Steering Fluid Leak DIY Tips/Warnings

[Dathaeus]

Hey guys, so the shop quoted me all these parts plus labor for a steering fluid leak. I have a friend who is an experienced boat mechanic and willing to help me out with this project so I'd like to know is there any critical process or part etc. that I should look out for or be particularly careful of? I know in any job like this there might be that one thing, if you knew about it, it could have saved you another 5 hours of heartache.

I did find this video which seems pretty awesome and my friend said it should be pretty easy to replace any hose there if needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_kC9qhCOeA

And these are the parts that was recommended I needed for this shop to do my repairs:

$68 PS Reservoir
$20 PS Res Cap
$87 Return Pipe
$300 Pump to Rack
$55 Reservoir to Pump
$59 Cooler to Reservoir
$130 Rack to Cooler

(overhaul PS system)
+ $330 labor

[Oli77]

Most definitely do not forget to buy the power steering line disconnect tool. It will save you time for sure.
ttps://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62
(https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62)
The trick is to put the tool on the upper power steering line entering the cooler near the expansion tank. This allows you to move the tube out about one inch. At that point, you remove the tool, and now you can remove the tube the rest of the way.
Then you can do the hose right below.

I had no problem getting the nut on the steering rack off from below the car. I only did one of the lines. Then found out it is the line from the reservoir to the coolant, NOT the line from the coolant to the rack that was leaking. Oh well, I will get it eventually.

[ELCID86]

Most definitely do not forget to buy the power steering line disconnect tool. It will save you time for sure.
https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62
(ttps://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62)
The trick is to put the tool on the upper power steering line entering the cooler near the expansion tank. This allows you to move the tube out about one inch. At that point, you remove the tool, and now you can remove the tube the rest of the way.
Then you can do the hose right below.

I had no problem getting the nut on the steering rack off from below the car. I only did one of the lines. Then found out it is the line from the reservoir to the coolant, NOT the line from the coolant to the rack that was leaking. Oh well, I will get it eventually.

Thanks guys. Oli can you fix the link? (This is on my To Do list).

[Oli77]

Fixed the link, I also have a good video link I should post.

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[Dathaeus]

Fixed the link, I also have a good video link I should post.

Sent from my SM-G935P using TapatalkPost! Thanks

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[Oli77]

Thought it was a video link. It is as good, if not better than a video.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=414455

The 2 banjo bolts on the rack need two crush washers each (should come with the new hoses). The M14 bolt takes 26 ft-Lb. The M16 bolt takes 30 ft-Lb.

I filled it up with ATF Dexron III. I did not do what the guy did at the end of the link. This is overkill I think.

[Sailor]

I can't speak to the E46 system, but suspect it is similar to the E36 setup. My 328i was leaking fluid slowly for some time and I waited for better weather to tear into it. Finally on a nice spring day I decided not to put it off any longer. First step was to find the exact location of the leak by getting every component around it squeaky clean with brake spray - fluid from leaks tends to travel down and back, so make sure you clean the highest wet area first, as that will likely be the source of the leak. On my car it turned out to be a crack in the return hose that I found by touching the hose with a kleenex after running the car a few minutes - the exact location of the leak became obvious. The toughest part was removing the upper clamp - I ended up loosening the reservoir for better access, then cutting the clamp with a dremel tool and replacing it with a standard hose clamp. Replacement hoses priced from about $13 to $25 on RockAuto - this source might horrify purists, but it works for me on some basic non-critical parts. For about 40 bucks and a couple hours of work my system was restored - the $300 I saved was later spent wisely on women and beer...

[danewilson77]

I can't speak to the E46 system, but suspect it is similar to the E36 setup. My 328i was leaking fluid slowly for some time and I waited for better weather to tear into it. Finally on a nice spring day I decided not to put it off any longer. First step was to find the exact location of the leak by getting every component around it squeaky clean with brake spray - fluid from leaks tends to travel down and back, so make sure you clean the highest wet area first, as that will likely be the source of the leak. On my car it turned out to be a crack in the return hose that I found by touching the hose with a kleenex after running the car a few minutes - the exact location of the leak became obvious. The toughest part was removing the upper clamp - I ended up loosening the reservoir for better access, then cutting the clamp with a dremel tool and replacing it with a standard hose clamp. Replacement hoses priced from about $13 to $25 on RockAuto - this source might horrify purists, but it works for me on some basic non-critical parts. For about 40 bucks and a couple hours of work my system was restored - the $300 I saved was later spent wisely on women and beer...Great advice

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[SaltyNC]

Most definitely do not forget to buy the power steering line disconnect tool. It will save you time for sure.
ttps://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62
(https://www.amazon.com/CTA-Tools-3466-Transmission-Disconnect/dp/B009VI9P62)


Thanks for the link to the tool and the advice. I'm hoping my PS leak is just the o-ring under the cap, but I imagine sooner or later I'll do a swap.

Salty

[Dathaeus]

Yup, thanks guys, I think I have enough to go on to diagnose first to see where the leak is and then if needed, replace parts... I hope I dont run into "something stupid" that makes me regret this and down a car for over a week!

[JohnnyGraphic]

I just replaced the PS reservoir and the 4 hoses. It totally pissed me off when I came to a dead stop since I needed the special tool to remove the hoses. I think they are available at Autozone. But I bought mine at FCP. Pretty quick shipping and inexpensive.

It made ALL the difference in the world. You do have to finagle the thing on there, but once you do, you just pull the hose back. Once it stops, remove the tool and the hose comes off the rest of the way.

In my case, the PS fluid was leaking into the alternator and giving me a red battery warning light. So, I also swapped out the alternator while I was in there. Same with the PS pump. Not hard to do at all.

[Dathaeus]

Ok so we went under and found the leak not much from the reservoir or the hoses, but from the entry to the CV joint area as you see from my friend pointing at it under the rubber cover/(boot?):

31813

So he was wondering what is the least amount of work we can do to fix this... do we need to replace the whole CV joint and the center arm? Or is that part of the piston ram seal, or....

Last invoice the shop gave me they said I also need the control arms replaced, SMFH... I dont think that has anything to do with this but just letting you know, because I dont know, and dont want to leave any info out. They already supposed to have replaced the bushings, not sure how they did not see that then, but that may be a whole another story.

[Smolck]

Ok so we went under and found the leak not much from the reservoir or the hoses, but from the entry to the CV joint area as you see from my friend pointing at it under the rubber cover/(boot?):

31813

So he was wondering what is the least amount of work we can do to fix this... do we need to replace the whole CV joint and the center arm? Or is that part of the piston ram seal, or....

Last invoice the shop gave me they said I also need the control arms replaced, SMFH... I dont think that has anything to do with this but just letting you know, because I dont know, and dont want to leave any info out. They already supposed to have replaced the bushings, not sure how they did not see that then, but that may be a whole another story.

That's just a tie rod and boot. You could just replace the boot, but a set of tie rods isn't a bad idea. If the steering rack is leaking out the side and into that boot, then you probably need a new rack.

[Dathaeus]

That's just a tie rod and boot. You could just replace the boot, but a set of tie rods isn't a bad idea. If the steering rack is leaking out the side and into that boot, then you probably need a new rack.So all that is pretty easy to do as well?


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[Smolck]

So all that is pretty easy to do as well?


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Yep. I'd replace the tie rod and boot first and keep an eye on it (tie rod has to come off to replace the boot, so replace it because most people destroy them removing the outer tie rod joint). Even if you have to replace the rack its held to the subframe by 2 bolts, there are 2 lines connected to it, and remove the two tie rods and it comes right out. Very easy.

[johnrando]

Great info all!

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[SaltyNC]

So all that is pretty easy to do as well?


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The same guy you linked to 50sKid also has one where he replaces the tie rods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75Qt_O5x2M0

I like that guy's videos. He has one where he keeps spilling coolant. It happened so many times, by the end, I was just rolling on the floor.

I'm going to be replacing tie rods next weekend unless something comes up. I tried to do a quick steering wheel alignment before taking it into to have it aligned, and my outer tie rods were seized. Grasping the tire at 9 and 3 o'clock and rocking it had some play and clunking, so mine needed to be done.

FCP Euro has a little better price than ECS, and amazingly they will warrant the tie rods for life. Hard to believe they do that on wear items, but they do.

I went with Lemforder, since they are the OE mfg. Same thing, cheaper price.

Left Lemforder 32106777503
Right Lemforder 32106777504
BMW Steering Rack Bellow Kit - Febi 32131096910 (Need a CV boot crimping tool or some other rigged way of crimping the clamp. Some people use zip ties. You need two of these if doing both sides.)

I didn't have one, so I ordered a tie rod puller and an offset CV boot crimping tool.
http://a.co/fZ7DmB8
http://a.co/3suHSRC

That puller linked to above is probably of low quality, but should do the job. A handy hint I saw one guy mention that I thought was a good idea is to use the puller and get it under a lot of tension, but don't keep cranking down on it until it pops off violently. Instead, he got it under a lot of tension, then gave the tie rod knuckle a couple of light taps with a hammer, and it popped loose very nicely.

Salty

[Sailor]

Yes, that's a good way to loosen any tapered bolts that have almost seized in their tapered pockets. A good sized brass drift to whack on will keep you from dinging the surrounding metal. By the way, last month I was checking some cars at the local Pic n Save (You-pull-em) and found a 330 that someone must have spent some suspension/brake bucks on. Some of the parts had been pulled already, but it had pretty fresh Meyle HD control arms, tie rods, and a nice aftermarket sway bar (haven't measured it yet.) Figured somewhere down the road I might need them, or could sell them to someone who did, and bought them all for under $100. The control arms even have nice 50/50 bushings. Danged if an alignment job on my car a week and a half later didn't reveal worn outer ball joints. It took most of a Saturday to do the swap - a bear to remove the inner ball joint nuts, but was well worth it. The car drives super now and I'm curious to see how my new Cooper Zeons do over time - so far they feel terrific.