PAG oil/dye in power steering rack?

[Darrell]

Hey Folks,

This is probably a dumb question but I am trying to track down exact location of suspected power steering rack leak.
I have this giant bottle of PAG oil with UV dye. Any idea if it would hurt the rack and pinion? (any more than it probably already is hurt I guess)

We don’t have any drivability issues at this point, but I am adding a bottle of PS about once of month.
Trying to decide if it worth having the rack replaced or just keep a case of PS on the trunk. 😉
I already tried running a couple bottles of lucas oil thru and it did seem to slow down the leak but not eliminate it.
I also worry about running that super thick Lucas oil in the cold weather. (Northwest Ohio winter)

This is my 97′ Camry 2.2L with only 87K miles. Leak seems to coming from drivers side around area of steering shaft.

Thanks!

Topic

[Its me]

Am not so sure how PAG would mix with Dexron transmission fluid (what the car uses for PS fluid. I would not use it. However, There are dyes that are made to work for oil and power steering fluid.

Karl

[Nick Warner]

With Karl on this one. Bad things happen when you mix fluids. A little bottle of the oil dye that is ok to put in this is less than ten bucks at the parts store. Why take the risk?

[Mike]

If you’re leaking a bottle of power steering fluid per month, you probably don’t need dye. The leak source should be obvious with a bright flashlight.

[Author]

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