JJ Jones

Where is my power steering fluid going? Dosent seem to be leaking any where but just had to fill tank up again

oliver foster

When was the last fill up?
Miles between fill ups?
Any new parts in the steering system that might of had air pockets in it?
The air pockets when displaced with the fluid, would lower the level in the res..

JJ Jones

Oliver, res was low last week so i filled it an flushed it out. bout 400 miles on it and it was low again. may be air but i tried to keep some in res while I was flushing it.

oliver foster

You could try jacking the front axle up and putting it on jack stands. Then turn it full lock to full lock left and right a few times.
Check and add fluid as needed.
Repeat this a few times.
This might help purge any air pockets in the system.
After filling it back up, drive it for a bit and see if the fluid disappears again.

If you still have a problem, leaking steering boxes are pretty common on theses old trucks.

JJ Jones

Ok Thanks Oliver I will try that , Have a great day

jimbo486

Start looking for any obvious external leaks either at the reservoir and/or the steering box. What year truck is this on?

JJ Jones

1993 with 140,000 on the clock

j_martin

Every one I've owned (All 2 of them) has leaked at the input seal on the steering gear. One healed with walmart stop leak PS fluid, and the other (on the beater) needs to be fixed. It went from inconvenience to full drain on the ground overnight.

jimbo486

I noticed a loss of fluid in my powersteering pump some time ago and had no idea where it could have gone. Nothing I found was wet or showed signs of having been coated with fluid. It wasn't until I topped off the reservoir that I found part of the reason for the loss. The input seal on the steering gear box was weeping. No big deal as I was planning to replace the gear entirely anyhow. I simultaneously converted to the vein-type vaccum pump. Upon removing my existing vacuum pump, I noticed a clear-ish fluid run out from behind the drive gear. This definitely wasn't engine oil. I tried to identify it by scent but the ash/soot smell was overpowering. I could only assume powersteering fluid since that is the only component mated to the vacuum pump.

Just something else to consider. It could be the input shaft seal on the powersteering pump itself. If that is the case, reman'd units are relatively inexpensive.