Power Steering Stop Leak?

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I bought a 10 year old BMW which had sat in a garage for the last 5 years from a relative. The power steering fluid leaks at the rack seal on the driver's side (the fluid drips from the bellows).

Would anyone care to offer their opinions on using a power steering stop leak product and if so which one? I'm also considering trying Valvoline 75k Mile P.S. Fluid as it advertises it reduces leaks as well.

The leak right now is not atrocious but needs to be at least reduced or stopped.

Thanks
 
I would give Auto RX a try first, then move on to other options if it does not work.

The Maxlife PS fluid might be a good option after the ARX.
 
has a mercedes with a power steering leak, actually lots of them. bought a cheap bottle of lucas power steering stop leak and it did stop the leaking.

try a cheap bottle of lucas.
 
Quote:


has a mercedes with a power steering leak, actually lots of them. bought a cheap bottle of lucas power steering stop leak and it did stop the leaking.

try a cheap bottle of lucas.




I'd have to agree with this. Seen it work several times for customers. Face the fact that sooner or later rack will HAVE to be replaced. Might as well be later.

Bob
 
Leaking racks are almost allways caused by either worn bore or hardened piston seals. Either will require replacement. Sometimes an additive that swells/softens the seals untill they begin to function again will buy time before permanent repair is made or vehicle goes to crusher.

Bob
 
Yeah, the car only has 62k miles. I think the seals dried out in storage. Guess I'll give Lucas(?) a try.

When you read the Lucas website, it sounds great. When you read a power steering replacement company website, you only compound your problems with stop leak ?!?!?
 
I used Valvoline synthetic PS fluid in my Chevy, which is supposed to stop leaks, too. It seemed to work. I had a very slight leak from an unknown location that caused the fluid to get low enough to make the pump whine. The problem hasn't returned, although checking the level on nearly anything with a 3800 V6 is a major ordeal.
 
If you catch the leak while it is still small, stop leak can be useful. I had a power steering leak in my Avalon about 18 months ago that I cured with about an ounce of BarsLeak. I put in the BarsLeak and ran the car for about a week checking the fluid level regularly. When I was satisfied the leak had stopped, I used a baster to flush out the power steering fluid from the reservoir and replaced it with Mobil-1 synthetic Dexron. I repeated the flush/fill of the reservoir a few times so that only a small residual amount of the stop leak was in the system. So far it has held well and has saved some money on an expensive rack replacement. At some point in the future that repair may yet come, but this cost effective repair has bought me some time.
 
Use a good power steering additive or automatic transmission additive. They are formulated with esters that soften the hardened seals. I buy the ester based additive in pails and blend into the ATF for sale as an additive. Technically, each pint gets .8 oz of the ester, and one pint treats 5 to 6 quart systems, so a power steering unit gets less than 1/2 a pint. I sealed my 88 BMW with it about 3 years ago, and numerous customer vehicles since then (probably 100's).
No long term damage to anything. It is so diluted that it can't hurt lubrication (and it is a group V oil), just restores flexibility to seals and cleans things.
(Fortunately it is only a small amount, as the stuff costs me over $500 a pail)
 
Well, I dropped in a bottle of Lucas. I'll let you know how it goes. I also did the infamous seat bushing repair/replace this weekend and changed out the gas pump gasket which had a slow leak.

It was Congo hot in the garage while doing the work.
 
Have same problem
smirk.gif
I tried DIY but it didn't go wel...
 
Dont waste your time, any improvement will be very temporary and every other seal inc those in the not leaking now pump will be effected.

Call Jorgen for BMW racks and just swap it, they are the best bar none. They are easy enough to rebuild DIY but it take a little experience and if there is any corrosion in the bore it will need to be sleeved which is not a DIY operation.

http://www.jorgenauto.com/
 
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