I have a 1986 F250 Diesel with a Power Steering problem.

I use the truck as a snow plow truck. I had all the services done at Jiffy Lube last week. (Mistake, I know) I remember seeing the guy ad a bottle of PS fluid to the PS resevoir. The bottle was probably 12 ounces, but I don't know if they added the whole bottle.

I plowed snow with the truck the next day, and the PS worked fine. But the next day when I went to use the truck the PS was not working, and there was a "pinkish" puddle on the ground under the truck. I stopped at a checker on my way to plow, added half a bottle (16 ounces) of PS fluid, but as soon as I started the truck the fluid leaked right out on the ground. The hoses are fine, so no leaking there. In reading here on the site, I am finding that any fluid to the PS should be ATF fluid. I think the guys at the Jiffy Lube added the wrong fluid, which caused it to leak out, then when I tried to add more PS fluid, it didn't like that either. I probably drove 20 miles on the pump with no fluid. I am not sure if all the fluid would have leaked out or not.

How likely is it there is damage to the pump itself, or the seals? Should I just try adding ATF fluid at this point? If there is still fluid in the system, does the fluid need to be flushed? How much fluid does the PS system hold? - Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

Where is it leaking from? The bottom of the steering box above the pitman arm? If so, it's a $7 seal that you'll need a pitman arm puller and a pair of snap ring pliers to change.

20 miles without fluid is likely to have damaged the pump somewhat. Can you still turn the pump by hand without the belt on it? If it'll turn, but turns hard, it's likely that it'll still work, but will make more noise than usual on start up with fresh fluid.

Until you fix the leak, you won't have power steering.

Adding the wrong fluid could cause the pump to burn up or the seals to dry out and then leak, like you are experiencing.

I use Prestone power steering fluid with stop leak in the yellow jugs. The main reason I wanted the stop leak is because the only thing on my steering system that has been changed is the pitman arm seal and the power steering pump. I want to know that the rest of the seals in the gear box won't be as prone to leakage. I believe the stop leak helps keep the PS pump quieter as well.

The main places you want to look at for leaks are the power steering hoses and the metal "power steering cooler" line that wraps around the engine cross-member. Make sure that they are tight, and have fresh rubber hoses with good band clamps on them. The metal line might have a rusted through hole in it, because of the frequent use in (I'm guessing) salty snow. Then, you'll want to look at the pressure hose that comes out of the side of the pump onto the top of the gearbox. Make sure that isn't leaking either.

The reservoir on the back of the power steering pump is sealed with a large O-ring. It's possible this seal has gone bad and the reservoir just isn't holding fluid anymore. If so, a power steering pump seal kit is all you need to get back to driving easy again.

The bottom of the steering box has a set of seals on the pitman arm shaft as well. These mainly leak when the truck is cranked and the PS pump applies pressure to the seal on the steering box. When this happens, it'll blow all the fluid out of the box onto the pitman arm and the ground while it drains your reservoir in a hurry.

Good luck and welcome to FTE.

 

The three places I have seen them leak is the line connections on the box, the pitman arm seal on the bottom of the box, and the oil cooler line that coils around on the front crossmember.

If it turns out to be the bottom seal, I would get a rebuilt box. After steering that heavy diesel around for all of it's life, and now moving the plow around also, it's probably wore out.

I drove about 50 miles on a steering pump that didn't have much fluid in it, and it survived without any harm to it, so don't count it out yet, try it first.