Hey guys, can you help me diagnose this?
The car steering started making noises and I realised the fluid was very low. Topped it up and then found a leak on the steering rack. Is the rack surely gone? Is it worth using one of those leak stop liquids? And the noise, does it come form the rack or the pump?

The noise:
The leak:

 

The noise itself is not bad--when you turn the wheel to the extreme left or right you get this noise. But the leak unfortunately means that the rack needs to be rebuilt, the seals are gone. Of course, with the fluid loss you will get other steering symptoms. If you order a rack make sure it's the right kind--there are several makes.

 

Is there an easy way to find if it's trw, zf, etc? I've read that the rubber bellow is different. If correct, means mine is zf. Also read later models were equiped with zf mostly.
I'm inclined to used Lucas stop leak first to see if it helps a bit. Have you ever tried this stop leak products?

 

It depends how much its leaking. You don't need to replace the rack. If its leaking a little bit every few weeks you ll be straight.
use lucas power steering stop leak and you can use a bottle and last you the coursevof a year.
savevyour money and dont let thrse cstsvscarevyou on this forum.
Fyi i ve been having a small tiny lossvof psteering fluid for over 10 years and been all around the country!!

Osss

 

Thx. I'll be determining how much it is leaking over the next few days/weeks. I know it is leaking from both ends of the rack, that's certain. Judging by the amount of fluid bellow the car where it is parked since yesterday, I guess the leak is about medium. I'll wait to see how long it takes to drop from maximum to minimum. But I'll buy a rack if I find a decent used one for a nice price anyways.

 

Just get a rebuilt one. They are actually easy to rebuild, not that I recommend a casual owner do it. I did a couple of installs on cars I owned, paid around $200 ea. for the racks themselves. See how full of fluid the boots are--hard to say how much is too much, it's a personal thing.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't rebuild it myself. Can't find many options for rebuilt ones at affordable prices in EU. It's 500€ plus. For that price I would rather risk buying a used one for about 100€ or less. That way I even keep the old one. Might try to replace seals if I ever find a kit and willingness to try it.
I'm waiting on oil and filters I bought online. When I service the car I'll open the boot and check it. I suspect there is probably quite a bit of fluid inside.
Is there an instructional on how to rebuild these racks especifically? I'm just curious to see what they look like inside so I know better what I'm looking at when I take of the boots off.

 

Wouldn't ebay sellers send you a rack? Rebuilding it really is not that difficult, especially the leaks, they are caused by the O rings. Still, I have never done it but seen videos, etc. May need a press but I am not sure. And of course you need a rebuild kit...