Hi,

I got a V70 in good condition from a private seller about two weeks ago and just a few days ago began to see oil underneath and heard a yelling from the power steering pump. Thinking it was burst line of some sort I stopped in a muffler shop to get it replaced and they informed me that my rack and pinion has blown a seal and needs to be replaced for 500 in parts and an additional 500 in labor. I've found the part online for around 250 already but cant really do this myself so I'm kind of stuck on that end. I don't know very much about power steering though and before I go further wanted to ask for some info on just how necessary it is.

I asked in the garage what would happen if I decided I didn't need power steering and just went on without the repair. The attendant told me my pump would seize tear of the serpentine belt my timing would be destroyed and I'd fall into general disarray but that sounded a little dramatic. Is there anyway to remove the power steering and safely continue to use the rack and pinion I have with the blown seal? I'm wondering if the pump can be disengaged or possibly removed entirely and a smaller belt can be put on? Also does the rack and pinion use the power steering fluid as lubrication and would it be dangerous if it was driven with the blown seal without power steering?

Sorry for the lengthy post. Any insight and ideas would be appreciated. The car has 240,000 on it and I'm confident it can go for more but am feeling a bit hesistant about jumping right into a repair that costs nearly 3 times what I paid for it. Thanks, Ryan.

This might be worth a try before replacement. However, your rack might be too far gone. Still might be worth a shot as it will cost you very little $$.

The seals on my 850's rack had a slow leak. Thanks to this flush and replace technique the leak has all but disappeared.

I used the turkey baster removal method. Remove all the fluid you can from the PS resevoir using the baster. Replace the fluid with ATF synthetic (I used Mobil 1). Do this for 3 or 4 days in a row. At that point you'll basically have flushed the rack and replaced the existing fluid with synthetic ATF. As Klaus suggested you might also want to add some Lucas PS treatment. The synthetic apparently cured my rack's leaky seals. The synthetic will clean and revive your seals. It might leak worse initially but should improve.

IMHO, this is well worth a shot. Could save you hundreds...:)

No, you cannot disconnect the PS and safely drive the car. The steering effort would be much too hard and you will hit something, not even thinking of trying to park the car. Besides, there is no belt made for the engine without PS.

Check the PS level. The noise could be a result of the pump being low on fluid. You can use ATF, Dex/Merc III, which is fairly cheap by the quart.

You could also try a 'stop leak' product, either tranny or PS fluid by lucas.

If it is leaking a lot, and you never turn the wheels to max and hold them there, then a new rack is needed. But, do yourself a favor and try to stay away from national chains that do shoddy work. Replacing a rack is very difficult. Tell the shop that FCPGroton has a good one and is fairly cheap?

Klaus

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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Thanks for the reply. Do you have any experience with the plug and seal quick fixes? I'm losing a significant amount of fluid so I'm not sure if it would work.

Unless you think that's worth a shot I guess I'm gonna have to do the repair. I got a second opinion (from Midas which I know isn't great but it's walk-in and offers free inspections) and they thought it should be replaced and said their replacement part cost 629.99. I searched rack and pinions on Advanced Auto Parts' website when I got back and saw 3 Fenco options; 1 AWD and 2 FWD, one that says $260 with factory code 2 and one for $100 with factory code 1. I entered simply 1998 Volvo V70 non-turbo on their website and there is a box under both products saying that they would both fit my car. However, I'm wondering what they difference is and what the factory code might might. Also, it might be worth noting there is another Beck/Arnley option that costs a bit more but doesn't mention anything about factory codes.

If you have a free second and could possibly take a look and shine a little light on which is for me it'd be a big help. Here's the link below:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subcategory_Steering_-49997341_-49997327_10151_10051_-1___?cm_sp=On-Site+Search-_-Redirects-_-L2%3A+Rack+and+Pinion&zoneAssigned=1&top_category=-49997327

Thanks,
Ryan

FCP has one for $350:

http://www.fcpgroton.com/product-exec/product_id/18263/nm/Volvo_V70_AWD_New_Power_Steering_Rack_1998_1999_/category_id/173

Or, for OEM, call Tasca in RI.

http://www.tascaparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=213668

I have no opinion on cheaper parts or how well they hold up. Doing the rack yourself is quite a job!


Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.