Ok so this is my first post so bare with me. I have a 2000 V70 that has a power steering fluid leak. I know if I take it to a mechanic he's going to tell me I need a whole new rach and want to charge me $2000 so I'm trying to fix it on my own since it's all right there under the car. So it's leaking from around the bellow boot on the passenger side of the car and if I fill it up it takes about 24 hours to totally leak altogether. I took of the wheel, disconnected the tie rod, and removed the clamps that hold the boot in place. I pulled back the boot that covers the rack shaft (that goes into the seal in the rack I guess) and there appears to be 2 sources of leak. Fluid seems to be coming out of the seal for one BUT also there is a machined hole at the end of the shaft farthest from the seal that has fluid pouring out of it. I guess my question would be is that hole supposed to be there supplying fluid to the boot or should it be plugged with a set screw or something that could have fallen into the boot??? The hole is right next to a machined groove and I'm thinking there may be a seal inside the shaft that may be bad. Is it more likely that the seal the shaft goes into needs replace, or could it be the pump? Can I replace the seal myself or is it swedged on there and I need a whole new rack. Ugh, anyway, thanks for reading this long winded post, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

It's Christmas Day and I cant drive to dinner with friends because I took car to dealer repair and 4 hrs later I take my car home and it "mysteriously" starts making noise, whining noise and gets louder when accelerating. AND, steering fluid all over my garage floor, and cant steer or turn. What did you find out? as I cannot afford a whole new rack....and now dont trust the dealer repair.
Your help would be my Christmas present! LoveLight

 

Sorry for the bad news, but I found out that the seals in my rack were bad and needed a new rack. Rather than paying a fancy Volvo outfit, I did it myself. This was by no means a beginners fix, but I enlisted the help of a mechanical buddy, researched it online, watched the videos, put on some old nasty clothes, and for the $250.00 cost of a refurbished/ remanufactured rack, I was back in business before long. I did have to do it twice because the guy I bought the replacement rack from sent me the wrong one first go around and I didn't realize it till I went to install the replacement. It too 2 hours to remove the rack the 1st time, and 20 minutes to remove it the second (learning curve). 2 hours to install 1st time, 20 minutes the second (see the trend)? If you are not mechanically inclined then I would recommend finding a garage that would be willing to replace the rack for 4 - 5 hours labor IF they let you purchase the part. You can find a re-manned one for between $200 - $300 online plus core charge of $50 which they will refund to you when you return the leaky rack. My guess is that Volvo would want $1700 - $2200 to do the job, forget that, Hope this helps.