Power steering leak

[Skooba]

I have a 1993 Chevrolet Cavalier RS 3.1L Starting a few weeks ago I was getting a whining sound when turning and such. Turns out I have a slow leak in my power steering. Not sure if it's the pump or just in the line. I have to top up the ps fluid every week or so to get rid of the whining.

Is there a quick fix I can do to slow the leak down? I don't want to invest a lot of money into it with repairs cause the car is old and I'm mainly looking to just get through the winter and buy a new car in the spring.

Cheers.

 

[trooper001]

First, I would not use any "stop leak" additives as a quick fix. Why? Stop leaks won't stop a hose from leaking, which brings me to the following suggestion:

I'd try to narrow down where the leak is coming from. Does the steering rack look oil soaked? How about the lines from the rack and reservoir? You need to get under there and clean up the oil (rag and a mild degreaser in a spray bottle works great) and pin point the origin of the leak. Hopefully it's just a hose that needs replacing and that's a simple fix.

 

[MrRPM]

My steering gear box is leaking on my jeep wrangler.
Its a pretty slow leak and I plan on rebuilding it one day.
I went to the store to buy some PS fluid and i figured I would try some Lucas power steering stop leak as top off fluid.
so far over the last 3 months i have added a little over 2/3rds of the bottle and its still leaking. I will continue to add the remainder of the bottle but it does not appear to have fixed my leak which seems to be from a seal on a shaft going into the gear box. So i do not recommend Lucas power steering stop leak.

 

[Skooba]

Thanks for the input. I'll be sure to say away from the "stop leak" fluids. Once I'm off work today I'll be sure to really get under the car and try to pin point the exact area of the leak.

Cheers.

 

[MrRPM]

On further inspection i have only used 1/2 the bottle.
Lucas does state there is a limit of 2 bottles, but still it does not seem to be working.

 

[91344George]

Stop using the stop leak.....most of the time these products not only fail to cure the problem they actually cause MORE problems than you had to being with.

If anything just keep topping up with the proper fluid until you can get it repaired correctly.

 

[PandaBear]

The pressure in the PS system can be VERY HIGH that a stop leak fluid will be useless. Follow the oil stain and replace what is leaking.