POWER STEERING LEAK PROBLEM

[aerovette99]

I have a 1999 Lincoln Continental that seems to be losing fluid from the drivers side area. I noticed that suddenly when I turned the steering wheel o a load of noise. The p/s reservoir was empty. There was a lot of P/S fluid on the ground at the rear of Subframe near the left tire. I would assume that the rack lost a seal or a p/s hose went bad. The rack on the left side is definitely wet, but I can't see if it's a hose or the rack. I've added photos below. Does anyone have a repair diagram, video or photos of how to remove the rack? I recently did the ball joints, strut mounts, sway bars, and tie rods, so I'm able to most, but it makes it easier if I can get some input or information so I can know what to look out for before I pull this thing apart. Any advice would be awesome
Thanks in advance

 

[gips]

Check the hoses supplying the fluid to the rack. If you have problems with seals it will leak from the rack boots. This does not seem to be the case.

 

[aerovette99]

Check the hoses supplying the fluid to the rack. If you have problems with seals it will leak from the rack boots. This does not seem to be the case.

Thanks for the help. Does the rack need to be removed for me to get my hands on the hoses for removal?

 

[aerovette99]

Does anyone have a tech manual pages to remove the power steering hoses from the rack of a 1999 Continental??? I have the rack removal pages, but I don't need to remove the rack

 

[aerovette99]

So I think I found the source of the leak. The dye shows a lot. It appears that it is coming from the Power Steering Pressure Switch. Here are some pics. How in the world do I get to it? Feel free to chime in

 

[2lincolns]

So from my experience with the continental that I had that was a 99 as well, the pressure switch is a weak link. I sprays everywhere when it starts to leak, I did the soft and hard line as well because they also had a leak. Is not easy unless you drop the cradle, it can be done, all of it, with out lowering the sub-frame. I did remove the entire wiper assembly and all the associated components and the engine harness so I could remove the lines and pull them up enough to slide them out the passenger wheel well. If the only thing that is leaking is the switch then you should have a lot simpler time. Still remove the wiper assembly and you will just need to fiddle with sockets and universals to get the old sensor out. For my scenario, previous owner had the rack replaced, but they just reused the old pressure sensor. Good luck!

 

[aerovette99]

So from my experience with the continental that I had that was a 99 as well, the pressure switch is a weak link. I sprays everywhere when it starts to leak, I did the soft and hard line as well because they also had a leak. Is not easy unless you drop the cradle, it can be done, all of it, with out lowering the sub-frame. I did remove the entire wiper assembly and all the associated components and the engine harness so I could remove the lines and pull them up enough to slide them out the passenger wheel well. If the only thing that is leaking is the switch then you should have a lot simpler time. Still remove the wiper assembly and you will just need to fiddle with sockets and universals to get the old sensor out. For my scenario, previous owner had the rack replaced, but they just reused the old pressure sensor. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the info. I was messing around a little today and noticed that I can actually get my hands on the sensor (I was able to disconnect the electrical wire from it) from ABOVE. I'm going to try a stubby crescent wrench and see if I can get it around the wire harness and try to loosen the nut (may not be possible). That would save so much time and work.

 

[2lincolns]

Thanks so much for the info. I was messing around a little today and noticed that I can actually get my hands on the sensor (I was able to disconnect the electrical wire from it) from ABOVE. I'm going to try a stubby crescent wrench and see if I can get it around the wire harness and try to loosen the nut (may not be possible). That would save so much time and work.

A stubby adjustable may very well do the job as long as you have a very tight fit, make sure the big jaw is on "top" so its less likely to slip and round.

 

[aerovette99]

So from my experience with the continental that I had that was a 99 as well, the pressure switch is a weak link. I sprays everywhere when it starts to leak, I did the soft and hard line as well because they also had a leak. Is not easy unless you drop the cradle, it can be done, all of it, with out lowering the sub-frame. I did remove the entire wiper assembly and all the associated components and the engine harness so I could remove the lines and pull them up enough to slide them out the passenger wheel well. If the only thing that is leaking is the switch then you should have a lot simpler time. Still remove the wiper assembly and you will just need to fiddle with sockets and universals to get the old sensor out. For my scenario, previous owner had the rack replaced, but they just reused the old pressure sensor. Good luck!

You are SO great. I took the wipers and wiper motor out and it came out in 2 minutes.
You don't know how much I appreciate your help. I was preparing to pull the cats, etc.. Your advice just saved me 5 hours.
Thank you so much

 

[2lincolns]

Super happy that I could help. I couldnt find very much info on this myself when I did it, very encouraging to have helped a fellow Lincoln owner.

 

[hantz leman]

what is the light you used to bring that image

Kodi nox​

 

[aerovette99]

what is the light you used to bring that image

Tracer Products LF021 A/c And Fluid Leak Detection Kit $68. It comes with 3 different dyes (a/c, oil, like power steering, & auto transmission), a set of glasses, a blacklight, and an Injector (for the a/c)