Howdy folks. As I was driving today, I felt the power steering give out. I refilled the reservoir (near the windshield fluid reservoir?) and noticed the fluid was leaking from a hose on the underside of the car. Just wanted to know if it's safe to drive until I can get it fixed? Any help would be appreciated!
It will just keep leaking out until you fix it. Depends on how fast it is leaking out whether it is safe or not. If it empties out the reservoir in less than 3 blocks, it is unsafe to drive.
Depends where the leak is. When I had power steering, the drop bracket for the ram to clear my headers ripped clean off, tearing my hoses in two and spraying power steering fluid onto my headers.
They're right on. Powersteering fluid will flame up if it hits a hot enough exhaust. Then there is the fact that the pump will be permanently damaged from running without lubrication and without pressure the ball stud can get loose in the valve which even if it doesn't pop out can cause the steering to feel erratic Like Frank said, manual is an option...
Keep in mind that the box is the same for power steering assisted as manual steering. You can always disconnect everything (including the power steering belt) till you can get it fixed. The powers steering box by Borgeson/Mullins is a nice, but expensive option as well.
As far as my understanding goes the manual box had a different ratio then the power box. Also it isn't safe to just "disconnect everything" the center link has a valve in it that will become very loose.
Alrighty folks- here's a pic of the underside of the car, with an arrow pointing to where I think the leak is coming from. Is it pretty simple/straightforward to redo these lines? as far as I know these lines are original.
yep...looks like all the rest of the leaking, messy power assist setups I've seen...I replaced my lines twice before i went...manual...
As I stated in your other post, verify where the leak is first. You also need to get your hands on a Chilton manual or the Ford service manuals. Fixing this leak is more than just swapping hoses. The system will need to be bled as well once repaired.
