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Power Steering Leak

9K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  540iman 
#1 ·
2000 528i I am leaking atf from somewhere. I have replaced 4 power steering hose and the canister. I thought it was the power steering. I dont see any fluid coming from the transmission hose. Anyone have an idea where this might come from? Can the pump itself develop a leak? Checking again in the morning, but need ideas where to look
 
#2 ·
Two places that have ATF are:
- PS system (reservoir, pump, hoses, steering rack itself)
- Auto Trans

Clean all areas well with engine cleaner, gently rinse it. Then run engine to detect leak.
You will have to be patient, such as go to grovery store, then check every trip because it takes time for these leaks to develop.
 
#3 ·
are all the hoses securely tightened with clamps?
did u ever remove the hollow bolt? replaced them with new washers?
 
#7 ·
smell it, ATF smells terrible (open the canister and check for fluid loss and take a whiff of it from there). oil has a more tolerable smell.

check the boots (going to the rack and tie-rod ends), mine was leaking out of the passenger boot and required the seals be replaced inside the rack itself. I did the repair myself (replacing all the seals) because I was short on money, it was semi time consuming, took about 15 hours for a first timer to do it with my brother helping me. this is where I got mine from, believe it was in the neighborhood of $50 which beats the $200+ for a refurbed rack.
 
#8 ·
My rack for my 04 325ci is being replaced this weekend. Independent shop estimate for replacement was almost $1800. A new rack alone was over a grand. A mechanic friend of mine is doing the job for me now but the remanufactured rack I bought was still around $450. Check the boots on your power steering rack. If they are full of fluid you need a new rack. That's where mine is leaking into. I never even noticed it was leaking until my pump started making noise. Never even had a puddle under my car. Hopefully your car didn't suffer the same fate as mine because the rack is the most expensive part of the power steering system. Good luck.
 
#9 ·
Please help me out with this power steering hose replacement

I am pretty new to BMWs and I was doing some searching around and found that I have a pretty fast power steering leak at the hoses at the canister. Looked at the clamp on there and got puzzled. What do i need to make that clamp work and does anyone have a step by step how-to that I would be so greatful to have. I have a X5, 02, 3.0. I do have a Bentley Service Manual but I wasnt able to find it in there about replacing the hoses. I also have to replace the pump.
 
#10 ·
#12 ·
Thanks to everyone

I want to thank everyone for their reply and their experiences. It is always nice to know ahead of time what you have to do. DHoang, do you have any photos of your labor or can you tell me anything about that clamp that is on the canister hoses? Not familiar with them at all. Is there a special tool for them and are they special clamps to be purchased ......? Can you send a photo of the tool if there is a special tool.
 
#15 ·
.... or can you tell me anything about that clamp that is on the canister hoses?
That clamp is called an Oetiker clamp
Requires a special tool to fasten them.



They're non-removable once they're crimped onto the hose, so you have to destroy them
To remove them.

THereafter, you'd use a regular hose clamp in place of the Oetiker clamp.
 
#18 ·
Since you already cut 1/2" off the hose, just apply a thin smear of grease on the outside of the PS reservoir bottom nipple.
Then insert the hose, the grease will help form a tight seal.
Then use a NEW screw clamp and tighten it down snug and see what happens.
I did this 5 years ago, zero leak for now.
 
#19 ·
I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but on a related note I had a leaky reservoir (cap), and I changed the o-ring. While that helped for a while, it started leaking again :mad:

However I found out that if I over tighten the cap I get leaks, but if I tighten it just enough so I can still feel the o-ring not compressing it doesn't leak at all.
 
#21 ·
Part number help needed- crush washer for P/S banjo fitting

When I replaced my power steering pump on my 540ia some time ago, I recall that one of the crush-type washers was messed up and unable to re-use. I used a regular washer and an O-ring and reduced leak to a drip every so often. Finally got around to ordering a couple and the part number is listed as 32411093598 so I ordered a couple from Autohauz. They sent a pair of plain silver washers that look "soft" and crushable but a) they don't fit over my hollow bolt and b) what was there before was more like a star washer with a built-in integral O-ring. They are supposed to be washers that fit an 18mm bolt, but what they sent was slightly too small and have no built-in O-ring. Anyone know the correct part number of what I am looking for? This is for the banjo fitting on a 540 that is for the tube that is furthest at the rear of the P/S pump. TIA
 
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