Hey guys, long time no posting i know. I'm having a bit of an issue with my '93 Volvo 850 NA.


Last night we drove around and the car seemed fine. Woke up this morning to go to the junk yard as they had an 850 we were looking to get some things from, and the power steering started acting up. Seemed to be making a lot of noise, and was starting to tighten up a bit mainly when standing still or slowly moving. I checked the fluid level and it was pretty low, so I topped it off. Drove to the junk yard and back and still seemed to be making lots of noise, but with adding the fluid it wasn't tightening up like before. When we got back into town, I checked the fluid again, and it was low again.


I came on here and read some of the posts having to do with the power steering, tested the pump by starting the car, and taking the cap off of the PS pump. The pump seems to be just fine as the fluid was moving around quite a bit, more than just the vibrations from the engine.


I put the car up on a jack and found the spot that it's leaking from. Now I'm not a mechanic, but I'm pretty sure there's a rubber boot on the inner side of what I think is the tie rod. There's a metal brake line that runs right over the top of the rubber boot, and seems to have worn it down or something, because the boot has a small split on the top part right about where the brake line sits.

I'm going back to the junkyard tomorrow to grab the PS pump from the other car, my main concern is getting this rubber boot off and a new one put on. I couldn't really find anything in my Haynes manual as to this specific part, so I'm kind of stumped on where to go from here. Any suggestions would be more than appreciated.


Thanks guys!

 

You might be able to find a new split-style boot (sort of like a replacement CV joint boot)

Can you post a picture of what you are concenred about?

 

It seems to me that the pump is fine but it is the R&P that is failing. I would replace the R&P unit with a rebuilt product, but this job seems to require undoing the rear portion of the subframe. Or, you may be able to defer the repair by adding PWS fluid, unless the car is already unsafe to drive.


JPN

 

I don't believe the car is unsafe to drive yet. I've been looking around and I'm not sure how to do it, but I've seen replacement R&P rubber bellows around. Thats the part that's split open. I looked at it last night just to be sure that's what's leaking, and I just turned the rubber bellow around so the split was on bottom, and it just poured out PWS fluid.

I'm going to try to get a replacement bellow first, because I can't really afford the whole R&P rack. Thanks for the help guys I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

 

The boot over the end of the rack is notdesigned to keep the fluid from leaking, only to keep grime off of the ends of the rack. If you just change the boots you are just wasting your time IMHO.

My Platinum had a power steering leak when I got it and, to my disbelief, Valvoline Max Life Transmission Stop Leak actually fixed it. I sucked all of the old fluid out, filled it up with the Max Life stuff and ran the steering from stop to stop a few times, sucked it out again, refilled and did the routine over. All said I think I went through 3 or 4 drain and fill iterations. It hasn't leaked a drop since.

I rarely trust the "miracle in a can" products but it was cheap enough to try and it I figured that it would nothurt anything even if it does notwork.

...Lee

 

Hey Chuba517,

Lee is correct; the boot is merely there to protect the oil seal on the end of the rack from the elements. Since it is torn, dirt and grime have now gotten in there and probably worn the oil seal to the point where it is currently leaking.

Lee's idea of doing a fluid flush might work but i would not bet the farm on it. Even if it does, you still need to take off the damaged boot, clean out all the grime that is in there now, and replace with a new boot. And of course, bend that pipe out of the way that was rubbing on it in the first place.

If you are going to do that much work, you should replace the oil seal that is leaking while you are in there. What I do not know is if that oil seal is available; it may only come as part of a rebuilt R&P; a quick call to your local dealer's parts dept will tell you this.

But if the bushing behind the oil seal is worn excessively, then even replacing the seal won't fix it; you will have to replace the R&P at that point.

After saying all this, this is not a job for a novice mechanic; it would quite difficult to do this job w/o air tools. And we are talking about the mechanism that steers your car; if you mess something up, you could end up driving into a concrete wall; that would be a real drag and could ruin your whole day... What mechanical experience do you have? Have you ever done an engine R&R (remove and replace) or a clutch job?

Shout back,
gdog

 

Yeah, I definitely went with Lee's advice on the fluid flush. I got a few bottles of ATF stop leak, and I've put about 1 1/2 in there, and been moving the wheel from lock to lock, and it's still leakin fluid out from the boot, but it seems to have slowed it down. So I'm hoping that tomorrow I can finish the fluid flush and hopefully slow it down enough for me to figure out what I can do financially.

As for my experience, I've never actually done any work on suspension/steering systems before, besides minor things like the r&r of steering wheel. I've done things from water pumps to brakes to fuel injectors, but never anything this major lol. Definitely nervous about dealing with the tie rod. Doesn't seem that it will be that hard, and I'm pretty confident I could get the boot off, but I don't think I want to touch the R&P system at all.


I'm going to continue the fluid flush tomorrow, and hopefully it slows it down significantly. If not I'll have to see what I can do in the means of taking it to a shop.

Thanks for the advice guys I'll keep you updated

 

Well, after getting everything off, and pulling the old boot off, I found the source of the issue. As I pulled the boot off, chunks of what looks like an orange gasket came with it, and there's nothing left for a seal around the steering box. Seems as though I'm looking at purchasing a new R&P and having it installed. Only thing that sucks is I don't have that kind of money right now lol. I'm going to be calling the Volvo dealership tomorrow to see if they carry seals for the steering box.

If anybody out there has any info on where I might be able to get one, or if they're even available, I'd greatly appreciate it!


Thanks for all the advice guys!


Tim

 

Good luck, and let us know what happens

 

So I called the local Volvo dealership around here, and I guess they have a Bellow/seal kit. So I ordered it because the parts guy said that it comes with the seal for the steering box. $34.95 not bad, as long as it comes with the right seal LOL. I'll keep you guys posted.

Thanks!

 

I think you got the wrong kit, that kit only seals the bellows and not the rack itself.

Check this thread out, it is for a right hand drive but it may be helpful to you. There are two different racks as well and you should get the part number off of the old rack to get the correct re-seal kit.

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/power_steering.pdf

...Lee