Power steering cap is leaking.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,813
Likes: 15
From: Doylestown PA
Power steering cap is leaking. During a recent tear down/rebuild, I noticed a lot of oil / grease / dirt on the driver's side of the front of the motor. I thought it could be the front cover seal, or power steering fluid because the underside of the powersteering pump was completely covered in grime, as well as the alternator.
So I got everything cleaned up and back together, and sure enough, after a 30-40 minute drive in high heat, I popped the hood and found the top of the power steering pump had power steering fluid all over it and it was starting to leak down the back as well. It wasn't a lot, but enough that it's doing this every time I drive.
The power steering pump resevoir was really hot to the touch, but I don't know if it was hot enough to boil the fluid, but what I do suspect is it's pushing fluid out the cap. If I put on a cooler, it's still going to push out the cap, so that won't solve my problem, so is there a better way to seal the top of the resevoir? The level isn't over filled, and it's not like I'm having to refill it constantly, but then again, I don't drive the car much either.
Thanks for any help. I tried searching the site and didn't come up with anything.
So I got everything cleaned up and back together, and sure enough, after a 30-40 minute drive in high heat, I popped the hood and found the top of the power steering pump had power steering fluid all over it and it was starting to leak down the back as well. It wasn't a lot, but enough that it's doing this every time I drive.
The power steering pump resevoir was really hot to the touch, but I don't know if it was hot enough to boil the fluid, but what I do suspect is it's pushing fluid out the cap. If I put on a cooler, it's still going to push out the cap, so that won't solve my problem, so is there a better way to seal the top of the resevoir? The level isn't over filled, and it's not like I'm having to refill it constantly, but then again, I don't drive the car much either.
Thanks for any help. I tried searching the site and didn't come up with anything.
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 116
Likes: 0
From: Houston
Mine only does this during auto-x's... One trick is to put a womans hair tie around the base of the cap to suck up some of the PS fluid, ands theres also a different cap you can put on there that makes it a lot harder for the fluid to get pushed out. besides that, make sure you are not trying to run too much fluid.
And finally the last piece of advice I can give is that if the pressure needs to escape somewhere, and now it cant get out of the cap because you modify it... well then you could blow off the high pressure line (like I have in the middle of an auto-x) and then there goes ALL of your fluid over EVERYTHING under the hood. Im lucky the thing didnt catch fire when it happend to me.
If it bugs you that bad, invest in the turn one PS pump and pulley. A good investment if you are racing the car like im assuming.
And finally the last piece of advice I can give is that if the pressure needs to escape somewhere, and now it cant get out of the cap because you modify it... well then you could blow off the high pressure line (like I have in the middle of an auto-x) and then there goes ALL of your fluid over EVERYTHING under the hood. Im lucky the thing didnt catch fire when it happend to me.
If it bugs you that bad, invest in the turn one PS pump and pulley. A good investment if you are racing the car like im assuming.
My power steering cap was leaking as well. It looked completely fine, gasket inside the cap looked good, I couldn't understand it. I sucked out some of the fluid thinking maybe it was overfilled but that didn't help either. So I went to Napa and bought a power steering cap and walah no more leaking! 
Mine only does this during auto-x's... One trick is to put a womans hair tie around the base of the cap to suck up some of the PS fluid, ands theres also a different cap you can put on there that makes it a lot harder for the fluid to get pushed out. besides that, make sure you are not trying to run too much fluid.
And finally the last piece of advice I can give is that if the pressure needs to escape somewhere, and now it cant get out of the cap because you modify it... well then you could blow off the high pressure line (like I have in the middle of an auto-x) and then there goes ALL of your fluid over EVERYTHING under the hood. Im lucky the thing didnt catch fire when it happend to me.
If it bugs you that bad, invest in the turn one PS pump and pulley. A good investment if you are racing the car like im assuming.
And finally the last piece of advice I can give is that if the pressure needs to escape somewhere, and now it cant get out of the cap because you modify it... well then you could blow off the high pressure line (like I have in the middle of an auto-x) and then there goes ALL of your fluid over EVERYTHING under the hood. Im lucky the thing didnt catch fire when it happend to me.
If it bugs you that bad, invest in the turn one PS pump and pulley. A good investment if you are racing the car like im assuming.
Just one bit of advice cuz it happened to me. You should check the high pressure line running down to the steering rack. I thought my pump was boiling over... well after buying a Turn One pump, i find out the the high pressure line had a fine crack that was spraying upwards, spewing all over the pump and reservoir.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,813
Likes: 15
From: Doylestown PA
Thanks for the advice guys. It's definitely coming from the cap because I could see a nice 1/2" ring of fluid right around the ring of the cap as I had cleaned up the power steering pump and resevoir when I had the heads off. I drove the car, came home and opened the hood and it was obvious that it was leaking out of the cap.
I might be wrong, but I thought the stock cap had a pressure relief valve to allow fluid to overflow instead of potentially cracking the reservoir or rupturing a hose? If that's the case and it's leaking, could the reservoir be overfilled?
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Scrunchie mod ... Take a hair scrunchie, stretch it over the filler neck, replace cap, roll scrunchie up and into the lip of the cap.
Won't stop it, but it'll certainly slow it down.
LT1 application:
My TO pump also puked fluid even filled to the "Add" mark and with a small cooler on the return line. So I purchased an larger, aluminum tank with a baffle inside. Problem solved.
Won't stop it, but it'll certainly slow it down.
LT1 application:
My TO pump also puked fluid even filled to the "Add" mark and with a small cooler on the return line. So I purchased an larger, aluminum tank with a baffle inside. Problem solved.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,813
Likes: 15
From: Doylestown PA
Scrunchie mod ... Take a hair scrunchie, stretch it over the filler neck, replace cap, roll scrunchie up and into the lip of the cap.
Won't stop it, but it'll certainly slow it down.
LT1 application:
My TO pump also puked fluid even filled to the "Add" mark and with a small cooler on the return line. So I purchased an larger, aluminum tank with a baffle inside. Problem solved.
Won't stop it, but it'll certainly slow it down.
LT1 application:
My TO pump also puked fluid even filled to the "Add" mark and with a small cooler on the return line. So I purchased an larger, aluminum tank with a baffle inside. Problem solved.
Do you have a link to the aluminum tank? I'm guessing the plastic resevoir comes off somehow, maybe I'll look into that as another option.
I just wanted to clarify, this isn't just about cosmetics. With our cars, the alternator is right below the power steering pump, so having power steering fluid getting into an electrical device isn't a good thing.
Don't you have the stock cooler on already? This happens to everybody, even with the stock cooler.
I'm in the process of taking out the stock cooler and installing this 24" model. I'm hoping that it will give better cooling and take care of the problem. http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page15.html
I'm in the process of taking out the stock cooler and installing this 24" model. I'm hoping that it will give better cooling and take care of the problem. http://www.perma-cool.com/Catalog/Cat_page15.html
Do you have a link to the aluminum tank? I'm guessing the plastic resevoir comes off somehow, maybe I'll look into that as another option.
I just wanted to clarify, this isn't just about cosmetics. With our cars, the alternator is right below the power steering pump, so having power steering fluid getting into an electrical device isn't a good thing.
I just wanted to clarify, this isn't just about cosmetics. With our cars, the alternator is right below the power steering pump, so having power steering fluid getting into an electrical device isn't a good thing.
An LT1 configuration has the pump below the alternator on the left hand side. The pump is low enough to gravity feed it from the fender mount.
An LS motor has the pump significantly higher in the engine bay an on the right side. I don't see a way to remote mount a tank and still gravity feed the pump.
In hind sight, I probably shouldn't have confused the issue.
But before you go spending hundreds on a TO PS pump, buy $2 package of scrunchies. I think it will surprise you how well it works.
Not sure where yours ended up, but the PS fluid overheating is probably a big part of the story.
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 10,813
Likes: 15
From: Doylestown PA
This article says that by the end of 2000, the cooler was being put on all of the LS1 cars: http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...all/index.html
Not sure where yours ended up, but the PS fluid overheating is probably a big part of the story.
Not sure where yours ended up, but the PS fluid overheating is probably a big part of the story.
I removed about 30cc of fluid, and put on a hair scrunchy, black of course, so we'll see if that helps.
Banned
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 334
Likes: 3
I noticed my 99 ta without the factory power steering cooler had the same issue, cap was always wet. I think the fluid just gets that hot and get pushed out at times. Another thing i noticed is the cap is not vented, so as the fluid and air inside the resivour heat up they gotta go someplace and that seal around the cap is the weakest place to move through.
My 02 with the factory cooler doesn't push the fluid out, but it is still slightly damp with fluid around the outside of the cap.
My 02 with the factory cooler doesn't push the fluid out, but it is still slightly damp with fluid around the outside of the cap.