Subaru Forester '02 does a leaking steering rack mean it needs replacing?

Answer 1

I own a repair shop and I am an ASE Master Technian and we are asked this question many times. The first thing to keep in mind is that the Rack is how your car is steered. With that being said if the leak becomes severe and all the fluid leaks out you could loose control of your vehicle. Loss of control could happen in a few different ways the most obvious being the loss of power assisted steering and the worse case being the rack seizes in place and the car won't be able to be steered. Now you ask should it be replaced today. The answer is to ask yourself do I see Power Steering fluid on the ground or has your mechanic noticed some fluid seeping and has mentioned it to you as a thing to keep an eye on. My advice is the more fluid on the ground the more urgent the repair. Keep in mind it is not uncommon to replace the pump at the time of rack replacement. This is usually done to make sure the new rack is not contaminated by foreign material that may be in the pump or hoses. This material could be sealing rings or part of the aluminum housing. If left in the system this could lead to premature rack failure. So to summarize Nobody can predict when the rack will fail but a good indicator has to do with the amount of leakage. The more it leaks the sooner it should be replaced Hope the info helps