make sure your power steering pump is not leaking also since all these seals are old. I had the same issue but I changed the rack, just **** I guess. Cost me 194 for the rack and put it in myself. You can try the rotation thing first as was mentioned. If your power steering pump is leak free I would probably avoid the stop leak or put just a little to swell the seals but remember you are swelling all the seals in the system so it's your call. If the leak is a crack or wear the stop leak won't work for long, if it's shrinkage due to age it may work.