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W211 E300 Power Steering Rack leaking from oil flange
2008 E300 4MATIC SEDAN
Power Steering Rack replaced with a rebuild due to heavy leakage from passenger side boot, shop said the shaft was scored so he had to replace that. I received a brand new silver spanking new rack without a serial number on it, I went back 2 times to confirm if this was my same rack or a swapped for a different one, he said serial washes off. I didn't take a before picture unfortunately. I got the steering pump rebuilt as well from the same shop. Both were returned within 4 hours.
All installed from a trusted shop and didn't notice any leaks on shop floor after rotating on the hoist. The next day was -8C outside and I saw a leak from the pics below. I checked the pelican parts nut to see if it was tight and it seemed so in the blistering cold with the heat shield in the way. I tried to tighten it and chalked it up to the fact that there is air and bubbles in the reservoir due to no alignment and oil moving into new rack after a 1 hour drive back from the shop. So I topped it up and rotated the wheel and sent the car back to the shop to be checked and they didn't see anything wrong. All seemed fine and new every week every week its leaking. Today it was warm +8C on early morning start I heard the whining sound again that oil was low and all over the driveway. This has happened the 3rd time now, my aircraft mechanic says there should be a rubber seal or gasket behind the mounting plate with the two oil lines that probably got stripped when it was being installed. Any thoughts?
Pump and Rack Early morning start leak
My E300 flange looks different than this one (probably E350)
There's an O ring inside that high pressure line connection that needs to be replaced. They probably didn't replace it. It should be a 5 minute job to replace it.
We changed the Orings again on Monday, shop said he put new ones last time. 3 days later I see oil again but not as majore now. I sprayed everything with brake clean to see where it leaks next. Last thing left is to change the hose now which is almost another $800 in parts.
Fleabay
I don't see the point of replacing the hose if the leak is clearly from the O ring. Are they using the correct O ring? Have they scratched or in any way damaged the inside of the rack where the line goes in?
We checked last time and he throughly cleaned rack and showed me the rings and inside the rack. He has been doing this for 30 years so I trust him. Not sure where leak is coming now. Will see tomm morning.
Keeps leaking after every 3 or 4 days. Today I saw some wetness on right line highlighted. I have ordered a new oil line lets see if that fixes it. It's the only part left to replace.
Still waiting for garage to get me a time slot on this issue.
I have a question regarding the oring between reservoir and power steering pump. What is the exact purpose of this oring? I have checked multiple times to find a leak there but I never see any oil. Could the oring stop oil from from flowing into the line when car is off or provide pressure resistance. If that oring is messed up or missing, could it be leaking at the rack where the flange is? I never found a oring with the new reservoir and the new ring is still with me, maybe they used the old ring. But if it's not leaking at the pump do you think I can rule out the oring and just replace the whole oil line? Mechanic says if it was messed it would leak from front of engine not at the rack. Can you guys confirm that statement?
Oil the shop used,specs says it's compatible with chf pentosin. Could this be destroying my orings at flange on rack. Oil the shop used,specs says it's compatible with chf pentosin. Could this be destroying my orings at flange on rack. Shop uses this on bmw, porsche, audi and mercedes.
Nope doubt it. I'm betting whoever worked on it forced the hard line into the rach scratching the interior surface of the rack which caused the leak. If one O ring didn't fix it, new lines wont fix it either. That's my guess anyway.
Would those scratches be visible when we reopen the flange, I didn't see any scratches last time, maybe I will zoom in and take some photos next appointment.
11-26-2022, 02:11 PM
