90 Supra - power steering leak

Tiny
JOHN_77019
  • MEMBER
  • 1990 TOYOTA SUPRA
90 supra 7m-ge with about 170k miles on it (non-turbo rebuilt 50k ago)

i noticed a little red fluid leak, and I had just added a little steering fluid. I thought I had put too much fluid in the reservoir, and it had overflowed or dripped down the side.

then I started it, and the power steering started moaning. It wasn't doing this before, I had only noticed a very slight leak in the past, and now my reservoir was emptying out onto the ground.

i took off the engine under-cover to find where it was coming from.

it looks like the the steering rack boot had just busted or something. It was in two pieces and the fluid was coming out of it. I put my finger in there to see what was in there, and saw the shiny metal rod, and more fluid spilled out.

my main question is, can I simply replace this boot (or both, as they have boot kits for doing just this) and refill the steering fluid?

and I can't seem to find a clear answer to this question:
is there supposed to be fluid in this boot or no?

and if replacing the boot will not work, do I have to replace the whole steering gear?

my haynes manual doesn't cover the particular boot problem, tho it does show how to replace the rack and pinion steering gear.

thanks for any help
john
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Tuesday, October 16th, 2007 AT 11:24 PM

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Tiny
SERVICE WRITER
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You need a rack, the boot is for dust protection only. The fluid is leaking past a non-serviceable seal. Fix it before the pump burns out too. There are some snake oil products like lucas power steering sealer, but wouldn't bet the house on it working.
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Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 AT 8:26 AM
Tiny
JOHN_77019
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I was afraid that was the case.

I've done some more reading online, and I think i'm gonna try the lucas leak sealer first, as i've read that it's at least worth a shot. And by the way, the reservoir never got completely empty, so the pump should still have fluid in it.

Anyway, if the leak sealer seems to work and it doesn't leak through the boot again, it should be ok temporarily, right? As long as I patch up the boot, and keep an eye on it and the fluid level?

I fully intend on replacing the rack assembly soon, but money is tight right now, after fixing other things on the car.
If I can delay replacing (and getting a front end alignment afterwards) even a month, that would help.

I need to be able to run it to finish other work I had already planned, but I don't drive it on a daily basis.

As for the rack assembly itself:
autozone shows it for $380 + $105 core
autopartswarehouse shows $185 + $125 core (free shipping!)
both of those say they are for my supra.

I normally go to autozone for most things, how come they are almost twice as much as the online store?

Sorry so long, and thanks for your help, paul.

John
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Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 AT 10:33 AM
Tiny
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Hi John,

The boot is regardless of the problem and will do nothing to do anything with it at this point.

I refuse to buy anything from autozone. I prefer napa myself.

If the rack becomes a problem after istalling how long will it take to get another one? For that matter if you buy it from autozone, how long will it take if it goes bad?

Keep an eye on the fluid and see how it goes. Maybe you'll make it.
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Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 AT 2:16 PM

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