Steering Rack

[crouse]

I think the steering rack on my daughters 2003 Ford Escape (132,000 miles) is failing. This winter she said the power steering pump was making a lot of noise, so last weekend, after she got home from college, I changed the pump. Now when the car is cold the power steering is fine but when it warms up, the power steering goes away. So i'm guessing the thinner fluid is just leaking past the piston? I used Mercon V for power steering fluid. I believe that's ok. Yesterday, I drained the power steering fluid in the reservoir and replaced it with Lucas Oil power steering fluid (about 12 oz) then turned the wheel left & right several times to get the new fluid circulated without any change. I'm guessing seals from the rack made it's way to the pump and that's what caused the pump to fail? Just making sure it's the rack and not something else.

[crouse]

Bumping to the top.

[Turbov6Bryan]

Check to see if the new pump is working when hot, That would be my first guess

Then do a cylinder seal test,......

Dead head the cylinder left or right/ in or out... Pull the RETURN hose off / the opposite direction hose. And see if you get pressure from the one side PAST THE SEAL thru the PORT of the hose that was removed

Sounds simple eh?

What you are testing is pressure getting past a seal when the wheel is turned all the way, once the piston has reached maximum stroke ZERO fluid should pass the seal
I've rebuilt 1000s of high pressure cylinders in 20 years, trash and o rings

I bet 4 bucks in seals fixes it

Cheers

[crouse]

Makes total sense. I'll give it a try this weekend. Thank you, Curt