97 Ford Taurus Power Steering Foamy?

K

krisannharrington

New member
Help!! Today I drove my car to school and once I parked, before I turned it off I heard a horribly groaning sound. It got louder as i turned the steering wheel so I figured it was my power steering. When I checked the fluid it was really low. I barely had a cenimeter in the resevoir. I filled it up and drove it home (about 12 miles). When i got home i felt my power steering go out. I checked the resevoir and it was completly empty again. I filled it up again, turned the car on, and turned the wheel from side to side several times. I shut off the car, checked the power steering fluid to determine just how bad the leak was (i figured thats why I had gone through so much so fast) and i took the cap off and noticed it was all foamed up inside the resevoir. I left the cap off and noticed the foamy decreasing. After about 5 minutes, the fluid was no longer foamy but low. Could this be a leak? How much does a repair like that cost?
 
You have an internal seal leak, probably in the power steering pump suction side. If you have no external leaks then the fluid could be leaking into the steering rack boots, which means they will begin leaking.
 
The foaming and "groaning sound" is caused by air in the system - the loss of fluid is caused by a leak in the system.
Do not allow the pump to run dry or a relatively simple hose replacement will become an expensive pump and possible rack and pinion replacement due to debris from the pump failure.
 
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