Lucas power steering stop leak

[gallydif]

When I turn my wheel there's a loud whining noise and sometimes the steering wheel vibrates. I checked my power steering fluid and the reservoir was close to empty. Called my mechanic and he said it could be a bad power steering pump but most likely it's the rack and pinion that went. He advised me to try the lucas stop leak unless I want to spend the big bucks. I'm against ‘snake oils' but decided to give this a try.

Anyone used this product before?

 

[clinebarger]

A leaky hose is most likely if we want to guess without actually investigating the issue. Don't put that junk in your PS system! I'm guessing this is the G8 GT in your sig? The rack R&R is very easy & getting them resealed isn't much money.

 

[Chris142]

That stuff is too thick for ps . a customer of ours filled her ps with it and was unable to turn the wheel until it warmed up.

 

[Olas]

get underneath the car and eye-balll it.. theres a good chance you'll see something obvious that you can address by yourself.

if nothing becomes apparent from a visual then convert to a manual rack if you're feeling manly, or just pay the garage to fix it. trying to turn a pwer-assisted wheel with no fluid in the system is even worse than dry-steering a non-assisted setup.

Lucas is a cheap&lazy way to stop a leak. Repairing the fault is the correct way to stop a leak.

 

[FT92]

I have used it in the past in my work beater cars...did seem to stop the leak or at least slow it down a lot...but I think its only temporary at best

 

[D1dad]

I used it at a ratio of 40/60 in my impala that had a wine and a little bit of a leak. It seems to have fixed both. It's been down to zero in ohio since and I've had no steering issues with it being to thick but I don't think I'd run this stuff by itself.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I've owned more than a dozen vehicles since 1969. Never had a power steering pump that leaked. I sometimes heard vehicles coming down my street with loud, squaking power steering pumps (notably Fords), but then-again, I've never purchased a Ford product.

 

[JC1]

Originally Posted by FT92
I have used it in the past in my work beater cars...did seem to stop the leak or at least slow it down a lot...but I think its only temporary at best


I've used it as well on my Sienna. Was fine. Can't remember the ratio of Lucas to ATF used in the PS system. Maybe 50/50?

 

[dogememe]

Start with just topping it up with real/correct power steering fluid. That will quiet it down. Then, take the time to find where the leak is coming from. If it's a minor leak and you don't want to spend the money right now just keep topping it up with regular fluid and keep an eye on it. I wouldn't put that Lucas stop leak crap in there.

 

[dave1251]

It's best if you can locate the leak and then report back if you are unsure what to do next. There will be plenty of advice.

 

[RyanY]

As clinebarger suggested, a likely fault is a leaky PS hose. If this is the case no Stop Leak product will help or even reduce the leak. OTOH if it is a seal failure the Stop Leak product may help somewhat, at least for a while, but I would repair it asap.

As others have suggested the only way to know where the leak is coming from is to get under the car and take a look...just fill the PS reservoir with the correct PS fluid, start the car, and watch for the drip location.

 

[Lubener]

Originally Posted by FT92
I have used it in the past in my work beater cars...did seem to stop the leak or at least slow it down a lot...but I think its only temporary at best

Because that stuff is so darn thick.

 

[Cubey]

It didn't help my power steering leak at all, which is likely the o-ring for the pressure hose at the power steering pump. It didn't even slow it much.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by Olas
get underneath the car and eye-balll it.. theres a good chance you'll see something obvious that you can address by yourself.

if nothing becomes apparent from a visual then convert to a manual rack if you're feeling manly, or just pay the garage to fix it. trying to turn a pwer-assisted wheel with no fluid in the system is even worse than dry-steering a non-assisted setup.

Lucas is a cheap&lazy way to stop a leak. Repairing the fault is the correct way to stop a leak.


Do you know how wide the front tires are on a G8 GT? Or how much Caster is built into the suspension? It would need such a high ratio manual rack I'd be similar to driving a 50 year old dump truck.

Most of your "Covert It" remarks aren't even feasible & would certainly cost more than just fixing the issue correctly.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I ran Trans-x for about 100k miles in my old Toyota Pickup. Only thing that didn't leak out in a day or 2. It worked and didn't seem to ruin anything. I finally had to fix the pressure hose and pump a few years later.

 

[discountdon]

Originally Posted by gallydif
When I turn my wheel there's a loud whining noise and sometimes the steering wheel vibrates. I checked my power steering fluid and the reservoir was close to empty. Called my mechanic and he said it could be a bad power steering pump but most likely it's the rack and pinion that went. He advised me to try the lucas stop leak unless I want to spend the big bucks. I'm against ‘snake oils' but decided to give this a try.

Anyone used this product before?


considering vibrations, loud whining, and running on an empty reservoir for some time...

your mechanic is right with his recommendation, as the thick Lucas is a hail-mary recommendation for worn and most likely damaged p/s pump

if it was simply leaking and not a loose/burst hose issue then a stop leak like ATP sealer 205 would've helped