[timma11]

hi, since the day i bought my 2002 zx2, it has leaked power steering fluid. it was only a little at first then got worse. today after starting up the car, the alternator light came on and i had now power steering. checked under the hood and found the serpentine belt had come off.

has anyone had a similar problem and what was/is the fix?

i plan on doing:
1-remove all the hoses/clamps connected to the resivour and replacing same
2-removing and inspecting the resivour for cracks. repair/replace as needed.

anything else i should look for?

thanks
timma11

 

[sacredmonk]

I am having an issue with my 1997 escort lx as well. The power steering pressure hose is leaking where it connects to the power steering pump. It started off as a small leak, but now empties the reservoir in about 4 days. It's only the pump to intermediate hose line that I have to replace, which is around 30 dollars for my car. The fluid leaks onto a pulley that sits underneath the hose, and as a result gets thrown all about the car by the serpentine belt. I'm not sure if power steering fluid would cause the belt to jump or fall off though. If I were you I would check all the pulleys (especially the steering pump pulley) to make sure they do not wiggle or allow to belt to move. You might want to also make sure the belt tensioner is working properly.

 

[sleeper7]

On my 94 egt, the power steering was dead so I changed the pump, after doing that the lines leaked badly, the reason is the stock clamps on the hoses are not meant to be reused, just get some regular hose clamps. Most would probably recommend replacing part of the lines as the stock clamp leaves and imprint, but I used decent quality worm gear clamps and they hold fine.

As for the belt, if I'm not mistaken the zx2 uses auto tensioners, maybe check that they are still good, as well check all the pump mounting bolts and make sure the pulleys are straight. Hope that helps,

 

[FordMan59]

Most of the time, but not always power steering leaks can be attributed to the hoses leakng around the fittings. You can probably look around and feel around and find out where the leak is.

 

[timma11]

well, i made a day of it. i took out the reservoir all the hoses and cleaned up the entire area. it seems like the hose clamps were letting fluid out of the hoses. i tried to find new hoses, but autozone was useless.

i wound up reinstalling the oem hoses with new clamps. that seems to have worked. i took it around the block a few times and didnt notice any leaks. the new belt does make a whistling type noise, but i assume it will go away after a few real miles.

thanks for all your input. i will be checking in here regularly.

timma11

 

[sacredmonk]

If the belt is whistling, it probably indicates that your belt is too loose. Make sure you have installed the correct size for your vehicle and that your belt tensioner is working as intended. You should be able to simply press on the belt to feel if there is too much movement. Making sure the belt is tight (by ensuring a properly functioning belt tensioner, and the proper size of belt) will make the whistle go away. That is also the reason the belt jumped the first time.