I have a 1992 F250 4x4 (351w). My power steering went out last night and when I opened the hood I noticed that the power steering fluid cap was gone. I made a makeshift cap out of a water bottle and refilled the fluid (ATF type F), but it started making a whiny/grinding noise when I would turn and the fluid leaked right back out. Looking at it today in the daylight I noticed that there is a gap between my cab and my bed on the driver's side that isn't there on the passenger side, the driver's side front tire is awfully close to the bumper (possibly unrelated), and I found a spot under the truck that I think the fluid is leaking from. I also found some pieces in my driveway that may have come off my truck but I'm not sure. I attached some pictures of everything in case that helps. Any info/advice would be awesome, thanks!

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This is my makeshift cap, the connection to the right feels loose. I can wiggle it around a bit, not sure if that is normal

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This is the possible leak spot I found.

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These are the unknown pieces I found in my driveway, not sure what they go to

 

I think you have a couple different issues that have manifested at the same time. The leaking power steering stuff just wouldn't cause body alignment issues, and vice versa.

I would suggest cleaning/degreasing the parts you suspect are leaking, then top off the fluid and check for leaks both while running and not. It's possible that it leaks everywhere you indicated, but at least you can figure out the worst leak right away.

Check your cab/body mounts and your suspension for missing/broken pieces that would cause the body to shift.

 

A broken frame near or at the steering box could possibly cause some of these issues. I believe that the high pressure hose should be able to be turned at the pump side -I believe that is normal. But you have an apparent leak at the O rings.

Take a flashlight and look closely at the frame -make sure that there isn't any rust thru nor cracks.

Then I would carefully jack up the truck and see if there is articulation of the frame anywhere.

 

Behind the steering box is a common area for cracks.

 

Alright, I did some more looking around and found some things that didn't look right. I'm not sure what these things are called (not much mechanic experience) but I'll post pictures.

The rubber is cracked here
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More cracked rubber
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This is for sure the spot where the fluid leak is coming from
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Here is a zoomed out picture to show where all of these are located
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So is it possible the parts that have the cracked rubber pieces could have caused any of this and need replaced? If so, what are they called? Also, what is the name of the part where the leak is coming from? I'm assuming that for sure needs to be replaced. Sorry for not knowing what any of these parts are called, hopefully the pictures will help.

 

1 and 2 are just dust boots for your tie rods. That is where the grease is supposed to be. Not a big deal if you grease them often. Number 3 is the bottom of your steering box. Looks wet but it is lower than your lines so the fluid will go down hill. I would clean around the box and lines then start up your truck, move the steering back and forth and try to see the leak.

 

I did start the truck and turn the wheels, the leak is definitely coming from number 3, so does the steering box need to be replaced or is there a repair that can be done? I included pictures 1 and 2 because of how close my driver's side front tire is to the bumper (pictured in the original post), I thought that might have something to do with it. I looked over the entire underside and I couldn't find any bolts or brackets loose or missing that could have cause it to move so I thought those dust covers may have had something to do with it. I guessing that's probably not the case?

 

The leak can be fixed by replacing/rebuilding the steering gear box. The rubber pieces are just dust boots for those particular joints and would not cause the other issues.

Post up some pics of the frame on the outboard side of the steering gear, suspension, and other cab mount points. There may be clues there you aren't aware of that someone here can recognize and suggest a way to fix it.

 

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There are some more pictures, not sure if any of them are useful though. I was doing some researching, is it possible that my front end just needs an alignment? I know I need to replace the steering gear box to fix my leak, but is it possible the alignment is off and that is why my tire is so close to my bumper? If so, could that have put too much stress on the pitman arm and cause my gear box to leak?

 

I am wondering if your leaf spring bushing is bad or ball joint. Can you jack it up and move the tire around by hand see if there is play? I don't know how handy you are but I replaced my steering box, pump, lines, and the cooler line that goes around under the front of the oil pan. Think I only had about $200 total in parts. Got them at oreilly's. Your not running really big tires. Your steering box bottom bushing could have worn enough that it took out the seal.

 

If it was a 150 i would say radius arm bushing would do that. That's why i am thinking leaf spring bushing on the 250

 

I'm going to jack it up tomorrow and see if I can see anything different. Thanks for all of the replies!

 

The bed looks to be in the correct position / line, but there are a number of things suffering the effects of corrosion forward of this --extensive rust related wear in your suspension, cab mounts with what appears to be some stretching in the frame along with stretching/cracking/separation adjacent to the steering box and in your leaf spring assemblies/mounts. Your cab mounts are "hiding" some of this movement (in the rubber) but appear to be "leaning downward/forward". I'd first start with getting a new steering box then pull out the tape measure to get point to point dimensions along your frame rails, then measure points along the front leaf spring "arc" where things also appear to have moved forward (up the "arc" drawing the tire closer to the bumper).

The good news is it's a F-250 with a bit more frame to work with --- if this were a F-150, we'd be looking at a new frame or extensive welding/reinforcement.