Leak on front passenger side

Hi,

I have 1999 toyota camry V4 and 120k miles on it. I am noticing few
drops of leak on the front passenger side. Couple of months back I
noticed a leak exactly below the shift and when i took it to the
dealer's service center they said the power steering rack needs to be
replaced and they estimated around $1000. But I don't see that leak
now instead i see leak on the front passenger side. I also notice some
weird rattling noise around the same area.

One recent change i did for the past 6 months I shifted from regular
oil to synthetic and changing the oil every 6000 miles.

any idea what is going on? I am thinking of taking it to other
mechanic shops to get an second opinion but thought of checking here
first.

Any help is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
RT

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:05:36 -0800 (PST), thara01@ wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I have 1999 toyota camry V4 and 120k miles on it. I am noticing few
>drops of leak on the front passenger side. Couple of months back I
>noticed a leak exactly below the shift and when i took it to the
>dealer's service center they said the power steering rack needs to be
>replaced and they estimated around $1000. But I don't see that leak
>now instead i see leak on the front passenger side. I also notice some
>weird rattling noise around the same area.
>
>One recent change i did for the past 6 months I shifted from regular
>oil to synthetic and changing the oil every 6000 miles.
>
>any idea what is going on? I am thinking of taking it to other
>mechanic shops to get an second opinion but thought of checking here
>first.
>
>Any help is highly appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>RT

The power steering rack in my '92 leaked. The car sat for a long time
before I got it and the seals dried out. I used a leak stopping power
steering fluid in it and it fixed it. It's been two years now with no
reacurrence.

You need to identify the source of the leak first. Synthetic engine
oil isn't going to affect the power steering system. So you may
actually have engine oil leaks. Most gaskets don't cost $1000. V6s
seem to have problems with rear valve cover gasket leaking onto the PS
pump (so is yours V6 or inline 4?)

I've used PS seal conditioner and had good results on Detroit irons --
if the pump and rack are otherwise in good shape.

On Feb 21, 8:05 am, thar...@ wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I have 1999 toyota camry V4 and 120k miles on it. I am noticing few
> drops of leak on the front passenger side. Couple of months back I
> noticed a leak exactly below the shift and when i took it to the
> dealer's service center they said the power steering rack needs to be
> replaced and they estimated around $1000. But I don't see that leak
> now instead i see leak on the front passenger side. I also notice some
> weird rattling noise around the same area.
>
> One recent change i did for the past 6 months I shifted from regular
> oil to synthetic and changing the oil every 6000 miles.
>
> any idea what is going on? I am thinking of taking it to other
> mechanic shops to get an second opinion but thought of checking here
> first.
>
> Any help is highly appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
> RT

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 08:05:36 -0800 (PST), thara01@ wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I have 1999 toyota camry V4 and 120k miles on it. I am noticing few
>drops of leak on the front passenger side. Couple of months back I
>noticed a leak exactly below the shift and when i took it to the
>dealer's service center they said the power steering rack needs to be
>replaced and they estimated around $1000. But I don't see that leak
>now instead i see leak on the front passenger side. I also notice some
>weird rattling noise around the same area.
>
>One recent change i did for the past 6 months I shifted from regular
>oil to synthetic and changing the oil every 6000 miles.
>
>any idea what is going on? I am thinking of taking it to other
>mechanic shops to get an second opinion but thought of checking here
>first.
>
>Any help is highly appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>RT

If the PS is leaking you'll know cause the resevoir will be low.

Thanks for all your replies. Is the leak stopping power steering fluid
is same as PS seal conditioner? I would like to try it. Is it
something i can do or i would my mechanic to do?

Thanks for your help!

-Ramesh

On Feb 21, 10:54 pm, johngd...@m wrote:
> You need to identify the source of the leak first. Synthetic engine
> oil isn't going to affect the power steering system. So you may
> actually have engine oil leaks. Most gaskets don't cost $1000. V6s
> seem to have problems with rear valve cover gasket leaking onto the PS
> pump (so is yours V6 or inline 4?)
>
> I've used PS seal conditioner and had good results on Detroit irons --
> if the pump and rack are otherwise in good shape.
>
> On Feb 21, 8:05 am, thar...@ wrote:
>
> > Hi,
>
> > I have 1999 toyota camry V4 and 120k miles on it. I am noticing few
> > drops of leak on the front passenger side. Couple of months back I
> > noticed a leak exactly below the shift and when i took it to the
> > dealer's service center they said the power steering rack needs to be
> > replaced and they estimated around $1000. But I don't see that leak
> > now instead i see leak on the front passenger side. I also notice some
> > weird rattling noise around the same area.
>
> > One recent change i did for the past 6 months I shifted from regular
> > oil to synthetic and changing the oil every 6000 miles.
>
> > any idea what is going on? I am thinking of taking it to other
> > mechanic shops to get an second opinion but thought of checking here
> > first.
>
> > Any help is highly appreciated.
>
> > Thanks,
> > RT