[oldskool393]

after spending last few days reading this forum and hoping it was just the pas reservoir ive had another good luck at the car today an noticed a lead this is under the car behind the driver side wheel. is this something that can fixed rather then replaced? can i just replace the gaitors or is it a new rack?

i have yet to change the res and fluid tho i belived this has been done as it has the back reservoir with the red cap and the fluid is more of a yellow/brown/hint of green. not the original red which i also read can blow the seals. i have maybe done approx 15k in last 3 months.

thank you

 

[oldskool393]

the problem happened driving hope i turned a sharp corner after slowing at the lights and it made a loud horrible noise check the res when got home and noticed the frothing and level was low. but also a leak under which led me to the gaitors

 

[Fruity]

Gaiters only keep dirt out; there are o-ring seals in the rack to keep the fluid in. Gaiters won't help.

At least you are aware of the red/green fluid (factory screw-up under a German production director) on the 159.

Generally changing fluid keeps it clean and it shouldn't leak. As yours does, check rack for wear. Rather than condemn the rack, try a stop-leak additive (such as STP) for power steering. They are usually just Ester based lubricants.

It may save you the cost of a rack and is worth a try.

 

[oldskool393]

appreciate the reply. when i pushed the gaitor up a good few table spoons of fluid came out. the res is very low and i did see a thin line of oil where i parked up although its i cant see it dripping when car is running only when i slid the gaitor up

 

[JON156VELOCE]

Looks like it is leaking from the seals, what usually happens is a build up of moisture inside causes corrosion on the rack bar which damages the seals, unrelated to the wrong fluid untill sometimes switching from red to the thinner green fluid late in the cars life shows up an already damaged seal.
The frothing in the reservoir could be that its just low or the filter inside has broken off.
I would try some new red fluid together with your stop leak treatment but I'm not to sure how effective they are, it might work but sadly I think you will be needing a new rack.
If you do be wary of companies offering to refurb you rack for a low price as often once you send then your rack they will see the corrosion on the bar and say it cant be fixed which will leave you stuck, chose somewhere that will send you a rack and you then send them one back.
You could even get a used rack but get the seller to snip the metal clips off and pull back the gaitors to check for corrosion on the bar and leaks.

 

[JON156VELOCE]

If you do end up needing a new rack when I had to put a new rack on my 159 I got it from Kelly Bray steering, they are also on ebay.

 

[oldskool393]

This is the steering fluid??

 

[alfaitalia]

Not easy on my screen....but looks like a nice combination of green fluid and rust staining to me.

 

[oldskool393]

is the rust color a bad sign?

 

[oldskool393]

the resivour hasnt been going down it seems like its a small leak somewhere that is leaking into the gaitor which is also broke now and advice be great

 

[JON156VELOCE]

The only place it can leak from and go into the gaitor is from the end of the rack.
With the gaitor pulled back and with the steering on full lock to expose as much of the rack bar as possible wipe it over and check its condition for rust, if its rusty then it will of damaged the seals and the only proper cure is unfortunately a new rack.
The place I got the rack for my old 159 from, Kelly Bray steering has some rebuilt racks due in from Italy for about £350.

 

[oldskool393]

that photo is with the wheel at full lock and the gaitor is also broken from the clip

 

[johnnyroper]

You need to pull gator off the rack and slide down the tie rod to see rack bar condition

 

[hhuurrkkaann]

you can replace it with the oils in link...and before replacing it you can clean your steering system with a cleaner like in the link.

https://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/parts/159_Power_steering_oil.shtml

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Liqui-Moly-Automatic-Transmission-Cleaner/dp/B002VPDU9A