Car Talk!

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedFury

probably just a little air in the power steering that needs to be worked out. Simply turn the wheel lock to lock a few times and it should go away if its air.

Hmmmm. I'll have to try that first thing in the morning, thanks

[SoloCamo]

UPDATE:

Didn't seem to fix the "whine". It seems to get quieter as the Jeep warms up and runs for a while, but it's still present. It seems equally loud at idle as when the wheel is turning...

I'm taking it back up to the shop that did the repair first thing in the morning, I'm hoping it's something simple such as the belt not being completely tight, even though it felt fine to me.

[SoloCamo]

UPDATE (again ):

Apparently the leak is still there and in just as full force as before. I was able to actually spot it this time, though. It is coming out of the PS reservoir right around the edge of it at the bottom. You can clearly see a small drip forming there and leaking onto the radiator hose. Now, I would just buy a new reservoir but apparently no one seems to sell them separately for my year 4.0, oddly enough. The pump is also whining and apparently slowly on it's way out which pisses me off due to the fact that it's barely 2 years old. I'm pretty broke and dropping another $200 simply isn't going to happen at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobRich

How big is the power steering leak? If only a few drops each time you drive, if could just be a worn seal, meaning a bottle of power steering stop leak might resolve it for only a few dollars. Use a turkey baster to extract fluid from the reservoir, then add the bottle of stop leak. The problem might disappear after a few days of driving.

I'm definitely going to have to try this, RR. Thanks.

Any particular companies to keep in mind? Lucas is always good, but I'm not too sure if the local advance or auto zone would carry them, at least for this particular product.

[RedFury]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoloCamo

UPDATE (again ):

Apparently the leak is still there and in just as full force as before. I was able to actually spot it this time, though. It is coming out of the PS reservoir right around the edge of it at the bottom. You can clearly see a small drip forming there and leaking onto the radiator hose. Now, I would just buy a new reservoir but apparently no one seems to sell them separately for my year 4.0, oddly enough.



I'm definitely going to have to try this, RR. Thanks.

Any particular companies to keep in mind? Lucas is always good, but I'm not too sure if the local advance or auto zone would carry them, at least for this particular product.

If it's a plastic reservoir that is leaking, you can fix that leak depending on where it is. If it's on a seam, and you can remove the reservoir, they make epoxies that you can fix it with. Matter of fact, they make stuff to repair plastic reservoirs....2 part plastic epoxies. You'll have to remove all the old fluid and probably want to flush it out with mineral spirits...not acetone...acetone will weaken most plastics if its left in place. You can wipe it down with acetone, but don't have it left in contact with it for too long.

Here's the thing....it's nice to know your plastics. Depending on the type, you can weld it shut with heat and more of the same plastic...others would require a solvent welding ( think model car cement ) I'm not really sure what they make the tanks out of...I'm sure a little searching will figure that out. Stop leak isn't really going to do much in your case.

[SoloCamo]

Hmmmm. Yea, it's a plastic reservoir.

However, why does duct tape, super glue and a lighter come to my mind at this point?

I've done more than my share of "lighter welding" plastics over my time, but something tells me it's a really bad idea to even contemplate doing something as crazy as that

[RobRich]

Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak : Lucas Oil

AFAIK, most Advance stores should have it.

With that said, if you can actually pin point the leak to the reservoir, seal it with an appropriate epoxy. Even JB Weld would probably fix it.

[SoloCamo]

The drip seems to form at the seal on the bottom of the reservoir. I'm 99% sure that's where it is and I've picked up some JB weld to have a go at it. I've got two days off after today so I will at least attempt to tackle it tomorrow.

Never heard of JB weld before today though..cool stuff and even if it doesn't work out for my use I'm sure I could find plenty uses for it around the house.

Thanks for all the help guys!

Oh yea, they did have the lucas there at advance, RR. Didn't pick it up though, I want to see how the JB weld does first for me.

[RobRich]

Did you get the regular or quick set? Either way, be sure to let it dry for several hours. It is good stuff, but allowing it to thoroughly set is extremely important to how well it holds and seals.

While I would be hard pressed to try it for such an application, some people have even used JB Weld to seal cracks in iron engine blocks.

[SoloCamo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobRich

Did you get the regular or quick set? Either way, be sure to let it dry for several hours. It is good stuff, but allowing it to thoroughly set is extremely important to how well it holds and seals.

While I would be hard pressed to try it for such an application, some people have even used JB Weld to seal cracks in iron engine blocks.

Yea, I got the quick settling one.

I remember my mom also telling me that they attempted to use some sort of JB weld on an exhaust manifold one time, and all it did was create a massive stench and huge clouds of black smoke.

[RobRich]

IIRC, JB Weld will hold up to something like 600F for short periods of time, but in reality, an exhaust manifold simply gets too hot to repair with an epoxy.