Thread: Daily driver leaking power steering fluid.....

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Went to Toyota for oil change today and was told our Highlander was leaking power steering fluid from the rack and pinion. Estimate to fix $1899.00. The Highlander has 172k on it and is a 2003.
I had a similar issue on a Honda over 10 years ago and used a stops leak product that stopped the problem over two years. I have been reading about LUCAS RACK & PINION STOP LEAK and hearing how it works really well, anyone use this? Thanks Steve.

Steve,
Can't say about the stop leak, but in general the LUCAS products are good in my experience. On that $1900, you can get a replacement unit for about $400 with tax - 2003 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER Rack and Pinion Complete Unit Giving the stop leak a try can't hurt, right? Then if it doesn't work you can swap it out on a Saturday.

you never noticed this leak ? 1899 $ will but a lot of fluid ....

racks can be resealed pretty cheap. last place to take a car is a dealership.

Originally Posted by shine

racks can be resealed pretty cheap. last place to take a car is a dealership.

Good idea, Shine. A complete seal kit is only $25 to $40 depending on the brand name. And a good independent garage would probably welcome the work if a guy didn't want to deal with the mess.

I grabbed a couple T-Bird power racks at the U-Pull-It last summer for $25.00 each....might be worth a couple visits of yards in the area Steve.......

Originally Posted by stovens

Went to Toyota for oil change today and was told our Highlander was leaking power steering fluid from the rack and pinion. Estimate to fix $1899.00. The Highlander has 172k on it and is a 2003.
I had a similar issue on a Honda over 10 years ago and used a stops leak product that stopped the problem over two years. I have been reading about LUCAS RACK & PINION STOP LEAK and hearing how it works really well, anyone use this? Thanks Steve.

I've used it a couple of times and it works well.

I think it will be tough to find a shop to re seal your rack. #1 they don't have the equipment and #2 more profit to just change it out. Gotta be careful @ the stealership as they like to up sale those free oil changes. The Lucas steering additive works great, just don't ad the whole bottle as it is thick and can cause stiff steering on cold days till the engine builds some heat. We use the Lucas at the shop quite a bit.

of course tho, all that $1899 will go into the US economy-----------

Originally Posted by HWORRELL

The Lucas steering additive works great, just don't add the whole bottle as it is thick and can cause stiff steering on cold days till the engine builds some heat. .

It does do that, my Vette is a little stiff until she warms up.

Thanks for all the info, in general the cars just go in for oil changes, since it cost about the same for me to buy the oil, recycle the oil(hard to find a place to take it!) buy the filter, jack up the car,etc... so it goes to the dealer for these little things, then they do the free inspections which usually flag me to a problem or a might be a problem, that most of the time isn't. Funny thing is the first thing I did was google rack and pinion for this vehicle and found what Roger found you can get a rebuilt unit for 400 bucks, and I guess I could probably install it with some manual or online help, but I figured before paying too much an additive might be a good place to start.
Hoss - I haven't seen any fluid marks under any of the cars. So the leak can't be that bad. But I will monitor the fluid level going foward, and plan to crawl under it to see if I can find a leak, once the rain stops and the ground drys a little.
Mostly I've had excellent success with "Miracle " additives, like stops leak to the radiator for a head gasget leak in the truck maybe 70K miles ago, no leaks, no problems there yet, and in our old Honda Prelude that had a power steering pump leak, that the dealer on a oil change pointed out. Same scenario there, need new pump, to the tune of 1200 bucks, I told him the car wasn't worth more than twice that at the time, and then he side barred me, and suggested a stop leak product that I can't remember, that worked for the rest of the time we owned that car, and probably still is! So I'll go out and buy some Lucus(Prince of Lightness! ) and give it a try! If that doesn't work, I'll be asking advice on replacing the rack unit with a used or rebuilt one. Thanks all of you for your input.

Originally Posted by HWORRELL

I think it will be tough to find a shop to re seal your rack. #1 they don't have the equipment and #2 more profit to just change it out.

Isn't it a pretty easy/straightforward R&R, a handful of cylinder mounting bolts, the tie rod ends & drag link and a couple of hydraulic lines?

Originally Posted by rspears

Isn't it a pretty easy/straightforward R&R, a handful of cylinder mounting bolts, the tie rod ends & drag link and a couple of hydraulic lines?

Not sure with out eyeballing it. Probably pretty straight forward as far as the R & R goes. Book time shows 4.2 hrs and ain't very many jobs that you can beat the book time.