Offroad-Express

hey guys, i have been having a few problems with my 1990 nissan terrano, and need a bit of advice/help.

first off, not too long ago, when me and my brother were 4x4ing, the truck decided that it would loose its power steering, and when we popped the bonnet, we found that power streering fluid was everywhere, all over the battery, and splaterd all over the bonnet. we drove it home, and we tried to see what had happened.

we suspected a split in the line, but we couldnt find any. also, when you turn the wheels, the container that holds it sounds etremly pressurised, and makes a hissing sound.

second off all, the low beams arnt working. high beams and everything else is fine. we found that the fuse was blown, so i swpped that, worked fine for about 5 mins, then it stoped working again, but this time the fuse isnt blown.

so what are your guys advice on these problems? im wondering if is a generic terrano problem, or just one of those things that happen. and of corse if anyone knows how to fix it, please dont hesitate to tell.

With regards to the power steering if one of the hoses didn't split the fluid must be coming out elsewhere. Have you checked the steering box? The reason it was all over the underside of the bonnet is because it was splashing onto the fan somehow. If the reservior is hissing it may mean there is air in the line which definately means there is a leak somewhere.

How long and how hard were you going? I've boiled the fluid (Safari not Terrano) and that ends up all over the bonet etc. It could (?) be as simple as emptied all the fluid and having air trapped so fill the reservior up and then turn the wheel from lock to lock a couple of times to get the air out.

Also check around the steering box for leaks. It is possible that you have stuffed that as they aren't very strong.

hmmm, that would explain the hissing, will have to get some more fluid for it, and test it out.

i checked out the steering box, and it seems that there is alot of fluid around that area, and if it was squirting from there it could have hit the fan and splatered everywhere, which explains alot.

although, it is very grimy (greasy/dirty) around there so i will give it a clean and see what happens.

EDIT:

just went out and had another look, there is a hose above it that is rather loose, but i dont have any tools, and there is quite alot of oil around the part whre the steering rod goes into the box, so that could be the other place where it is leaking.

when i get some power steering fluid i will know for sure, but untill then.

Could be leaking back down the hose (where it's loose) to the box.And make sure you don't over fill the reservoir because it will blow out everywhere until it comes back to correct level...YES I have had it happen

Cheers for the advice Valiant87,

how much is the correct level?

Dirtydog wrote:Cheers for the advice Valiant87,

how much is the correct level?

Your best bet is to de-grease the entire area then tighten up any lose hoses and clamps, Fill the res back up to the full mark on the dipstick then with the cap back on you can jack the front wheels off the ground and turn the steering side to side a few times to bleed any trapped air out.

Then start it up again and check for leaks and if the pump starts screaming at you turn the engine off and re bleed the system but it shouldnt need it again. If you are over heating the pwr steer while offroading it might be time for a cooler added to the low pressure return line.

What he said ^^ x2