so I noticed today that when I steer, the entire assembly that the steering column goes into shifts around in it's place... could this be the cause of leakage? Im' going to try and jack it up tomorrow and tighten any bolts I can find...

if it's the reservoir, then the bolts you're talking about connect to the motor mount. they take a special bit in order to tighten them, unless you've gotten the reservoir replaced then it should be easier to fix. i had the same problem with mine. i still get leaks though even after replacing the reservoir..

...I think you're talking about the steering gear... Tighten the three bolts that hold it to the crossmember to 100 foot/pounds. Might want to renew the lockwashers with some new ones, grade 8.

Common places for power steering leaks:

Valve body (where the hoses go on top of steering gear assembly) to steering gear (there are three small O-rings between the two - note, you must re-center the valve body on the gear after replacing these, which requires a simple procedure)

Valve body to control valve housing - There are two O-rings under the small aluminum fitting at the front of the valve body where the low-pressure (return) hose connects

Input shaft seal (just below the coupling on the column)

Sector shaft seal (above the pitman arm on the bottom of the gear)

Reservoir body (large O-ring that seals the pump reservoir)

Pump input shaft (under the pulley)

Hose (self-explanatory)


There are other places that can leak, but these are the most common. Easiest thing to do is to clean everything up real good and dry, and observe for leaks.

D/W

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If it ain't broke, fix it!