I have a power steering leak on my 2006 Uplander, and my ex lifted it up to diagnose it. However, He didn't give me enough information so I could tell the mechanic exactly what is going on, before he went back to camp. It's leaking from the seal under a boot that is also damaged, on a line that runs just under the passenger side. I have looked online at diagrams of Uplander power steering systems. There is not enough surrounding details in each picture to help me determine if the leak is coming from the pressure hose, the cooler hose, or the return hose, or to even show me where the boots are. Which hose is it likely to be coming from? Is it possible to get the seal and boot replaced without having to buy the whole hose assembly kit?

Thank you,

Inari

 

how much is it leaking?
are there any steering symptoms spare the leaking?

there are boots on each side of the rack and pinion. there are seals under the boots. generally you cant fix the seals, you just need a new rack. mine has been seeping for years but mine has no other poor steering symptoms. i just make sure to keep the fluid at the correct level. i flushed it when i got it (easy) and i try to put lucas power steering stop leak in there... but honestly, nearly every uplander i have seen had a whining powersteering pump... mine whined until i replaced the belt, belt tensioner and some barely functioning idler pulleys... i would flush and do belt/pulley/tensioner maintenance before anything else since they are easy, cheap, and probably deferred maintenance anyways...

how many miles on it? bc unless you get a deal on a new rack and diy-install it then it likely is not worth fixing... i got a deal on a rack and pump and it is an easy-looking install but i still have not bothered with it since i got the pump to quit whining and the leak mostly controlled.... i just throw a pce of cardboard under the leak spot and call it good. been that way for years now.
my guess would be that proper maintenance of the belt/pullies/tensioner would prevent most uplanders powersteering issues... esp. regarding the whining noises

ps. the tensioner is kind of steep pricewise for some reason, so be sure to shop around for that...

 

Hello, 12three,

Thanks for replying. This will be interesting! There are no other symptoms, other than the leaks, that would indicate a faulty power steering system. It is only leaking a few drops at a time. No, whines, no weird steering. (I once had an 88 Ford Ranger 4x4: Now that beast had weird steering! I also had a 1996 Plymouth voyager that whined like crazy.) It has about 170,000 km on it, or about 105,000 miles . My ex-boyfriend diagnosed it and he worked for about 20 years in the logging industry fixing heavy equipment, as well as normal-sized trucks and cars. I finally phoned him two days ago, and he told me it was the boot and seal, as you mentioned. I asked him if there could be any unexpected hidden surprises, once another mechanic opened it up, and he said not likely. I've been looking at parts online. Boots and seals are sold as complete kits for around $30 each.

Inari

 

. the only boots present are for the inner tie rod ends. These do not contain/seal fluid from the rack. if the rack seal is leaking you need a new rack...do not service it. Any seal kit you install will fail. Its leaking due to worn ram Shops don't rebuild these as they can't guarantee them not to leak and the labour time to replace it is going to end up close to a new rack..
have a mechanic look at the vehicle and determine what is leaking.

if you get a long rack it comes with all new tie rod ends. a short rack has only inner tie rod ends...so make sure the old outer tie rod ends are good.
you will need a wheel alignment when the rack is replaced.

 

the boot merely covers the seal... you cannot repair the seal easily. i cannot stress that enough. replacing the boot will do nothing to stop the leaking seal. personally, i would not give anyone a dime to attempt the repair either. you basically need to either flush your power steering fluid and replace with lucas power steering stop leak ( or whatever type of stop leak you prefer ) OR replace the rack...

 

do not use stop leak...it swells any rubber component/hose and most likely will not contain a p/s system that can develop up to 600 to1200psi

 

ps... check out what scotty is workin on... uplander

 

mine has been seeping for yrs and stop leak slowed it significantly. lucas and prestone, ive used em both.
i have a new rack but i halfway figured somethin else will kill my old uplander before the powersteering gets worse and so far its been fine. getting the pump to quiet down alleviated most of my fears... i will be replacing the rack and lines before i need the front end straightened out tho... im planning struts, lca's, PS, and hopefully dropping the cradle a bit to get the tranny solenoids all in one shot and one alignment.