Exhibit_A

last week is when my problem started to occur. i was driving home late night and noticed my car making a loud power steering screech. wehn i got home i checked the tank and noticed it was empty, luckly i had a little left in the garage and filled it up; the sound was gone after a while.. so i drove it for the next two days and the sound was back at the end of that second day. so i checked the tank and lo and behold it was empty again. so i bought some more fluid and added it. two days after driving it was empty for the third time(which i just noticed today).. the weird thing is i see no puddle of fluid under my car (not even a drop) as if it evaporated. so i call the dealership and tell them my prob and they say it could be leaking internally to the rack and pinion and if i keep filling it up it cant take it anymore and will burst and cause a mess. Is this true? can it be leaking internally? One more thing.. i checked the main power steering hose that goes from the power steering fluid tank to what seems to be the drivers side of the head on the engine and it seems to be a little moist there (where the hose meets the engine). but the hose doesnt look loose enough to lose all that fluid. any feedback would be awsome since im without a car for the time being. btw my car is a 97 a4 2.8 12v

ImAwesome

did fluid just spray you in the face.. awww shucks.. you need a new rack =)

Riley's A4

What about the PS cooler? Any leaks there?

Try lifting the front, add fluid and then turn the wheel back and forth for a few minutes while the engine is running. See if you see any fluid leaking.

Jretal

if you can't see anything, I'd bet the rack is shot. When mine went out, the boots were soaked. If you don't see any lines w/ fluid around them, take a pin and poke it into a boot on the rack. My mechanic said that's how they check if a rack is really leaking. More than likely, you'll need a new rack... which is f u n to do. I wrote a tech article that is in the tech section on R&R'ing the rack.

and yes, it can leak "internally" The seals w/in the rack could be leaking, which in turn pushes fluid into the boots... once the boots fill up, pop goes the weasel so to speak