Power Steering Reservoir Hose Leaking

2021, 35k odo. I think this is a new leak. Guessing the clamp was dry and silver at one point, now it’s soaked and black. Some fluid has dribbled down the hose. Mostly appears dryish wet. The fluid level is where it should be, no obvious drop. Steering feels fine. Is this a common leak? Why does it occur? What do I need to do to resolve it? Appreciate your help.

 

My initial thought is to clean it up and replace the hose clamp to see if that stops the leak. Do I have to pull the hose to replace the clamp? What is the proper process? Guessing fluid will come out once I pull the hose.

 

I’d confirm if this is in fact a new leak. And yes to replace the clamp the hose has to come off. You could use turkey baster or something similar to remove the fluid from the reservoir then pull the hose.

 

My first thought is it's a spill, not a leak. Clean it and check back later.

 

I gave the hose and clip a thorough cleaning and it appears to have been just a seep at some point. The fluid that made it down the hose seems dry so it may be a false alarm. I will keep a close eye on it.

I topped it off a few months ago. The low and high threshold is so small. If I topped it off too high would it create too much pressure and maybe hence the seep to relieve it? What do you think?

Also can someone confirm that the high pressure clip is black and not silver? I don’t think my black clip is due to fluid but it’s strange because all the other clips in the engine bay appear silver. Is it possible that the one clip is black?

 

I've been battling this pws leak issue for a while now and just gave up. What made it worse is that I could not find anyone else with this specific issue. Basically the issue is that there is a good amount of pws fluid leaking out the bottom of the reservoir nipple (to the pw steering pump), the return line is dry. I even replaced the OEM reservoir with a aftermarket (Dorman, I believe), it made the leaking worse. It also came with the hose to the pw steering pump. So I re-installed the OEM unit and added a worm clamp b/c the OEM clamp IMO does not have enough clamping force. It still leaked after adding a 2nd worm clamp!! I had my son cycle the steering wheel while I was inspecting the reservoir and did I not notice any spraying or gushing. Meanwhile I added a oil absorbing matt to catch the fluid, but it's running down the frame rail and all over the pwt pump hose and other stuff. Eventually it collects in the skid plate. What's strange is that I do not notice drips on the ground, even had cardboard underneath the truck for a night, no sports that I could find. I tired to look for recall/serviceblt for this specific issue and I could not find anything. There was a recall for pws rack leaks due to a faulty gear thing....nothing for what I am seeing on my truck. Could this be a faulty pws pump/rack that creates too much pressure and pressurizes the reservoir, pushing the fluid through the high pressure hose at the bottom of the reservoir? I also, don't notice any whining from the pws pump or a heaving feeling steering action. The pws does not feel overly assisted, it is comfortable, but not super light. When stationary, there is a little more effort needed turning lock to lock. I am assuming that this is normal since the truck weighs a lot. I love this truck and want to keep it beyond 500k miles. However, I am OSD and like to work on my vehicles. I don't want to ignore this issue any longer. Please let know your thoughts. I am hoping that there more owners other that experienced this issue and have a fix for it. My next move is to buy a OEM reservoir with the hoses and try again...

 

Mine appears the same way. I changed my lucid last year. Not sure if i spilled or not last time. Memory isn't what it used to be in this ol'e yeller.

2010truck

 

Thanks for the info…

 

My power steering fluid was overfilled when i had it changed out about two weeks ago and was venting out all over the place, so i just used a fluid transfer and sucked some out to stop it.

 

Thanks for the feedback. But I think the fluid level was right on. With the leak going on, there is less fluid and below the hot/cold min/max lines.