davemar

On a couple of occasions in the last few days my steering suddenly went very heavy for a second or two. So I checked my power steering fluid and it is below the minimum mark, so there's clearly a leak somewhere. Peering down the back of the power steering pump I did notice some liquid sitting in a nook, so I assume it's a leak from somewhere around the pump. Has anyone else experienced a leak and got any ideas of the likely culprit (whether one of the connecting hoses, or from the pump itself)?

BTW, the car is a 2005 Wagon WRX blobeye.

Cambs_Stuart

iTrader: (3)

If the fluid is on top of the engine then it's probably the pump. Check the clips connecting the PS fluid reservoir to the pump as the standard Subaru ones are rubbish. Replace with jubilee if necessary. Some pumps have an o ring in the connection between the hose and the pump, which can fail.
Also PS fluid is more flammable than engine oil, so don't ignore it.
Is the pump getting noisy? Any bubbles in the fluid?

davemar

No noticeable noise in the pump, nor bubbles in the fluid that I've noticed. Just need to find a couple of hours of non-raining daylight when I'm not stuck at work to check this out.
I'll try and clean up the area as much as possible to help identify where it's leaking from.

Cambs_Stuart

iTrader: (3)

Apologies if this is obvious, but the easiest way to check is to raise the front with the wheels in the air, get a friend to steer back and forth while you watch for drips.

davemar

Just tried steering it with the wheels up in the air. No obvious oozing from anywhere, but given the loss of fluid was probably about 1-2cm (in the reservoir) over several months, the loss is very gradual, so any oozing amongst the clutter and muck is tricky to see. I think I'll have take a load of things apart to clean the area properly to get a proper view. There was no bubbling from the reservoir.

Kev_STI

I had a weep from the power steering union which was spotted on the last service, they managed to sort this but still had the steering going heavy for a second or so when "pushing on" on one occasion. I still need to get it looked at but is it possible system needs bleeding or suspect steering pump?

davemar

I think the usual process is to leave the reservoir cap slightly off and turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock with the engine running to bleed the air out. I assume my moments of heavy steering was the fluid in the reservoir slopping to one side and leaving the exit hole free of fluid for a moment.

Cambs_Stuart

iTrader: (3)

A fluid change won't do any harm, is fairly cheap and is easy to do on a drive way with basic tools.

Kev_STI

Cheers chaps, I'm going to try this on mine before anything else as the pump is quiet and no more leaks spotted.