The Cause Behind Rack Leakage

Recently we have seen an increase in our customers sending in their power steering rack and pinions to be rebuilt due to seal leakage. The most common cause of rack and pinion seal leakage is excessive fluid temperatures. Heat is an enemy of almost every automotive system, and this is no different with the power steering system! The most common cause of high fluid temperatures is the overheating of the power steering pump. When the pump overheats, it causes the fluid temperatures to rise to a point where it damages the seals not only in the pump, but heat issues also travel downstream to negatively affect the rack and pinion as well. Turn One recommends the power steering fluid temperatures not exceed 275° F (measured in the power steering pump reservoir). Reducing fluid temperatures within the system is the first step to helping ensure a longer rack and pinion seal life.

As fluid overheating is such a major issue in performance driving situations, we’ve engineered our power steering pumps to specifically combat excessive fluid temperatures. All of our power steering pumps are designed to reduce horsepower consumption at high RPM’s, which in turn, reduces the fluid temperatures. The horsepower that the pump consumes is converted to heat, therefore a reduction in horsepower consumption will result in a reduction in fluid temperature. In most cases, Turn One can also rebuild your existing power steering pump to gain reduced horsepower consumption and reduced fluid temperatures. In extreme conditions, a power steering cooler may be needed if adding a Turn One power steering pump does not reduce your fluid temperatures below 275° F.