PS Issue - Lucas Stop Leak

Isn’t that what I did? :confused:

Time to pull the steering rack and put in a rebuilt unit.

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I hope not that extreme, Gregmatic. She only has 110K miles on her. :grimacing: Last time I priced even a refurnished rack a few years back they were like $400-$500 range. :money_with_wings: Possibly they can remove whatever part(s) of it need rebuilding and handle it that way for much less? :confused: :pray: In fact, don’t they make “rebuild kits” for racks, that contain any and all needed parts that typically need to be replaced in a worn unit? :confused:

Those kits won’t be DIY, so after parts and labor…

Never use any sealer products. Not for the ABS, A/C, etc. They are good if you’re trying to hide something just before you take your car to the dealer for sale or trade. That’s it.

Thats what I did on mine several years ago.
$800 CAN.(all in)
Also had to replace high pressure steering hose 1 year later . Probably another $200.
All the snake oil stop leak stuff is good only for temp fix. I save that stuff for my 2002 Jeep Liberty.

The high and low pressure hoses should always be replaced when replacing rack. So easy to do at that point. Was extra easy for me because i had subframe out of car :stuck_out_tongue:

I don’t know … I was checking Palmdude’s book re the PS system, and the Lucas sealer is highly praised in it by some other Jag owners … Maybe I should try a second bottle, as someone else in there found out w. their XJS … :thinking:

btw, why is there no mention at all of servicing the PS system in the factory workshop literature? I spent a lot of time looking for it last night (you would think it would be in the “front suspension” section :thinking: ) … even doing a word search, and couldn’t find it. :frowning_face:

One thing I think we all brainfahted on here … one of the first things to check when PS fluid is “missing” is to squeeze the rack bellows to see if you can feel any fluid in them, having leaked past the seals. Will try that later tonight. :crossed_fingers:

I think servicing the PS fluid kevel might be an owners manual thing. I know the ROM covers changing the PS because I saw it…can’t remember which section

I have used the Lucas stop leak stuff in mine. About a half bottle and I stopped loosing fluid

There are many places for leaks to occur.

The low pressure hose that clamps to p/s pump and p/s cooler.
The low pressure hose that clamps to p/s cooler and screws into back of rack
The high pressure hose that screws into back of rack and back of p/s pump
The rack seals

Stop Leak will only deal with the seals in the rack. All the others are either loose clamps, bad hoses, loose hoses, or bad orings.

And if it is the seals in the rack, it will be a temp fix. Stop Leak swells the seals, but eventually those seals will give up, and actually now be worse for leaking than before. It may buy you 6 months at best, if it’s the seals.

For my money, the two probabilities are a loose hose clamp, bad rack seals, or bad hoses (they get a LOT of heat damage)

I hear ya, Gregmatic, and will have a bud out hopefully tomorrow or Monday with a lowprofile floor jack to get her up off the ground so he can inspect things under there. The funny thing is that with a leak the fluid has to go SOMEWHERE, yet I can run her in place for several minutes, turn the wheel from one side to the next, and yet none of it can be seen on the pavement under her, afterwards. :confused: Checking from above the engine bay with a flashlight I also don’t spot any leaks or signs of where fluid is leaking/dripping. Strange. :crazy_face:

I will just come right out and say what you have been avoiding.

Paul, you will have to replace the steering rack. Do not even think about rebuilding it yourself. This is one job that really needs to be left to the professionals.

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Or for more fun, drive a few figure 8’s!

My son has chided me for usig TYF in my steerig . Says use PS fluid only. TF will cause seal filure.

??

He is pretty smart.

Well, the interesting thing, after checking around, is that apparently that rack version was ONLY used on 4.0 face-lift XJSes (and a few MYs of Aston Martins). No wonder rebuilt (or even new) ones are almost impossible to find. :angry: When Detroit Axle doesn’t have one in stock (well, they do have a 6.0 one in stock), you know they are scarce! :grimacing: I found a single used one on Ebay for about $400, w. a 3-month warranty. :roll_eyes:

Anyway, I was taking a closer look at things today and I may have gotten lucky. I think the earlier tech was right, and apparently the culprit may be just that short length (2 feet?) of hose going from the reservoir to the pump. I noticed there were fresh fluid drops along the bottom side of it and on the engine works just below that point (i.e. where it dripped down). :open_mouth: If you remember, the tech opined that the hose had hardened w. heat and age and so the hose clamps on it were no longer able to grip it tightly as before. :thinking:
Now to find a place that sells the replacement hose (unless one can just be cut from standard PS hose stock?), and put it on and see. :crossed_fingers:

If it’s just a hose connected by clamps, any hose should work.

You are using transmission fluid for the steering fluid, which is what the service manuals recommend, I believe, so I would use a hose rated for transmission coolers. Should be an ideal match.

The low pressure hose went bad on mine as well. It didn’t create any problems, other than an oily driveway from the drips.

That’s exactly where mine was leaking, simply a bad hose clamp where low pressure hose connects to pump. Took 5 minutes to find drip from underneath, another 20 minutes to replace clamp. (Messy!)

If this turns out to be the issue, may have been better to take a look underneath before posting for help and everyone jumping to conclusions. The forum can sometimes be unhelpful.

Will check it out and report back. I went ahead and ordered another hose (only around $16 from one of our usual suspects :smiley_cat: ) … it’s referred to as the “return hose” I believe … one place a “suction hose” … Basically the fluid travels from the reservoir 2’-3’ or so to the intake of the pump (correct?) … As someone pointed out, I could probably get 4’ of stock hose from one of the major parts chains and cut it to fit (I think it is 3/8" diam.?) but I’d rather get an OEM hose for this job, to make sure it is suitable for the fluid (as VK noted) … :+1:

Make sure to get good quality hose clamps. I find NAPA sells them.

Yes, you could get a standard p/s hose, but I also bought OEM because it wasn’t that much more expensive, and I knew it was the exact correct length.

Not familiar with 4.0 engine p/s pump, but on my V12, this hose goes from the cooler to the pump. The reservoir is usually built into the pump. So on yours, the reservoir is separate from the pump? That’s really strange.

Why not, many cars have a separate reservoir.

The V12 engined cars were the last Jaguars to use a pump with an integral reservoir. In 1988 the XJ40 started using a remote reservoir as did the X300 and the V8 cars that followed. Sure makes topping up fluid easier. Try checking fluid on a V12 E-Type and you will instantly see the benefits of a easy to access reservoir.