Power steering leak question and other misadventures....

[Nemesis Prime]

06 Lincoln @ 156k km loud whining sound when turning the wheel plus loss of reddish brown fluid , suspected power steering leak, took car in to local ford dealership. Service request concurs with my assessment (powers steering fluid leak) but dealership opted to pass on repair due to lack of replacement parts. Took car in for service on whim but I would appreciate advice on difficulty of replacement on high pressure and other miscellaneous power steering lines. I have yet to locate point of leak but as a side note, my LS was stolen mid April from my place of employment and recovered a day later. These jokers stole spare change including my box of cleaning supplies, the battery and full size jaguar spare wheel and basically vandalised the interior... I digress but have nonetheless included pictures of some of the damage and my replacement of the drivers side window and regulator. Any advice on steering fluid line parts, cost and scope of replacement would be appreciated...

 

[SultanGris]

Don't throw that regulator away if it still fixable. Had the window go out in my car and I bought two new ones and they were both junk, I ended up having to take my original one in to get rebuilt.

 

[04_Sport_LS]

Yes... the whine and reddish brown fluid indicates an issue with the power steering system. IIRC... there is a maintenance interval for the power steering fluid. The whine usually indicates the pump is low on fluid... or may be going bad.

If the leak is at the rack...
the leak may be as simple as a couple o-rings on the rack going bad. The O-rings are available from the dealer... or can be sourced through a local auto parts store. They are teflon... and can be a bit tricky to install.

If the leak is at the tie rod ends of the rack..
the whole rack needs to be replaced... unless you get the parts and rebuild it yourself. Complete rack seal kits are avsilable... but it's not an easy job to rebuild the rack.

Don't remember off the top of my head what it is... but usually every 6 months to a year... I suck out the PS fluid with a suction gun... and top it back off with Mercron V.

The steering rack is no longer available from the dealer... and dealers won't install aftermarket parts... because they refuse to warranty them.

Aftermarket racks and hoses are available. Some hoses and the pressure switch are still available through the dealer. I think the pump may be too.