Power steering pump leak?

[C1ph3r]

New to me 99 V70 T5 ~175k miles. Had it about 3 months now only put maybe 100 miles since I have owned it. Pretty much brought it straight home and started taking it apart to address known problems and Stage 0 it. Well I discovered a power steering fluid leak. So much so the bottom of the engine was wet on the right side. Upon further investigations, the low pressure hose was soaked. Ordered a new one and a high pressure line O ring. Haven't replaced either of those yet.

Well, while I am currently digging into the PCV service I found the HUG mess in the attached pic. Looks like this thing has been blowing out PS fluid for a long time.

My question is, could just the leak there at the low pressure hose cause this much of a mess? Or do these leak where it looks like the pump can be split with those 4 bolts and that's what could have made the mess? Or both? If the pump can be split, is there some sort of gasket kit?

power steering leak mess

PowerSteeringPumpLeak.jpg (135.3 KiB) Viewed 4067 times

Thanks,
A.W.

[scot850]

The usual leaks are the pipe and their crimps or the header tank seams which get sweaty over the years.

Certainly looks like the pipe to the left in the picture is not sealing correctly. I would clean all the oil off and then see what comes back.

I had to replace my header tank to pump hose as it was starting to leak at the pump end. The replacement was an OE part but found I had to shorten it a slightly to get it to fit without rubbing on the serpentine belt.

There may be a kit by the manufacturer of the pump but not seen one from Volvo that I recall.

Neil.

Neil.

[C1ph3r]

Awesome thanks. I’ve cleaned it up and will replace the hose. Looks like the pump isn’t to bad to remove when the intake manifold is still in place so I’ll just keep a close eye on it once I have the car back together. Thanks again

[abscate]

Get rid of that cheap hose clamp snd get an oetiker clamp there

[FireFox31]

The worm gear hose clamp in the lower left of that picture is the high quality original Norma brand with the rolled outer edges to prevent cutting into the hose. Keep that, and if you want stupidly high quality, get Norma Torro or ABA rolled edge worm gear hose clamps for every one that you replace. I got Breeze stainless worm gear clamps from McMaster for low pressure, less important seals.

The primary source of power steering leak is the fluid reservoir. Over the years, pressure causes it to swell outward, busting its horizontal seam between the top and bottom. See the attached picture; those sides should be straight. Replace the tank with a Volvo original to prevent fluid from getting on your belts. It will be difficult to separate it from the coolant tank because it's so swollen so you might need to cut off the top clip on the old PS tank to preserve the clip on the coolant tank.

I would consider replacing the coolant tank as well, especially if it has spider web cracks around the front hose port, evidence of weeping around its horizontal seam, leaks elsewhere, or discoloration from old coolant. And maybe the coolant hoses if they appear bulged and weeping. And use the good rolled edge worm gear clamps. How far you want to go with it depends on how much you love the car.

[C1ph3r]

Thanks everyone. I’ll get on all those recommendations as funds allow. I have very quickly exceeded my budget for repairs when I started down this rabbit hole. So now I’m really have to pick and choose my battles with the must replace vs would be nice to replace.

[scot850]

I try to use ABA hose clamps where possible as even Volvo supply cheap crap often now. Bad enough they charge stupid prices for a clamp, but at least make the clamp a decent one!! You can buy ABA clamps. I occasionally find them at boating parts supply places and I seem to recall they have an importer in the US.

Can anyone confirm, but I seem to recall reading the P2 power steering pump header tank can be used in 99-00 P80's and is a better product? If this is the case a junkyard P2 part may be a cheaper option.

Neil.

[MoVolvos]

Thanks everyone. I’ll get on all those recommendations as funds allow. I have very quickly exceeded my budget for repairs when I started down this rabbit hole. So now I’m really have to pick and choose my battles with the must replace vs would be nice to replace.

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Don't spend money on anything yet. A good cleaning and light tightening of everything and see how it goes. Nice to have new parts but be sure you know where everything is coming from. Changing or refreshing can open a can of worms especially if not really needed yet.

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[abscate]

Aba or Norma clamps are decent , I just recently got good Norma clamps from FCP using Volvo part numbers so they are still available

You can use PEX clamps from hardware store for a lot of these applications and put them on with a medium to large set of diagonal pliers (“dikes”) if you don’t have the crimper

[454cid]

I wish we had a good US source for the constant tension band clamps that GM uses.... they're a European (German, I think) brand and I don't recall the company name. I've used US made Rotoclip clamps, but they're not as strong as the OEM GM clamps.