Hello to all!

This is my first time posting in this forum, but I have frequented the Ranger forum several times in the past. However, I recently traded in my Ranger on an '03 SportTrac 4X4 with 38K.

Prior to buying the SportTrac, I had the rack replaced on my Ranger because of a power steering fluid leak coming from inside the passenger-side boot. While you could clearly see the fluid leaking in a very slow drip from the boot, there was also a black sludge accumulated on the outside of the boot and remnants of the drip on top of lower control arm (or at least what I think was the lower control arm - the flat piece of metal extending from the truck out to the wheel underneath the axle and rack and pinion).

This leads me to my question today. I noticed that this same type of black sludge is on the outside of the SportTrac's rack boot, on both sides. There is no visible fluid leak or evidence where fluid has dripped onto the lower control arm. My questions are: 1) should the rack boots be dry; and 2) is the sludge evidence failure of a seal in the rack?

When I test drove the SportTrac, I noticed that the power steering fluid was a little low and asked the dealer about it. I also explained to him my situation with the Ranger and replacement of the rack. He assured me that nothing was wrong with the power steering/rack and pinion in the SportTrac. So before I take it to a mechanic to determine if the rack is leaking, I thought I would pose the questions to the forum's resident experts and get your thoughts. I seached previous posts and could not find anything directly on point.

Any advice you can give will be greatly appreciated.

 

Udpdate on situation:

We I returned home yesterday, I removed the outermost clamp from the boot, and to my dismay, power steering fluid began streaming out. The fluid was red and looked very fresh. I then went inside, called the dealer and explained the situation. He stated that he may have overfilled the power steering fluid before I bought the truck, and the fluid that had accumulated in the boot was the excess. As I said, the power steering fluid look fresh and did not smell burnt or anything, but I wonder if there is truth in his statement that overfilling the power steering fluid resevoir will cause the excess fluid to accumulate in the boot. Can anyone validate?

I should also add that the level in the fluid resevoir is still on the MAX line, it has not decreased.