Power steering hose leak?

[Schwifty Rich]

Does anyone have any tips for diagnosing/locating power steering leaks?

I’ve recently noticed the hose is all wet. The gear box and pitman arm are dry as far as I can tell. Also worth mentioning I tried some stop leak to no avail and I haven’t had to really top it off at all too much. Perhaps it’s only a small leak. No puddles or anything.

I’m really hoping I can avoid replacing my entire gear box since it’s the Mercedes one.

 

[Schwifty Rich]

So I think I’m going to go ahead and replace the power steering high pressure hose since that’s where the leak seems to be coming from... for 15$ At my local auto parts store it’s a drop in the bucket compared to the gear box.

Part number
52089 016AD

 

[tworley]

That second picture leads me to believe your box is leaking

 

[Schwifty Rich]

That second picture leads me to believe your box is leaking

I was about to head to the store to pick up the hose and saw this. I guess the best way to know would be to clean it all up and watch closely?

I suppose they could both be leaking.

There’s some kind of coating on the underside of the Jeep that’s peeling and falling off in places. It’s kinda rubbery and I bet that’s holding in some moisture.

I plan on sanding/wire wheeling it all down and using some Krylon rust protector under there. That’s just a whole other undertaking.

 

[Flivver250]

Clean the whole area area and watch carefully. Replacing hoses has no downside.