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How can I fix a leaking power steering system on a 2002 Hyundai Elantra myself? Here you can see that the bottom hose is very damp with power steering fluid. The top hose has some wetness near the reservoir. I'm not sure what the top and bottom hoses are called, I assume one is the pressure line assembly.

Here are pictures of the reservoir and hoses.

reservoir and hoses reservoir and hoses

Here is the line that comes down from the lower reservoir hose. I found a lot of posts that said this can corrode. It looks like it is rusted, but not sure this is where the leak is. (front right of car)

from bottom reservoir hose

Here is the bottom of the car. You can see some of the droplets forming underneath.

enter image description here

I found this diagram of the power steering system in the car, but I don't know which of the hoses is the power steering pressure hose.

enter image description here

Here are some video links of the problem as well. These likely won't be live forever so if the links are dead, you can edit and remove them.

Videos are no longer good.

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  • I found this video, but I'm still not sure where the leak is and how to find it in my car.
    – Scott
    May 30, 2012 at 0:58

1 Answer 1

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As a general rule, high pressure hoses will have crimped connections on them. The small clamp connectors are on the pump feed and return hoses, which are low pressure lines. They typically don't leak as often as the high pressure ones do. The high pressure line, according to the diagram you posted, comes from the PS pump and enters the rack. There is a rubber section of this hose that may have leaks forming at crimp connections. There are also two high-pressure solid metal lines connecting one end of the rack to the other. They can leak at the connections as well.

I would clean as much as I could reach. Wind and turbulence can do weird things to leaks at speed, and will typically splatter fluid everywhere making it hard to determine where the leak is coming from.

If it is a fast leak, have someone operate the steering lock-to-lock (turn all the way one way, then all the way to the other) while you look under the car for a new leak forming.

If it's slow, clean it the same, but you'll just have to check every so often to see where the fluid starts near.

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