I have a '98 V70 non-turbo wagon. The power steering fluid has been leaking pretty badly for a while. I took it to a local repair shop to have it checked out. They said something is cracked in the steering rack. The estimate to fix it is $900. I can get a new rack for $450 or a rebuilt rack for $250 from FCP Groton. I am wondering if this job is very difficult to do. Are there any special tools required?

Also, in the estimate they have have listed "Flush power steering fluid," is this really necessary? The only reason I could think of to need to do this is for possibility of metal shavings in the fluid. Most of it will probably leak out when removing the rack anyway.

Any advice/help appreciated, thank you.

 

Most of the fluid will drain when the rack is removed.

You will have to somewhat support the engine and drop the rear of the subframe to get the steering rack out.

 

Hi, my experince is from 850-94 which started to leak dropwise at pinion topgasket. to remove the rack you need to loosen the subframe in front a little and in the frame rear to the max. when supporting the engine&tranny from the bottom, I had to lift it up by one additional inch to get it out from left hand tyre space. what ever you do most of the ps fluid comes out anyway so I used new when installing but added an inline filter to the return line to make sure the circulating fluid keeps clean. it's pretty tight job under the car so take your time, don't hurry.
the new pinion top gasket was 30Eur at Volvo, replacement more fun than rack removal but cleaning the pinion togasket surface took some time. here the volvo replacement is 900Eur, remanufactured one 600Eur, my costs 30 for gasket and 20 for ps-fluid. hoping it lasts few years, now in use for some months only.
br tapsa

 

So, by subframe you don't just mean that rear engine mount? You mean the whole frame that goes around the engine? It is held on in the rear by some triangular brackets bolted to car with two bolts and to the frame with one bolt and a rubber bushing? Any advice on a good way to remove fluid lines? Can I leave them on until I drop it a little?

 

Hi, yes I mean the whole frame, loosening the front bolts a bit, removing the two bolts on trianguals and loosening the main bolts to max without removing and dropping the frame, supporting the engine+gearbox from bottom. the fluid lines do bend but unbended are easiest to uninstall, prepare good caps to prevent dirt penetration in either direction, I flushed both linesbefore reinstalling, new seals are recommended (I didn't have those handy so used old ones). It's pretty tight spot so be careful not to spoil pipe nuts with bulky tools.

good luck!
Tapsa

 

Well I got the parts yesterday, it came with new o-rings so I don't have to worry about that. But there is a tag on it that talks about bleeding the lines with a brake bleeder pump. I understand why I may need to do this, but how do you hooka brake bleeder pump to a power steering system?

 

Hi, for me flushing the pipes was to get any dirt out fromthere, bleeding is about getting air out? without a nipple as with brakes! I justfilled the system quite slowly, having both front wheels off the ground and slowly turning the steering wheel from left to right several times engine running and topping up the fluid and getting the air out of the system.
when you start, sip the ps first out from container and you get down only what is inside the pipes and that's not much compared to what you have in the container.
And print this outhttp://volvospeed.com/Repair/power_steering.pdfas it gave me lot of confidence to start the job in the first place.
good luck
Tapsa

 

Hello, Sorry I forgot to post how the repair went. Everything went fairly well. I had a very hard time getting the steering knuckle (not sure it that is what it is called, it is the splined part on the end of the steering wheel shaft) on to the shaft coming out of the steering rack. I had to call a buddy and it took us about 4 hours of trying different things. Also I didn't press the bolts into the new rack before I put it in (I thought they would be in the way) so I found that I couldn't put them in with it in the car. So I just replaced them with some stainless bolts. Of course I never thought to check the ball joints, so when I took it to get aligned they told me the pass front lower ball joint is bad. They aligned just enough to be able to drive without tearing up the tires. I checked it myself at home and it is pretty bad. Never ending. Anyway thank you to all who posted tips and advice.