Massive and sudden power steering leak - W126
 

Wow, I was very surprised this morning when left for work. I was going to take my truck, but I thought I would take the MB today. I started the car, backed out of the driveway and when I went to turn to pull out, the steering was very heavy, as if the car did not have any power steering. Popped the hood, got out and there was a huge milky looking puddle of fluid on the driveway. :eek: I walked up to where the car was parked and there was a big puddle there as well. I had to rush on to work and it was dark when I got home, so I have not been able to inspect it to see where it is coming from, but it seems to be coming from the rear of the engine area- down low. PLEASE tell me this is not going to be a $$$ repair, especially since I was getting ready to sell this car. Knowing my luck it is the steering box, rack or something. Hoping it is simply a hose busted, but I am sure I am not going to be that lucky. Never and leaks or PS problems before BTW.

Thanks!

Probably one of the return hoses blew. People don't replace them and on a lot of cars they leak badly.

Thanks. Could it go from not even leaking a drop to literally dumping out all fluid? I guess yes if the hose blew. Duh... I am silly. :)

I typically park the car with the front end pointing downhill. Last night, I just happened to park it with the front facing uphill. Perhaps that caused extra strain and caused the hose to pop? I was just hoping a major seal did not blow out of the rack or sector.

Where in the world can I buy this hose, if it is indeed the hose?

Thanks again....

http://catalog.eautopartscatalog.com/mercedesshop/sophio/wizard.jsp?partner=mercedesshop&clientid=catalog.mercedesshop&baseurl=http://catalog.peachparts.com/&cookieid=1V604A2EI1Y61C6D5E&year=1986&make=MB&model=560-SEL-001&category=All&part=P%2FS+Hose

The return hose has a section from the steering box to the cooler and from the cooler to the reservoir. You'll have to measure to know if 1 meter is enough.

Sixto
93 300SD

Sorry to say, but that's exactly how mine acted when the steering box seal let go: big puddle of oil and heavy steering once the reservoir was emptied. Get a flashlight and check the steering gearbox where the steering arm is connected and see if it's wet with oil. If so, there's your problem.

Lovely.... If that is the case... I guess off to the junk yard it goes.... :(
Does the seal go instantly like that? It never leaked a drop before. :confused:

Thanks for the link with the hose... if it is indeed the hose, I will replace, then sell the car.... if not- I will probably sell the car to the crusher.

Thanks again!

cdplayer
 

For comparison pricing try **************. $87.19 for high pressure and $20.70 for return hose. Power steering filter was $5.28. Free shipping to your door on orders over $50. I got the rebuilt box from Carsteering.com. Found them on Ebay and won a bid of $299.00 plus $150.00 core deposit.
Also free shipping. I replaced both powersteering hoses, and power steering filter when I put in a rebuilt steering box. I have a 1984 500SEC and the box was the cause of my leaks.
If you plan to sell the car,and do not want to fix it, you can just negotiate a price for the car less the repair. Hopefully a DIY person will buy it.
Good luck:kid:

No, it'll go to my hands. :D I'll fly there and drive it on back... after I fix it of course.

Thanks for the replies..... If I do not have the worst luck sometimes.... :(

As one of my co-workers says.... "OH JOY". Seems like it is leaking from the steering box (at least according to my father). :cry: He knows alot more about cars than I do (in some cases), but I am still unsure. Really, I was too lazy to crawl under there and get dirty. :)

He said he saw the fluid leaking down from a "pitman arm" too? He may just be telling me that, because he has been wanting me to sell the car anyway. :rolleyes: I guess the next thing I should do is remove/cut the PS belt and drive it to my mechanics to see what he says it is and how $ to fix it? Would it be safe to drive like this? The steering is stiff, but it is mostly 4-lane highway, straight, from my house to my mechanics, about 3 miles from here. I just do not know if fluid is leaking down on hot exhaust or not.

If its the hose, I will fix it before I sell it.... if not, then I guess its.... :behead: I was really only wanting to sell this car so I could take that money and have the 90K mile service done to my truck (with 102,200). :rolleyes: - which is the timing belt/water pump replacement. That is going to be $600 and if I sold it for $1000 (which what I was willing to go down from my $1500 original price), that would have left me $400 to play with... now I have no idea what I would be able to get for it. Maybe be able to part it out for more than I can sell it whole for, but I really do not want to go there.

Now I am really at a crossroads.

If the bottom seal on the gear box blew out which can happen, its a $3 seal. You can even change it while its in the car, but I removed the gear box when I did mine. I hate working up sidedown.

Oh? That is interesting. Thanks Hat for that info. Is there any instructions here I can look up the procedure for replacement, or should I just let the shop do it? How labor intensive is it? If I were to go to the parts store- what do I ask for.... gear box lower seal? I wonder if it can even be bought somewhere like O'Reilly, or Autozone/Advance/A-1?

I think you can get the whole kit with all the seals for the gearbox through Fastlane for about $20. I was going to get a kit for my gearbox which has a very slow seep caused by flushing with ATF (I guess ATF back in '85 was a lot milder than today's ATF). It's a slow seep and I've only had to top off once in my nearly 7 months of ownership, so the seal replacement will be a rainy day project.

W126 FSM covers the procedure. You need to figure out what is leaking first.

Hatteras, how difficult was it to remove the steering box? Was separating the pitman arm difficult? Also, was it hard to get everything lined back up when reinstalling? Any idea if the seal kit would be difficult to do?

Fastlane Seal Kit for 380SE

Looks like it costs $24.72.

http://img.eautopartscatalog.com/live/M102116606HEB.JPG